As Brett Guthrie plans to go to Washington as the 2nd Congressional District’s next representative, talk continues about who will replace the Bowling Green Republican in the state Senate.

Guthrie said he will officially resign Tuesday and the process to find his replacement can begin.

“I haven’t talked to Sen. (David) Williams about when he would set the election,” Guthrie said. “But I would imagine it would be in early February and we can get someone in there quickly.”

The General Assembly meets for four organizational days next week and returns Feb. 3.

Some people have quietly criticized Guthrie for not resigning sooner, but Guthrie said he held on to his seat initially because there was talk of a special session before the end of the year.

When it was clear that wouldn’t happen, Guthrie said it was the holiday season, so he decided to hold off.

Before throwing his support behind anyone, Guthrie said he will wait to see who is nominated to run in the special election by executive committees for both parties.

On the Republican side, Ed Mills’ name has been floated recently, added to a list that already contained the names of Bowling Green attorney J. Marshall Hughes, attorney Osi Onyekwuluje, Bowling Green attorney Dennie Hardin and Warren Central High School band director David Graham.

Mills retired in November from the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant, where he was the business manager. Now he is chief financial officer of HitCents, a company he started with his sons, Clinton and Chris Mills, 10 years ago.

As he neared retirement, Mills said many people he worked with urged him to run for office, as did a number of area physicians.

“I just turned 50 and was just thinking of my next career in life and since the boys basically run the company, I thought I could do this,” Mills said.

“I think it’s the 30 years of experience I had working in manufacturing and the 1,200 or so people who worked there that are the reason I decided to seek the spot,” Mills said. “I spent a lot of time helping fix problems and helping coming up with solutions. Sometimes it was hard to work with the UAW and management, but we tended to work things out well. I had a good reputation among the people there who said when I left they would love for me to be in some political office where I could make a difference.”

If Mills were to be nominated and win the spot, he said focusing on education would be a goal.

“Education is very important to me and that would be my main goal besides growing the community,” he said.

“As a small business owner, I know what it’s like to be in the trenches and try to grow business,” Mills said.

He also has the added experience of working for years in a large company where he was in finance and did budget forecasting, among other things.

But Mills said it’s his family values that many people have recognized.

“Most of the people who support me respect the family values that I have and how close we are as a family,” he said. “If there is any way I can take the knowledge I have and help the community, I want to do it. I have sort of a future vision of how Warren and Butler counties can be and pretty much the sky is the limit. We are right in the middle of the United States with a major thoroughfare. If we have great education and it’s better than anywhere else, we are going to have people who want to come here.”

Mills said he is anxiously awaiting talks with the Republican executive committees of both counties.

“I am hoping to be a part of that,” he said.

There actually are two Republicans named Mike Wilson with political aspirations. One is a school board member, who said he may in the future consider another office. But the one who is actually considering a run for the seat now is Mike Wilson, general manager at WCVK radio.

Wilson has been general manager for 10 of his 15 years in Bowling Green.

“I have had a desire and urging for quite a few years now in regard to public service,” he said. “Most of my life has in public service in a way. I have 8 1/2 years in the Marine Corps and then went on to college on the GI bill, where I got a degree in business administration. I have served in a couple of positions in churches, including as an administrator or assistant pastor … and at the radio station … where we depend on donations of other people, this is essentially a service to other people.

“In one way it is a natural progression for me,” Wilson said.

But Wilson also is drawn to the race because he and other conservatives have a sense that they have been left behind.

He cites as an example former presidential candidate John McCain, who failed to energize the conservative base.

“And here I think you could have the same situation,” he said. “You have a guy (in Guthrie) who has been great in energizing that base and now we are coming upon a special election, which we all know how hard it is to get people out in a special election. Unless you can really energize the conservative base of the Republican Party with more than just name recognition … and really appeal to their conservative values, you won’t get people out to vote.

“I feel like I have the ability to bring that to the community,” he said. “People are tired of good ol’ boy politics and are ready for a fresh new face.”

Wilson said he is a fiscal conservative, favoring lower taxes and smaller government. He is strongly pro life and believes in traditional marriage.

“And I believe you can balance the budget without casino gambling,” Wilson said. “The facts show that everywhere it’s been brought in … ultimately you spend more money with the increase in need for social services and police.

“I believe in education and that we should be funding education but I don’t think casino gambling is going to do it.”

The only Democrat seriously considering a run is Bowling Green attorney Mike Reynolds, while several other names have been mentioned as possibilities.

As for Guthrie’s future, he said he is excited about next week, which will include a swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning that also will be attended by family members. On Thursday, the Electoral College will officially elect Barack Obama as president and Guthrie expects to get his committee assignments next week. He has asked for spots on the Transportation, Infrastructure and Armed Services committees.

His staff actually starts work Monday, but the Bowling Green office may be delayed in opening. A lease agreement with Warren County Fiscal Court in the justice center must be approved first. Fiscal court doesn’t meet again until Jan. 9, but it’s possible that a letter from fiscal court indicating its support will be enough for the federal government to hook up the phone lines and start moving equipment in, he said.

A new staff member for the Bowling Green office was named recently. Kim Hatler, who worked in Aging Services for the Barren River Area Development District, will be a case worker dealing primarily with Social Security and Medicare benefits.

“She has great experience with that,” Guthrie said. “We wanted to bring in someone with a really great personality. And she is somebody who is going to treat people like a friend.”

The district office manager is Mark Lord and Phyllis Causey, a field representative for Ron Lewis in Bowling Green. Lewis, Guthrie’s predecessor, also will be there. Guthrie said he is still searching for office space in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and suburban Louisville.

“It’s going to be an exciting time,” Guthrie said.