Five Owensboro residents have officially filed to run for City Commission in this year’s November election. Of those five, three are newcomers and two have experience in public office.
With only four seats available and the number of candidates expected to increase, it should be a tight race for local office in 2020.
Deanna Endicott-Smith, one of the newcomers, was the first person to file. She told Owensboro Times that she wants to be a positive voice for Owensboro’s younger generations.
According to Endicott-Smith, who has spent the last several months fighting for a local nondiscrimination ordinance as a Human Relations Commission board member and Owensboro Fairness Campaign chairperson, the decision to run was all about the people.
Mike Walker is another newcomer with decades of leadership experience in law enforcement, the military and various organizations across Owensboro.
Walker retired from the Owensboro Police Department in 2015 after serving many years as the Master Sergeant in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division. Walker was also the president of Owensboro’s NAACP chapter and was the past president of the board of directors at the H.L. Neblett Community Center.
“I’ve got leadership experience. I do understand the roots of government, and how it operates,” he said. “I’m not blind to how things run.”
Much like Endicott-Smith, Walker said he wants to be a voice for the people of his community.
Walker said he has always expressed an interest in running for public office, and that the “timing was right” this election year.
Walter Lee, a former teacher and principal with decades of experience serving Owensboro Public Schools, has also filed to run for City Commission, but Owensboro Times was unable to reach the candidate before publication.
Incumbent and current Mayor Pro Tem Larry Maglinger filed to run for a City Commission seat last week, he said. Maglinger is serving his first term on City Commission right now and said, overall, he’s been very pleased with what he and his colleagues have been able to accomplish over the last year, especially in improving the City’s fiscal standing.
Bob Glenn has also filed to run for a spot on City Commission. Coming into the race with the most experience in public office, Glenn served three terms as a City Commissioner and was elected as Mayor Pro Tem from 2016-2018.
