CANDIDATES: Glasgow Common Council

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GN1 staff
A total of 14 candidates are running for the Glasgow Common Council’s nine seats. The responses for candidates in this nonpartisan council race are listed in the order in which they were received. Please see below* for more information on the process by which these responses were gathered. For No. 1, the person’s preferred name and date of birth to determine current age were requested. Incumbents are designated with a double asterisk.** The exact wording of the other requests for information was:

2. In no more than 250 words, please explain what experiences (education, work, life, etc.) you have that have prepared you to take on the role you are seeking. Incumbents will be designated as such, so please only include experiences BEFORE you took office the first time.
3. In no more than 100 words, why are you seeking this office?
4. In no more than 100 words, please list/explain any potential conflicts of interest you could anticipate occurring with your role in an elected office, if you win.

Marna Kirkpatrick,** 53

Marna Kirkpatrick

2. For over 35 years, I have been in the position of providing customer service. Customer service is defined as the assistance and advice an employee provides to customers. I have maintained a positive
and professional attitude in my encounters throughout my career. In my experience I have found that communication and honesty is key to satisfaction. I was taught early in life that good customer service
leads to satisfied clients, which positively affects a company’s growth.
Other elements that have proven to me to be successful: critical thinking, confidence, enthusiasm, empathy, responsibility, humility, dependability, and patience.
Professionally speaking, I’ve been a licensed Realtor for over 25 years and was the local baby photographer at TJ Samson Community Hospital for 10 years.
However, my greatest life experience is motherhood. It has been my hardest job by far, but the most rewarding. Being a mother has taught me so much to share and offer others. Afterall, our most precious
resource is our children.
3. I am seeking re-election because I enjoy serving our great community. I want to continue to work to improve the quality of life here in Glasgow, not just for my family, but for your family as well.
I’m seeking re-election because I’ve shown I’m comfortable and confident with handling the responsibility of being a public servant.
4. I do not anticipate any potential conflicts of interest to arise with my role in an elected office.

Chasity Lowery,** 45
2. I have worked for the past 24 years as a math and social studies teacher for the Glasgow Independent School system. I am active in my community and my church. I feel I have always been approachable and open to listening and doing my best to address concerns that are brought to my attention.
3. I love this community. It has provided my family and I many opportunities over the years and I want to see Glasgow continue to grow and provide even more opportunities for my children and those who live here and those who decided to call Glasgow home. We have so much potential and I want to continue to work with the community to ensure we move forward and grow in a way that provides the best things possible for all of our futures.
4. I see no conflicts of interest.

Herbert “Herb” Spencer Hess, 46

Herb Hess

2. I have over 20 years of experience in working on a college campus, which in itself is like a small city: it has residences, retail spaces, places to work, recreation, restaurants, etc. and I am familiar in working with diverse groups and through issues to achieve common goals. With my 10+ years of supervisory experience, I have learned how to be a voice for the areas that I am responsible for and the people that work with me. I have experience in advocating for projects and changes in a thorough manner with presenting data and budgets that will support what I am advocating for.
3. I feel that the area of Glasgow I live in is under-represented and overlooked and I want to become a voice for the citizens. Our family moved to Glasgow in 2013 because of what Glasgow and Barren county have to offer and I would like the opportunity to expand on those offerings and help in making Glasgow a great place to visit, live, work, and raise families.
4. I cannot think of anything that would be a conflict of interest if I am elected to the Glasgow City Council.

Libby Short,** 54

Libby Short

2. My adult life has been spent in management and sales. I manage with efficiency and effectiveness, and strongly believe that a leader is only as good as the team they build. I want to use my skills to make Glasgow more effective for our residents in their quality of life. I want to help make Glasgow a place where civic pride is strong!
3. Glasgow is growing, and I’m so excited about our future! Look at the new subdivisions and apartments being developed, and the number of new businesses opening in the last 6 months. The private sector is doing great things in our community. They BELIEVE in, and are investing in, Glasgow.
It’s time for our City Government to start BELIEVING in Glasgow!
It’s time to be proactive rather than reactive.
It’s time for the City to start giving back to our community what our community has been giving to our city.
4. I have no financial ties to any person or business in Glasgow or Barren County and seek to serve only my community as we progress into a bright future.

