Kentucky

King, Cunningham top vote-getters in judges' races COURIER JOURNAL

Katie King, a relatively unknown 28-year-old assistant Jefferson County attorney with three years' experience, beat out several longtime prosecutors and lawyers for the chance to win a spot on the Jefferson District Court bench.

But while King easily outpaced nine other challengers for the position that opened when Judge Audra Jean Eckerle was elected to circuit court, she will have a formidable opponent in David L. Holton II in November.

Holton, a longtime prosecutor who recently became the state's first blind judge when he was appointed to temporarily fill Eckerle's seat, finished second to King.

The top two candidates in the judicial primaries move on to the general election in November.

There was less of a surprise in the primary race for a seat on Jefferson Circuit Court, which was vacated by Denise Clayton, who is now on the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

Charlie Cunningham, who was recently appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear to the fill Clayton's spot, cruised past two opponents. Former Judge William Douglas Kemper came in second.

Cunningham said his convincing win should bode well for him in his November run against Kemper, but "we'll take nothing for granted."

And he said his immediate plan is to concentrate on being a judge.

"I'm going to spend the summer focusing on doing the best job I can," he said.

Kemper outpaced former state Rep. Louie Guenthner to earn a shot in the November race.

When asked about the margin of Cunningham's primary victory, Kemper said he achieved his goal -- making it to the November election.

"We're both in the fall election and we start out at zero," Kemper said. "We're even again."

It's the district court race, however, that likely will be the hot topic in the courthouse today.

Even King said she was "surprised" by the results, but noted that it reflected "the time, effort and energy I put in this campaign."

She said she was going to three or four different events a night during her campaign, adding that in the coming months she will "hit the campaign trail" hard again.

King said she has spent about $90,000 so far, in hopes of gaining name recognition -- posting signs around town and buying ads.

"We did everything we could possibly do to get our name out there," said King, whose father is Metro Council President Jim King.

To win the second spot on the November ballot, Holton edged past Ann Bailey Smith, who has 25 years working in the courts as a prosecutor and public defender -- and had the coveted endorsement from Citizens for Better Judges.

Smith said she was encouraged by her showing last night and would most likely be running another campaign soon -- especially since several Jefferson County judges are expected to retire and take senior status this year.

"I may be in the race again very quickly," Smith said.

Holton could not be reached for comment.