Weddle wins Mayor race, 4 new faces on City Council

Nita Johnson, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·3 min read

Nov. 9—A hard two-year Mayoral campaign ended Tuesday night, with first-time political contender Randall Weddle pulling off the win.

Weddle pulled off the victory by 267 votes — taking 52% of the votes to opponent Judd Weaver's 40%. This was Weaver's first bid for Mayor of London as well, although he has served on the London City Council for 16 years.

Weddle said he was "excited" over the win.

"I want to thank the City of London residents for believing in me and supporting the mission we laid out during our campaign," he said. "I appreciate everyone who spoke, called, knocked on doors, volunteered to help."

While he waits to take office in January, Weddle said he will spend the remainder of his time enjoying his family and beginning the transition of the administration in City Hall.

"I want to start the transition, get sworn in and hit the ground running on January 1," he added. "I look forward to working with the new city council because I believe if they ran for office, they are focused on working together for the city."

Weddle campaigned on growth of the city, providing good paying jobs that will keep the youth in the area, and focusing on the senior population. He said he was excited about the new family entertainment center and was looking forward to helping the facility be successful.

"I want to focus on the youth and the seniors and everyone in between," he said.

Weaver admitted that he was a bit disappointed by the end results of the election, but was still as dedicated to serving the city as ever before.

"It's been a long hard race for the past two years but I am grateful to the opportunity to have talked to so many residents in the city," he said. "I will always wish the best for the city."

Weaver said he is grateful for the support he's received as a city council member for the past years.

"I'm greatly humbled for the support of the citizens over the 16 years that I served on city council," he said. "I look forward to serving the city in any way possible because I always try to keep the residents in mind."

City Council Race

Two familiar faces on the London City Council will return in January, with four first-time council members taking their seats on the city's government.

Kip Jervis and Kelly Smith Greene will retain their seats on the council and will be joined by Holly Little, Justin Young, Donnie Lee Philpot and Stacy Benge.

Jervis had the largest number of votes at 980. Little took second place with 875, closely followed by Greene with 821.

Donnie Lee Philpot garnered 745 votes, with Justin Young placing 5th with 717. Stacy Benge narrowly edged out contender Marty Huff by 11 votes for the sixth and final spot on the city council.

A breakdown of the votes were:

Kip Jervis, 980; Holly Little, 875; Kelly Greene, 821; Donnie Lee Philpot, 745; Justin R. Young, 717; Stacy Benge, 710; Marty Huff, 699; Sherrie Mays, 595; Chase Carson, 574; Stewart Walker 523; Josh Samples, 512; and Wes Benge, 501.