Bowling Green City Commission Reluctantly Releases Names Of Applicants For Its Vacant Position -- AFTER The Fact. Go Figure!
City releases list of commission applicants
Candidates for seat, which was ultimately filled by WKU’s Melinda Hill, included educators, business owners
By ANDREW ROBINSON
The names and resumes of the 18 applicants for the vacant city commission seat recently filled by Melinda Hill were released Friday by Bowling Green city government.
The list is diverse and includes educators and attorneys as well as business owners among other professions. The applicants were, with their most recent professions as listed on resumes submitted to the city:
Melinda Hill, instructor at Western Kentucky University.
Robin Baldwin, owner of California Fashions by Robin.
John Deeb, attorney.
Mark Bradford, started Professional Moving Services.
Jerry Wells, private consultant.
R.E. Bond, vice president/general manager of Southeastern Displays Inc.
Rick Williams, business development officer at Monticello Banking Company.
Roberta Sue Parrigin, director of Carroll Knicely Conference Center.
Cathy J. Palmer, chairperson of network of supervisors and salaries personnel at General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant.
Allen B. Houchin, investigator for the Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming.
Stephen Grant McCullum, salesperson at Gary Force Honda.
William T. “Bill” Carter, former Warren County property valuation administrator.
Marcellus Rowe, owner of Total Image Audio Inc.
Sandra Butler McCallister, director of stewardship and development at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Andrew T. Wood, chief marketing officer at Vintage BG LLC.
Kevin Steen, owner of Steen Concrete Inc.
Eugenia R. Scott, assistant professor at Bowling Green Technical College.
Vivian M. Gentry, self-employed as accredited financial counselor/educator at Solutions Training.
Wells said he applied for the seat not knowing the method the commission would use for appointing Hill. He initially assumed that because then-Mayor Pro Tem Joe Denning was to be appointed mayor, then commissioners would use the same method for selecting the new commissioner - specifically that the fifth-place vote getter in last November’s commission election would get the nod.
Wells said he will not run in November’s special election and hopes that Hill and November’s fifth-place vote getter, Baldwin, are in the election.
Baldwin has filed for the election in November and previously told the Daily News that she had applied for the vacant seat. She also wrote a letter to the editor asking for the community’s support while the commissioners went through the appointment process.
McCullum said he filed because he wanted to make a difference and try to help the city.
McCullum agreed with Wells’ assumption that the commission would have selected Baldwin, since she was the fifth-place vote getter in last November’s election. McCullum also said he didn’t agree with the city choosing to keep the applicants secret until the Kentucky attorney general ruled this week that the names should have been made public.
“The citizens probably would have liked to know,” McCullum said. “People have to be kept in the loop.”
McCullum said he thought the city withholding the names aggravated a lot of voters.
“I think a lot of people would have liked to have known who the commission was considering,” he said.
Parrigin said she submitted her resume because she had a lot of encouragement from the community.
“I think they made a wonderful choice,” Parrigin said. “I thought it was a well-thought-out process and the decision was in the best interest of the community.”
Parrigin also said at this time she has no plans to run in November’s special election.
Rowe said he filed because he felt he could bring some business expertise to the commission. According to his resume, he is the owner of Total Image Audio in Bowling Green. Rowe said he is interested in perhaps running in November’s election but hasn’t decided. He said he would see what his work situation was closer to the election before deciding.
Williams also ran for a Warren County Fiscal Court seat in November’s election and said he has an interest in serving the public.
“For me, it’s more than an office, it’s public service,” Williams said.
Williams also said he was glad he wasn’t one of the commissioners having to make the decision on the appointment.
“It had to be tough,” he said.
The Daily News obtained the list after the attorney general ruled this week that the Bowling Green city government was wrong in keeping secret the names of the people who sought the vacant seat. The ruling came after the Daily News appealed the city’s denial of the first two open records requests filed by the newspaper during the appointment process.
In total, the Daily News filed four open records requests for the list of names. The fourth, which was filed Wednesday after the attorney general’s ruling, produced the list.
