Incumbents Larry Maglinger and Jeff Sanford both retained their seats and former commissioner Bob Glenn was elected again, while political newcomer Mark Castlen took the final spot in the race for Owensboro City Commission.
With a small number of ballots still outstanding their exact positioning in the final tally could change, but election officials said the remaining potential ballots will not affect which four of the 16 candidates were elected to City Commission.
As of Tuesday night Maglinger was in position to become mayor pro tem with 8,120 votes (10.65%). Castlen received 8,024 (10.53%), Glenn pulled in 8,017 (10.52%), and Sanford drew 7,001 (9.18%).
“This was really a very good group of candidates — you can see by how close it was,” Maglinger said. “We had a lot of good people running. I have to thank everyone who supported me and voted for me. I hope to keep Owensboro moving forward.”
Maglinger said he had no idea how Election Night would unfold, but he thought his experience played a big role in retaining his seat.
“I really didn’t know,” he said. “I think the experience really helps. It takes you a year to get acclimated with how everything works with the budgets and things you have to do. Second term I think you can work on getting more accomplished. You learn a lot in the first term. I ran a second term to do more stuff and to be more prepared.”
Looking ahead, Maglinger said he wants to keep the city financially strong and safe.
“Look for opportunities for new businesses, existing businesses,” he said. “We’ve really got to concentrate on moving forward with COVID-19. That’s got to be a priority to keep things moving forward.”
Castlen said he was humbled and excited to take office.
“There’s a lot of work that I’m wanting to try to get done here in the City,” he said. “I want to try to energize some groups, get some neighborhoods interested in becoming communities again instead of being strangers to your neighbors. Of course I’m also wanting to address flooding. I just feel like I’ve been given a position to make a difference with the people and I hope that they appreciate the effort I put in and I’m excited about it.”
Castlen said as a newcomer, he’s glad to have veterans back in office to steer the ship.
“They all know the ropes,” he said. “I know all three of them and they’re great guys and I think they’ll be easy to work with. Listening to the them for the past several months, I just feel like I’m in with a good group of people and I’m just really excited about learning from them and also encouraging some ideas that I have.”
Those ideas include meeting more in the neighborhoods and making sure the people feel they are heard. He mentioned addressing issues, especially in the Kendell Perkins area and the northwest section of town, as well as encouraging more diversity in City gatherings.
“I love Owensboro,” Castlen said. “We have a great city, but I think we need to bond together and get together at events, and not just party type events, and come up with some other ideas. I’ve got quite a few that are in my mind.”
Glenn said he had a tough hill to climb by being last on a ballot with 16 candidates, but he thought his experience played a big role in being elected again. He previously served as City Commissioner from 2012-18, and was may pro tem in the final of those terms.
“I think we were blessed that people remember the time I was commissioner before, that I was conscientious and I was serving for the right reasons,” Glenn said. “So I am excited and elated to serve the city again and I’m excited to do it with the people who are on the board.
With plenty of experience under his own belt to go along with Maglinger and Sanford, Glenn thinks they’ll be able to work quickly.
“I should be able to hit the ground running,” he said. “I understand the finances of the city, I understand the major challenges, I have a sense of what the boundaries are — what we can do, what we can’t do in regards to state and federal laws and mandates.”
Budgetary issues are one of the top priorities for Glenn, specifically regarding the state and federal money that has been awarded to Owensboro — and what may come down the road.
“Obviously we need to get with our federal partners, in this case Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressman Brett Guthrie, and we need to find out if they’re willing to work to pass a second stimulus package because that will impact the city’s financial future,” Glenn said.
He also mentioned gun violence and the COVID-19 pandemic as top issues to address.
“I really do think I would encourage all of the Commissioners to encourage Mayor Tom Watson to really use the strength of his bully pulpit to get our citizens on board with wearing masks and taking the right safety precautions,” Glenn said. “It’s clear some of us are not doing what we should do. It’s killing people, it’s putting people in the hospital. If you can’t work because you’re sick or you lose a loved one … that’s a tragedy we can probably avoid.”
Sanford, who also served on the City Commission from 2010-14, was grateful to serve another term. He credited his experience as part of the reason he was able to beat out a crowded field.
“I think you see a lot of name recognition,” he said. “With 16 candidates, then you see Sanford, Maglinger .. Castlen and Glenn, so I think name recognition had a lot to do with it. And experience. I have a lot of experience.”
That’s part of the reason Sanford wants to bring back the primary election.
“When you have that many candidates, I think name recognition is pretty heavy,” he said. “It’s harder to vote on what the candidates stand for. I think the people know what I stand for.”
Top concerns for Sanford include northwest Owensboro and the revitalization of downtown — including affordable living situations.
While there could have been a completely new cast elected, Sanford said it was good that both incumbents retained their seats.
“I think the continuity of Larry and I coming back is huge because we know what is going on,” Sanford said. “We’ve got two fresh faces — one is real fresh, one has kind of been in the mix before. It takes a couple of years to learn how all of this works. You hit stride by the time you hit your second term. It takes a minute. It’s like any new job that you might do. There is a lot of stuff to city government.”
