Fayette County has three local elections. Here are the Herald-Leader endorsements. | Opinion

Fayette County has three open races in an off-year election that’s usually just statewide.

Two of them, a Fayette County school board seat and the Fayette County Clerk, are due to resignations that resulted in appointments. Marilyn Clark and Susan Lamb must now run for the seats they were appointed to, and both are being challenged, by Janet Greene and Dawne Perkins, respectively.

The 93rd District of the House of Representatives is open because of the tragic death of Rep. Lamin Swann in May, less than a year after he was first elected.

House of Representatives, 93rd District

Public education is under attack in Kentucky right now, and it needs all the support it can get.

That’s one reason we endorse Adrielle Camuel for the 93rd District. She follows in the spirit of Swann, his compassion for our most vulnerable, advocacy for public education and a belief that women and their doctors should make decisions about healthcare, rather than politicians.

“A lot of people in my district are really, really concerned ... that their kids have access to good public education and have access to healthcare,” she said. “That’s extremely important to me, too.”

Camuel works for Fayette County Public Schools and is a longtime volunteer for the Fayette County Democratic Party, so she understands the political process, how complicated the education funding process is and how much legislators are able to effect it.

Camuel had an unfortunate dust-up with transgender activists that took too long to resolve. She has since apologized, and we urge her to keep her door open to all segments of her constituency.

Kyle Whalen seems like a decent, old-fashioned Republican of the kind we used to have more of. He eschews election denial, wants to improve workforce numbers and supports exceptions for rape and incest in Kentucky’s terrible abortion ban. We applaud those pragmatic views.

But as we said the last time around, the statehouse needs more diversity of views, not another vote in the legislature determination to prioritize tax cuts for the wealthy and public dollars for private, for-profit schools.

We think Camuel is the best choice for the voters of the 93rd House District.

Fayette County Clerk

Susan Lamb is a public servant’s kind of public servant. She worked as the clerk to the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council before becoming a council member herself. She served four terms before deciding not to run again.

When longtime clerk Don Blevins stepped down, Lamb was appointed to take his place and now must face the voters.

They should not face a difficult choice. Lamb is clearly the best candidate in the race based on her years of experience in city government and deep understanding of how it all works together. Lamb has big (and much needed) plans to bring the clerk’s office into the 21st century, putting more services on line and further digitizing the county’s clerk’s priceless land records.

We are also impressed with the painless approach she took to early voting. Commonwealth Stadium was not available as it has been in the past, so she simply called the Lexington Public Library and asked if they could help. Now, there are four places to vote early on Nov. 2, 3, and 4: the Lexington Senior Center and the Tate’s Creek, Northside and Eastside libraries.

Dawne Perkins is energetic and engaging. We foresee a successful future in politics if she chooses to pursue it. But right now, the county clerk’s office needs experience and knowledge that only Lamb can offer in this race.

Fayette County School Board, District 1

Marilyn Clark was appointed to an open school board seat and became the first Black woman to serve on the Fayette County Board of Education and the only person of color now serving. That kind of diversity is important for a majority-minority district, and she’s proven ready to jump into one of the most challenging public service positions out there.

She’s an easy choice for endorsement because of her deep understanding of our school system’s operations and for the things she’s championing, like preschool, mental health initiatives and different ways to make up for the learning loss endured during COVID.

Janet Greene said she was too busy to meet with us before the election. That’s terribly unfortunate, especially in a campaign focused on the future of our children and, in a broader sense, our community. But judging from her public statements, she does not seem to have the educational expertise to oust Clark.

“We have a lot to be excited about in our school system,” Clark said, citing college and career readiness and new programs to engage parents more directly in their children’s schooling.

Clark also addressed perceived dysfunction on the school board.

“Stability and leadership is important, and we will be working through that to become a better team,” she said.

Clark is the clear pick for the Fayette County Board of Education.