Lexington councilwoman in line to be one of state’s top election officials

A member of Lexington’s Urban County Council has been named the assistant to the executive director of the Kentucky State Board of Elections.

Councilwoman Jennifer Scutchfield, who represents the city’s 7th District, was offered the job Tuesday during a meeting of the State Board of Elections. Jared Smelser-Dearing, of Louisville, was also offered a role as Executive Director. Both votes were unanimous.

“Jared and Jennifer both bring years of valuable experience in government to the State Board of Elections,” said Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, who chairs the State Board of Elections. “Jared’s background in technology will be a great asset to the Board as Kentucky moves to bring electronic poll books to the Commonwealth in the coming year. And Jennifer's impressive career in the law will be a tremendous strength as the Board implements the many federal and state laws relating to the administration of elections.”

Scutchfield said if she accepts the position with the State Board of Elections, she would step down from her position with the city council, leaving an open council seat.

Should she resign, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray would have 30 days to fill her seat. The seat is non-partisan, but Scutchfield is a registered Republican.

The positions, which are the top staffer roles in the State Board of Elections, were recently made available after the Board of Elections fired former Executive Director Maryellen Allen and former assistant to the director Matthew Selph in October.

Before he was fired, Selph had filed ethics complaints against Grimes to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, alleging that she improperly gathered voter information during her campaigns and that she improperly granted members of her staff access to the state’s voter registration database.

Per policy, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission does not confirm or deny any ongoing investigations.

Neither Selph nor Allen were told why they were fired, but Grimes denied most of Selph’s claims, calling them “politically motivated and spurrious.”

Scutchfield and Smelser-Dearing, a Democrat, would begin their new jobs on Dec. 1.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Lexington councilwoman in line to be one of state’s top election officials."