Supporting public safety and managing the growth of the county are prominent themes for the candidates running in this year’s Republican primary election for the Warren County Fiscal Court.

Fourth District Magistrate Rex McWhorter and Sixth District Magistrate Ron Cummings are the only incumbents facing primary challengers. Republican First District Magistrate Scott Lasley, Democratic Second District Magistrate Tom Lawrence and Republican Fifth District Magistrate Eric Aldridge are all running unopposed this year in both the primary and general elections.

Republican Rick Williams, magistrate for the third district, will face off against Democrat Barry Brown in the general election this fall and the winner of the fourth district primary will run against Democrat Megan Bailey. Neither Brown nor Bailey face any primary challengers.

Fourth district magistrate

Rex McWhorter has served as fourth district magistrate for 12 years. He pointed to several county projects as accomplishments he is proud to have achieved in that time, including the construction of the SOKY Center (formerly SOKY Marketplace) and, more recently, the creation of the new Warren County Fire Department.

The department was created last year after a consultant study found some issues with the traditional, volunteer firefighter model that has been in place for decades. The department’s first day of operation was last fall, and county government has purchased equipment and hired additional personnel since then.

“If the call comes in, they can get on the truck and go a lot quicker than people having to come from work,” McWhorter said.

Expanding fiber-optic internet connection in rural areas and lowering taxes are achievements McWhorter is proud of, describing both as “biggies” for him.

If reelected, McWhorter said a priority of his would be to continue looking at a possible expansion of the Warren County Regional Jail, as the facility’s inmate population continues to exceed capacity. The county last summer started accepting bids for a feasibility study on the jail, which will decide if the current building can be expanded or if the county should build a whole new facility.

“We’re always overpopulated in the jail,” McWhorter said. “So we’re gonna have to do something about that future expansion.”

Challenging McWhorter in the Republican primary is Terry Hendrick. Hendrick, a farmer, is a retired 27-year employee with Bowling Green Municipal Utilities. Hendrick previously ran for magistrate in the fourth district as a Democrat in 2022.

Public safety support would be a priority for Hendrick if he is elected, saying it would be a “number one priority” for him, and pointed to the county fire department and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.

Like McWhorter, Hendrick said he would focus on the jail expansion talks if he is in office.

“I’d certainly like to be a part of that because it’s amazing how many inmates on a daily basis are in the Warren County Regional Jail compared to what it was designed to hold,” he said.

Enhancing infrastructure in the county would be another of Hendrick’s focuses. He said with the growth rate that is expected in the county’s future, managing the growth and getting the county ready for it are important measures. For Hendrick, this means expanding water connection and fire hydrants in the county for emergency needs and possibly increasing staffing in the county’s road department.

“There’s a lot of things that I think are on the table right now,” he said. “But public safety is going to be my main focus.”

Sixth district magistrate

Current Sixth District Magistrate Ron Cummings has served in the role for a little over seven years. Expanding rural fiber in the county is likely the number-one thing he is most proud of in his time on the fiscal court.

A Realtor, Cummings said before the expansion, he would be with prospective home buyers who would sometimes back out of the deal due to a lack of internet connection.

“That’s a major accomplishment,” he said. “I feel like not only me, but everybody in the court had (a) part to do with it.”

Cummings also lists the creation of the county fire department last year as an accomplishment. He described the volunteer firefighters as “amazing” at their roles but, as the county grows, there would not be a way for them to keep up with the need down the road.

Looking forward, Cummings said he plans to work to preserve Warren County’s quality of life through enhancing public safety and managing the county’s population growth.

He said this means continuing to support county first responder needs and making sure that as new neighborhoods appear, “protecting the integrity of existing neighborhoods.”

“This is the best place to work, eat, play, and worship anywhere in the country,” he said. “I want to protect that quality of life initiative that we’ve already been doing even before I got in office.”

Two challengers are in the running in the sixth district Republican primary.

Real estate agent and general contractor Rod Hutcheson is the president of the local Kiwanis Club and in the past has served on the Site-Based Decision Making councils for Greenwood and South Warren High Schools. This is his first time running for public office.

Hutcheson said if he is elected, preparing the county for the growth that’s coming would be a focus.

“We know that this county is growing faster than any county in the state of Kentucky,” he said. “The question is where we’re gonna put them.”

Hutcheson believes the county needs to be better prepared for the growth that’s coming. For him, this means taking action on issues outlined in various studies done in the county and organizing construction projects to get infrastructure upgraded more quickly.

“There’s been a ton of consultants that have given us all kinds of plans and research and information, but I think we’ve got to now pull that together and start taking action on some of it instead of doing three more studies on issues that we already know were out there,” he said.

Also in the running is Justin Gearlds, a local business owner who runs The Tree Company and the construction business Motley Trading Company. Like Hutcheson, this is Gearlds’ first time running for office.

Gearlds said if voters send him to the fiscal court, he will be a voice at the table for his constituents and their concerns, and said he would look at improving the county’s response to road improvement needs.

“I feel like on some of our roadways, we’re behind the 8 ball,” Gearlds said. “We’re a little more reactive in fixing them rather than proactive.”

Gearlds would also focus on preserving Warren County’s agricultural industry. He said a big step toward doing this will be figuring out how to increase the density of new neighborhoods to fit more people on less land, and said the key to this is expanding sewer connections.

“Instead of 100 houses taking up 100 acres, if we had (increased) sewer, we could create density and that would allow 400 houses for 100 acres,” he said.

The primary election will take place on Tuesday, May 19.