Ward 6 Democratic candidate Paula Knight and Republican incumbent Travis Martin shared their views on some of the issues facing the city during the Hopkinsville League of Women Voters Forum last week.
Martin, a realtor and small business owner, was appointed to the Ward 6 seat earlier this year after councilman Wendell Lynch was selected by the city council to fill the mayor’s seat after Carter Hendricks resigned to take another position. Knight, a local business owner, previously served for eight years in the Ward 6 seat on the city council
When asked if they could name two challenges facing the city and what resolutions they would offer for the citizens, Knight said COVID-19 is a big issue but the biggest issues are crime and the city’s budget.
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Martin said one of the biggest challenges he sees coming out of the COVID situation is small businesses are struggling and everyone needs to shop locally to help them recover. He also said the city has a revenue issue with the pensions but he thinks city government has more of a spending issue that needs to be watched more closely.
When asked how the council as a whole can help to ease the strains on the hospital, schools, and the college created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin said they need to continue to show support.
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Knight said she feels they could ask the entities how they could help and show support, but right now the city can’t afford to help them financially when the city has agencies struggling that need to be funded first. Martin said is married with two sons and he and his wife own a small business in Hopkinsville. He serves on several boards, is an active Rotarian and recently completed the Leadership Hopkinsville class. Martin said Hopkinsville is one of the youngest cities in Kentucky and he believes its time for young professionals like himself to step up and lead the city in the right direction. He said the city needs new ideas and not ideas that are no longer effective.
Knight said she is family-oriented, a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She said she has lived in the community for over 60 years and she has lived in the same house in Ward 6 for 56 years. Knight added she knows a lot of the people in her neighborhood and a lot of their problems. In addition, she has been a leader of Girl Scouts and Cub Scout and is a Leadership Hopkinsville graduate. Knight said now that her husband has passed away she is ready to serve again.
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