Democrat Lamb easily wins Fayette County clerk race
Democrat Susan Lamb easily bested Republican Dawne Perkins in the race for Fayette County Clerk, according to unofficial results.
Lamb, a former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman, was appointed to the position by Democrat Judge Executive Mary Diane Hanna in January after longtime county clerk Don Blevins Jr. unexpectedly stepped down from the position after being elected in November 2022.
Lamb received 67% of the vote. Perkins received 33%, according to Kentucky Secretary of State results.
Perkins, a first time-candidate and small-business owner, was selected by the Fayette County Republican Party to challenge Lamb for the seat in the special election. Perkins wanted to expand the hours of the office.
Lamb said expanded hours were tried and nixed in the past because so few residents used the expanded hours.
The clerk’s office oversees elections, motor vehicle transfers and registration, marriage licenses and land records. It has a staff of 75 and a budget of nearly $8 million.
“I am humbled by the overwhelming support,” Lamb said late Tuesday. Lamb said after Tuesday’s election she is very much impressed by the professionalism of the staff in the clerk’s office and how that staff conducts elections.
Lamb said she and the staff will also be looking at early voting to determine if there can be ways to improve the process. This year, additional locations were added for early voting.
“We are going to take the opportunity to see the areas that we need to improve upon,” Lamb said.
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During her nine months in office prior to Tuesday’s election, Lamb focused on expanding the office’s online services, including land record transactions. She has also worked to expand early voting locations to areas throughout the county and has encouraged early voting.
Lamb previously said if she was elected she wants to further voter education efforts, particularly around election security, as well as outreach to civic on other groups to explain the various roles and duties of the county clerk’s office.
Tops on Lamb’s to-do list is also an overhaul of the clerk’s website to make it more user friendly, she has previously said.
This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 8:24 PM.
