Here’s what candidates for Fayette County Clerk say about elections, changes to office

A Republican newcomer will face an incumbent Democrat with decades of experience in government in the race for Fayette County Clerk on Nov. 7.

Democrat Susan Lamb, who was appointed to the position in January after longtime clerk Don Blevins Jr. stepped down, said she wants to continue the work she has started in the office that oversees elections, motor vehicle registration, land titles and marriage licenses.

“I love serving the public,” Lamb said. “I don’t know if there is a busier government office.”

Lamb, who is a former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council member and spent more than 20 years in the council clerk’s office prior to being elected to council in 2014, said she has the long-time government experience necessary to run the office. Lamb served eight years on council before opting not to run in 2022.

Republican Dawne Perkins, a small businesswoman who became politically active during the coronavirus pandemic, said the office needs to be more user friendly, including expanding its hours.

“I want to see the office expand hours at least one day a week, Tuesdays, to at least 7:30 p.m. so working people can come to the office and get their work done and return to work,” Perkins said.

Perkins, who is the owner of The Team Spirit Shop, a sports apparel company, and Sign Dreamers of Kentucky, a local yard sign company, would also like to implement a lunch hour “easy pass” for people who have appointments to renew motor vehicle licenses and other business at the clerk’s office.

Perkins was vocal about allowing kids to return to playing sports during the pandemic. She also opposed mask mandates in schools.

Perkins said during her advocacy throughout the pandemic, she realized she had a calling for public service.

“It got me interested in politics,” Perkins said. “If I was feeling stressed myself because my business had to shut down, then what is everyone else feeling?

The clerk’s office touches nearly every Fayette County resident, Perkins said. She wants to make sure the office is open, transparent and efficient.

Perkins said it’s also time for a change.

“My opponent has been in government for over 30 years. I am a newcomer. Sometimes you need a fresh start. I’ve ran a business for 28 years. I feel like I am qualified to run that office,” she said.

Lamb said thanks to mail-in and other online services, long lines for motor vehicle registration or title renewal are infrequent and rare. Lamb said expanding hours or adding another location has been tried in the past and few people used the expanded hours. Moreover, doing so would cost more money, she said.

The county clerk’s office has 75 employees and has a budget of nearly $8 million.

Lamb said she has worked hard to make sure early voting is easy, efficient and safe since she took over the office nine months ago. There will be multiple early voting locations, including at various public libraries, prior to the Nov. 7 general election. Early voting is Nov. 2-4. The Lexington Senior Center will also serve as an early voting location, Lamb said.

Finding accessible locations for early voting had previously been a problem under Blevins.

Lamb said her long-time tenure in government means she knows whom to contact in the community when the office needs help — including finding places for early voting.

Lamb said she hopes to visit her former colleagues on council prior to Nov. 7 so they can encourage their constituents to try early voting. Lamb said she was impressed in May, during the primary election, with how seamless and fast the process is.

During her nine-month tenure in the office, Lamb said she has been impressed and re-assured that voting in Kentucky is safe and secure.

Lamb said she also wants to move forward with making more land record transactions available online. The office will start that process with some land transactions starting Oct. 2.

Other things on Lamb’s to-do list include more community outreach to educate the public about the voting process and what the office does. Revamping the website, to make it more user friendly and easy to navigate, is also high on her list.

Lamb, who married her wife, Diana, in 2004 in Maryland, said a same-sex couple delayed registering their marriage license until after Feb. 1, when she was sworn in, so she could sign it.

“I’m proud of that,” Lamb said. “There have been other people who have come to Fayette County for that very reason.”

Lamb pledged she would sign any marriage license no matter who was getting married.

Former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has been embroiled in lawsuits since she refused to sign same-sex couple marriage licenses in 2015. Most recently she was forced to pay a same-sex couple $100,000 in damages.

Perkins said she would also sign any and all marriage licenses.

“I am a law-abiding citizen. I will follow the law. So yes, I will sign all marriage licenses.”

Lamb has a substantial lead in fundraising.

According to Kentucky Registry of Election Finance records, Lamb has raised $18,825 and has $4,042 left heading into the Nov. 7 general election. Perkins has raised $2,4014. She has $817 left heading into Nov. 7 election, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

SUSAN LAMB

Age: 58.

Previous work experience/elected office: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council member from 2015 to 2022. Worked for 21 years in the council clerk’s office and served as council clerk from 2008 to 2013. Prior to the clerk’s office, spent nearly six years working in city government including in the office of economic development.

Family: Married to Diana, one son and three grandchildren.

Dawne Perkins

Age: 51.

Previous work experience/elected office: The Team Spirit Shop, general manager since 1995; Owner of Sign Dreamers of Kentucky since 2020.

Family: Single.

This story was originally published October 23, 2023 at 7:00 AM.

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription