Debbie Fillman has filed to run for a City Commissioner seat. If elected, she hopes to build a healthy economy for the community along with bringing a new sense of diversity to the commission.
Fillman previously ran for the commission in 2020, when she finished 6th in a crowded field of a record 16 candidates.
If she is one of the top four vote-getters this time around, Fillman is hoping to focus on initiatives to boost the economy and more.
She said that getting the economy to a healthy place will be beneficial for all businesses and other facets of the community, but said she hasn’t heard of many initiatives lately. Additionally, she wants to create more initiatives focused on education and public health care — the latter of which is tied with her 35 years of experience at the Green River District Health Department.
With Owensboro’s recent self-designation as the Bluegrass Music Capital of the World, she also wants to ensure that the city does stay complacent with that status.
“I do not want to see us become complacent in that — just to stake a claim and not do something about it. So I’m very interested in that aspect as well,” Fillman said.
She said that the current commission doesn’t currently have diversity, and having her on the commission would help.
“There are no females; there are no other ethnicities. So getting a female elected, alone, will increase the diversity,” Fillman said. “I know there’s a lot of other diversity at the table, but the first thing we’ve got to do this get a diverse leadership.”
Along with her background in health care, she said she has experience in different areas throughout the city including being a founding member of IMPACT 100, along with serving on the Owensboro Science and History Museum board and the Western Kentucky Universit—Owensboro Campus Advisory Council.
“We are a great community, but I don’t want to see us become stagnant,” she said. “I want us to progress and move forward.”