Candidates for seat, which was ultimately filled by WKU’s Melinda Hill, included educators, business owners
By ANDREW ROBINSON
The names and resumes of the 18 applicants for the vacant city commission seat recently filled by Melinda Hill were released Friday by Bowling Green city government.
The list is diverse and includes educators and attorneys as well as business owners among other professions. The applicants were, with their most recent professions as listed on resumes submitted to the city:
Melinda Hill, instructor at Western Kentucky University.
Robin Baldwin, owner of California Fashions by Robin.
John Deeb, attorney.
Mark Bradford, started Professional Moving Services.
Jerry Wells, private consultant.
R.E. Bond, vice president/general manager of Southeastern Displays Inc.
Rick Williams, business development officer at Monticello Banking Company.
Roberta Sue Parrigin, director of Carroll Knicely Conference Center.
Cathy J. Palmer, chairperson of network of supervisors and salaries personnel at General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant.
Allen B. Houchin, investigator for the Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming.
Stephen Grant McCullum, salesperson at Gary Force Honda.
William T. “Bill” Carter, former Warren County property valuation administrator.
Marcellus Rowe, owner of Total Image Audio Inc.
Sandra Butler McCallister, director of stewardship and development at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Andrew T. Wood, chief marketing officer at Vintage BG LLC.
Kevin Steen, owner of Steen Concrete Inc.
Eugenia R. Scott, assistant professor at Bowling Green Technical College.
Vivian M. Gentry, self-employed as accredited financial counselor/educator at Solutions Training.
Wells said he applied for the seat not knowing the method the commission would use for appointing Hill. He initially assumed that because then-Mayor Pro Tem Joe Denning was to be appointed mayor, then commissioners would use the same method for selecting the new commissioner - specifically that the fifth-place vote getter in last November’s commission election would get the nod.
Wells said he will not run in November’s special election and hopes that Hill and November’s fifth-place vote getter, Baldwin, are in the election.
Baldwin has filed for the election in November and previously told the Daily News that she had applied for the vacant seat. She also wrote a letter to the editor asking for the community’s support while the commissioners went through the appointment process.
McCullum said he filed because he wanted to make a difference and try to help the city.
McCullum agreed with Wells’ assumption that the commission would have selected Baldwin, since she was the fifth-place vote getter in last November’s election. McCullum also said he didn’t agree with the city choosing to keep the applicants secret until the Kentucky attorney general ruled this week that the names should have been made public.
“The citizens probably would have liked to know,” McCullum said. “People have to be kept in the loop.”
McCullum said he thought the city withholding the names aggravated a lot of voters.
“I think a lot of people would have liked to have known who the commission was considering,” he said.
Parrigin said she submitted her resume because she had a lot of encouragement from the community.
“I think they made a wonderful choice,” Parrigin said. “I thought it was a well-thought-out process and the decision was in the best interest of the community.”
Parrigin also said at this time she has no plans to run in November’s special election.
Rowe said he filed because he felt he could bring some business expertise to the commission. According to his resume, he is the owner of Total Image Audio in Bowling Green. Rowe said he is interested in perhaps running in November’s election but hasn’t decided. He said he would see what his work situation was closer to the election before deciding.
Williams also ran for a Warren County Fiscal Court seat in November’s election and said he has an interest in serving the public.
“For me, it’s more than an office, it’s public service,” Williams said.
Williams also said he was glad he wasn’t one of the commissioners having to make the decision on the appointment.
“It had to be tough,” he said.
The Daily News obtained the list after the attorney general ruled this week that the Bowling Green city government was wrong in keeping secret the names of the people who sought the vacant seat. The ruling came after the Daily News appealed the city’s denial of the first two open records requests filed by the newspaper during the appointment process.
In total, the Daily News filed four open records requests for the list of names. The fourth, which was filed Wednesday after the attorney general’s ruling, produced the list.
Labels: Keeping them honest, Kentucky politics
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 2:53 PM
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