Terry L. Bunnell,** 60

Terry Bunnell

2. I believe that my educational background, work profession, and community involvement are all factors that will help me to serve the citizens of Glasgow. With a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters of Business Administration degrees, management and finance foundations as well as organizational and critical thinking skills were learned that are applied to my daily roles. As the Chairman, President and CEO of a community bank, I am given opportunities to solve a variety of financial needs for the bank’s customers and at the same time establish long-term customer relationships. Being the leader of a community bank, I am responsible for not only the overall financial performance of the bank, but also for regulatory compliance and strategic direction. Additionally, my role within the bank is to create and maintain an organization that is a good community partner by helping with charitable events and establishing products and services needed for the deposit and credit needs of the
community. My community involvement as a past President of the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce and the Barren County Family YMCA allowed me to lead organizations that are member and community focused. As the President of the Glasgow-Barren County Community Foundation, I have learned the value of working with individuals and businesses to create gift-giving opportunities to benefit the community. The involvement I have had with other clubs and community organizations have given me the experience to organize events, fundraise, and work with a diverse group of individuals and needs.
3. My aim is to put my time, energy, and knowledge to work for the citizens of Glasgow so that each resident has the opportunities that add value to their life. I believe that being a public servant is about service. Service is about taking the focus off the office holder and working diligently for the needs of others. I have the desire and commitment to work in partnership with the residents of Glasgow to create a community that is vibrant, dynamic, open for business, and responsive.
4. My work profession and community involvement afford me the opportunity and privilege to work with a lot of people and causes. At this time, I am not aware of any conflicts of interest that would be a violation of law. Before a conflict would arise, I will recuse myself from participating in the discussion regarding the matter at hand.

Brian Pedigo, 49
2. I’m a graduate of WKU history major and government minor in 1998. I’ve managed a small area business, I’ve worked other retail and factory jobs that have taught me to have a strong work ethic. My mother was a teacher and my father a truck driver giving me a blue collar upbringing. This upbringing demands I care and need to help other hard working people here.
3. I’m seeking to serve on the Glasgow city council to ensure a bright future for our next generation. I don’t think enough is being done to bring good paying jobs to Glasgow. I will work hard to do that. The outer loop needs to develop more businesses. Making Glasgow prosperous is my main goal.
4. I see no conflict of interest if I’m able to serve. I want to work with all the council members, city agencies and county government to see Glasgow and all of Barren County be a desired place to live and work.

James “Happy” Neal**
2. I am a graduate of GHS and this community has always been home to me, I furthered my education while playing baseball at the University of the Cumberland obtaining my degree in science. My schooling educated me a lot on teamwork, work ethic, and adversity. In my previous position at TJSCH, I advocated for patients and families to get the best care possible along with planning what’s next for them. I want to continue to be the voice of the citizens of this community. I am very active in community and I have experience adversities in life with jobs and schooling. I welcome unity
in diversity to benefit all citizens. In my current role, I plan events for senior citizens. I know what the community needs and how to continue to offer new opportunities for our youth, middle aged, and aging adults to have a safe place to call home.
3. I am seeking this position because I care about our community and the citizens who live here. I want to continue to make it a place where people move back to or never leave. I want to see growth in jobs for the working class. I would love to see growth in recreational activities to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. I want opportunities offered to all regardless of social classes. Glasgow citizens deserves this, we deserve this as a community.
4. I don’t foresee any conflict of interest for me as a council member. If one arose, I would excuse myself from making decisions on a topic that would be a conflict of interest.

Patrick Gaunce**
2. I feel I am qualified for this position because I am trustworthy, honest to a fault and I will not be bullied. I believe that I have the trust of the younger generation. I will put my money where my mouth is and I will stand up for children of our community. I am also a business man and at one point I employed around 4000 people in 13 states which proved that I can manage large groups of people and projects. I am a graduate of WKU.
3. I am seeking election to try and make our community more attractive somewhere that young adults will want to come back to live and raise their family. I want the community to know that I am a team player. I will fight for every man, woman and child. I fight for kids harder than I fight for adults. I will fight against bullies! I don’t mind exposing wrong doing in our community and calling out even the highest positions.
4. There are a lot of things in community that need to be uncovered, including but not limited to racism and social economic wrong doing. We need to hold our community leaders to a higher standard and them accountable for taking care of our town and especially our children who are the future of Glasgow. I have encountered a conflict with the Code of Ethics Board that has been pushed by the current Mayor and Jeff Jobe with Barren County Progress. I believe this will subside after the election.

OTHER GLASGOW COUNCIL CANDIDATES
Freddie Norris** – responses were handwritten, even after time extension
Joe Trigg** – responses received late, even after time extension
Max Marion
Duncan Cotton
Marlin Witcher**
Victor Aaron Contreras (write-in candidate)

*Glasgow News 1 sent letters to these candidates via U.S. Postal Service regular mail the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 17, with a request for them to send responses by email by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24. The deadline was then extended to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, and at least one attempt was made to contact by phone each of the candidates from whom a response had not been received, and voicemails were left with those who did not answer, to advise them of the extension. With the extension, candidates were advised that no handwritten responses would be accepted, as some had submitted or tried to submit. The letter with the questions advised candidates their responses would be copied and pasted word for word, with no editing other than if they went over the allowed number of words. Numbers to correlate with the questions have been added in some cases where the candidate did not have them; in some instances, it was left to the discretion of Glasgow News 1 to determine where one answer left off and the next began.