STAFF REPORT

James J.H. Atkins has won his bid to become the mayor of Danville.

“I’m humbled by the victory,” Atkins said. “I’m committed to serving the entire community of Danville. I’m gonna work for all the people who voted for me, those who didn’t vote for me, and those that didn’t serve at all.”

Atkins, a longtime city commission member, is a strong advocate of non-partisanship and looks forward to working with the Danville Commission and other communities. He said he will continue to push for a strong relationship between Danville, Perryville and Junction City to benefit everyone in Boyle County.

Atkins is the first African-American to be elected as the mayor of Danville.

“It’s a historical event, but people in this community know I’m a highly qualified candidate who happens to be black.” Atkins said, “I’ve been in this town for 50 years. I won based of my personality and qualifications. I’m proud of the fact that I’m black, but I would never run just as a black candidate. I ran as the people’s mayor.”

Atkins said that he had his doubts on the campaign trail, but that his team and community support kept him grounded.

“It helps when you have good people backing you,” Atkins said. “I need to say thanks to the campaign, the community, and everyone who had the confidence to vote for me.

In other local races, County Clerk Trille Bottom unseated incumbent Howard Hunt for Boyle County Judge-Executive. Bottom had 5,314 votes to Hunt’s 5,042. Otherwise, it was a clean sweep for Republicans in the Fiscal Court, except for District 5 Magistrate, where Jamey Gay ran unopposed. In District 1 Magistrate race, Tom Ellis (1,081) defeated Democrat Terry Hogue (593), Paula Bodner (1,200) beat Tina Lynn (458) in District 2, Barry Harmon (785) defeated incumbent Phil Sammons (642) in District 3, Jason Cullen (1,106) held off Jerry Leber (770) in District 4, Gay finished with 902 votes in District 5, and Steve Sleeper (1,056) defeated incumbent John Caywood (932) in District 6.

Republican Taylor Bottom, with 6,405 votes, will be Boyle County’s next sheriff, defeating Democrat Charles Parks (3,861).

In the race for Boyle County Coroner, Republican Eric Guerrant finished with 6,614 votes to defeat Democratic challenger Malcom Miller (3,473).