2022 PRIMARY ELECTION: Incumbents win big, five newcomers net spots on General Election ballot for Richmond City Commission

May 18—Incumbents faired very well on Tuesday night during the Richmond City Commissioners race in the Madison County's primary election.

Current city commissioners Mike Brewer, Ed McDaniel and Jim Newby will face newcomers Joe Bentley, Tammy Cole, Mendi Goble, John Perkins and Matthew Vaughn in the general election this fall for the four seats on the city commission.

Former Richmond Chamber of Commerce President Goble was the highest vote-getter of the evening — surpassing all other commissioner candidates with 1,535 total votes.

She was followed by Newby, who netted the second-highest number of votes at 1,212. Fellow incumbent Brewer also drew in more than 1,000 votes, with 1,146 total cast in his favor.

Cole garnered the fourth-highest number of votes with 1,043. Bentley received 997 votes, incumbent McDaniel had 954, Perkins had 865, and Vaughn received 765 votes to edge out all other competitors to move on to the general election race.

Candidates failing to receive enough votes to run in the general election were: Tracy Bryant, who received 756 votes, Taylor Fritz with 561, Ken DeGrant with 540, Aurora "Jessie" Massaruto with 495 votes, and Brian Keith Rhodus with 367 votes.

On Tuesday night, Goble said she was still processing her overwhelming win in the primary election.

"I feel pretty excited, typically they say low voter turnouts in primary elections favor the incumbents — which it did — but I'm just so honored and completely humbled that so many people would come out and vote for me," Goble said.

The commission candidate said she didn't know what to expect as it was her first time running for public office, but was blown away by the show of support from the community.

Goble said, if elected, she plans to focus on revitalizing downtown, improving the quality of life of citizens, and bringing more industry and public events to Richmond.

"I stay awake at night and think of all the things we can do in Richmond. I don't know everything, but I'm trying to get ahead of it and learn as much as I can," Goble said.

The candidate said she plans to visit other towns in Kentucky and talk to the leaders there to figure out how they have succeeded. Overall, Goble said she hopes to change the way citizens feel about Richmond.

"I feel like there is so much negativity surrounding how people who live in Richmond view our city. I want to work hard and make it to where people are excited about what is happening and sharing that on Facebook and promoting our town," Goble explained.

Newby said he is grateful to the voters that are behind him and appreciated their continued support.

"You know now where you stand and it feels good. I want to thank everyone that voted for me," Newby said.

As a commissioner who has served several terms, Newby said he takes pride in his ability to adapt to the changing landscape of the commission and still get things done for his constituents.

"I'm proud of that," Newby said. "I plan to continue to work for the people and to make things happen, or stop things from happening."

Newby said he is most proud of the work he has helped to accomplish during one of the city's most challenging times — the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have had to manage the city during something very unprecedented and I'm proud to say we managed the budget well. We are working on that right now and we have had great success even through a challenging time," Newby said.

Cole said she was very excited and happy to see the election results on Tuesday night.

"I'm so appreciative to the people of Richmond. I'm so excited. I love Richmond and I've been here for Richmond," Cole said.

The commission candidate said she is focused on making safety a number one priority for the city.

"Our police and fire and EMS. I want Richmond to be a safe community and to fully support our city employees to make their jobs as easy as we can. I want us to have the best, good-paying jobs in Richmond," Cole said.

The candidate also noted the need to continue providing quality jobs for recent graduates so they will choose to stay in Richmond — instead of moving on to other areas.

"I'm just so grateful the voters of Richmond had the confidence in me and voted for me today. I plan to work hard for them," Cole said.

McDaniel said he was extremely happy with the results and looked forward to the general election in the fall.

The incumbent said he is focused on continuing to work hard for Richmond and address problems with infrastructure.

"The challenge for the future of Richmond is that we are one of the fastest growing cities. Richmond's borders are growing and more people are choosing to move here. Our challenge and priority needs to be keeping up with our infrastructure. We have worked hard on creating initiatives to get downtown areas revitalized... get our sidewalks repaired... and we need more," McDaniel said.

McDaniel also noted the progress the city has made during his term with the creation of the Millstone Park and festival, more new parks, and the influx of new businesses like Buc-ees to the area.

"We are moving forward and that's the main thing. We are growing by leaps and bounds and we are working hard to make Richmond a place where people want to live... It's a great feeling to be part of the changes we are seeing in Richmond. We are changing the landscape of the city and helping to get its identity back," McDaniel said.

McDaniel said it has been his honor to be a part of the work that is being done and hopes to finish out the projects which began only as ideas when he became a commissioner.

"I think we are moving in a good direction right now. I'm determined to keep working and moving forward," McDaniel said.

Vaughn said he was "over the moon" to earn the privilege of campaigning further for a seat on the city commission.

"I'm excited we were able to gain the confidence of nearly 800 people who came out and voted for me. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to get to work for them and also earn the confidence of others in our community," Vaughn said.

Vaughn said, while he intended to run a positive campaign, it became overshadowed by the choices of others.

"It's my first time running in a political campaign and my goal was to run on what I could do for Richmond. Along the way, that got caught up in something else, but it started to raise some eyebrows and I think we have a Richmond ready for a change," Vaughn said.

Vaughn said he is determined to lead that change and work hard to prove to voters who he is as a person.

The candidate said his main goals if elected was to push hard for tourism, economic development, and youth sports opportunities in the city.

One thing Vaughn said he hopes to communicate to voters is, if elected, he will work for his community.

"The main goal will always be that Richmond wins at the end. I'm not interested in filling any kind of personal agenda. It will always be what is best for Richmond," Vaughn said.

Brewer, Perkins, and Bentley did not return calls and messages for comment in time for press.