CANDIDATES SPEAK: Judge/Executive is most watched race

Your opportunity to have input into how Lawrence County operates is coming in less than three weeks on May 19, 2026.

The Lazer is bringing you a glimpse at the choices in their own words. First we will post candidates for the county’s highest office Judge/Executive in their own words. Here’s the question and answers for three of the candidates, Eddie Preston, William Spradlin, and Rick Blackburn, all challenging current judge Phil Carter, the three term incumbent.

Hey CANDIDATE,

Can you supply me with a short bio for The Lazer. I am asking all candidates the same questions for this survey:

1. Name, age, occupation, family and background, education

2. Qualifications for office

3. Reason for running.

Also please send a head and shoulders photo.

Thank you for participating,

Mark

*****

Number 1 on ballot

Mr. Grayson,

You may recognize me from when an emergency strikes, but it is time you familiarize yourself with me for another role in our community. My name is Eddie Preston, and I am running for County Judge Executive of Lawrence County. Lawrence County has always been my home. It is where I grew up, where I raised my family, and where I have dedicated my life to public service. I look forward to the opportunity to continue that role as County Judge Executive.

I have been married to my wife, Sandy Rose Preston, since 1992. Together, we have two children – Shelby (David) Balaklaw and Nadalee (Nathaniel) Ferguson. I also have two grandchildren who are the light of my life, Beckham and Edie Rose.

I joined the Louisa Volunteer Fire Department on February 1,1983, at the young age of 17. I have been a volunteer firefighter for 43 years. As well as an emergency medical technician, certified Kentucky Fire Instructor, basic life support trainer, and currently hold over 4,000 hours of training as a first responder in several categories.

Since 1997, I have had the privilege of serving our community as Fire Chief of Louisa. Through those years, I have learned what true leadership means: listening to the people, serving with integrity, and working tirelessly to make our community a safer and stronger place to live and raise a family.

I began my career at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in 2002. USP Big Sandy is a high-security federal penitentiary in Martin County, KY. I retired in 2023 as the Environmental and Safety Compliance Administrator, where I was responsible for Occupational Safety and Health for over 350+ employees and over 1,000 inmates. As the Environmental & Safety Compliance Administrator at USP Big Sandy, I was responsible for overseeing regulatory compliance, workplace safety, and risk management within one of the most secure and complex federal facilities in the region. This role required strict adherence to federal and state regulations, coordination with multiple oversight agencies, and the ability to manage large-scale operations while prioritizing public safety. Developing and updating institutional safety and environmental policies, maintaining detailed compliance records, reports, Federal and State audits and external inspections was a major part of my job.

My work involved various things such as the following:

● Federal Government Purchasing Approval Official

● Federal Equal Employment Opportunity

● Federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment

● Federal Civil Treatment of Employees

● Federal Workplace Violence

● Federal Green Procurement

● Federal Clean Air Act

● Federal & State Environmental Management

● US Department of Labor Workers Compensation Specialist

● Veteran Employment Opportunities

● National Fire Codes

● Life Safety Codes

● OSHA

This experience has prepared me to serve as County Judge/Executive by bringing:

• Strong leadership skills

• Strong administrative oversight

• Sound fiscal and regulatory decision-making

• Commitment to public safety

• Experience managing compliance, infrastructure, and risk

• Proven leadership in high-responsibility environments

I fully understand the importance of being efficient, how to balance budgets, and accountability for all—qualities essential to leading county government, managing public resources, and serving the people with integrity and transparency.

But, beyond the titles and responsibilities, what matters most is my family. They are my foundation, my rock, the reason behind the long days, and the motivation to keep pushing forward. Whether it’s around the dinner table or out in the community, I believe that strong families are the backbone of a strong county.

Being a fire chief and Environmental & Safety Compliance Administrator has taught me one simple thing, when people are counting on you, you show up and you do the job right. I’ve spent years making tough calls, taking care of the people of Lawrence County, stretching dollars, and working side by side with first responders, and federal and state agencies to take care of our community. I understand emergencies, infrastructure, balancing budgets, and accountability because I have lived it.

I have worked to build relationships and create environments where people feel valued and heard. I fully understand that progress doesn’t come from one person alone, it comes from collaboration, working with others, trust, and a shared vision.

As your County Judge Executive, there will be total transparency in how tax dollars are spent, with all payouts being posted monthly to include information like who and what services, as well as the amount.

There will be a computer software system where all county roads will be entered in and placed on a maintenance schedule, so all roads will be maintained equally. This will show the dollar amount used on a specific roads and will also be visible to everyone.

This is my commitment to keeping the community informed every step of the way. I firmly believe that everyone deserves to know where your tax dollars are going. In the role of County Judge Executive, I plan to look out for our people, protect our resources, and make sure Lawrence County is a safe and strong place to call home.

Proven Leadership. Deep Roots. Lawrence County Strong.

Eddie L. Preston

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Rick Blackburn

Rick Blackburn – Candidate for Lawrence County Judge Executive

I made the decision to run for Lawrence County Judge Executive because I truly care about this community and the people who call it home. Having lived here most of my life, I’ve seen both the strengths of our county and the areas where we can do better.

I’m a farm boy from Yellow Creek. I was raised around hard work, neighbors helping neighbors, and people who believed in me before I ever believed in myself. I didn’t get into politics to become a politician. I first ran for magistrate because my neighbors needed someone at the table to represent our area—and that’s what I’ve always tried to do.

I’m married to Melissa Blackburn, the high school agriculture teacher, and together we’ve raised our five kids right here in Lawrence County on our farm. We’ve always emphasized hard work, integrity, and responsibility. Our children have followed their own paths—working on the railroad, serving as a maintenance manager at the Paramount, attending chiropractic school, working as a veterinary clinic receptionist, and graduating with an industrial maintenance technician degree. We also have three grandkid’s that we spend every free moment we can with.  Like many families here, we’ve worked hard to build a life and future in this county.

When people ask about my qualifications, I point to the work that’s been done.

I’ve served 11 years as Transportation Director. When I first took that position, I was told certain improvements couldn’t be done—but by working together as a team, we proved otherwise. We reduced bus routes from 36 to 33, saving close to $600,000 in buses alone, not counting savings in fuel, maintenance, and payroll. We also replaced aging buses by securing over $400,000 in grant funding. Altogether, our team saved the transportation department well over a million dollars. That’s real money, and it came from planning ahead, working together, and being responsible with taxpayer dollars.

I’ve also been proud to serve on the fair board. Those kids work hard all year, and the fair is their moment to shine. It teaches responsibility, dedication, and pride in what they do. As a board, we worked together to build a horse show arena and livestock barn using grant funding we secured. It may not be perfect, but those kids deserved a place of their own—and we made it happen.

I’ve worked alongside our state representatives as well. When Jill York was in office, we brought her to a town hall meeting at the Clifford Country Store and showed her firsthand the issues our county was facing. That’s how you get things done—by building relationships and working together to find solutions.

I’ve also worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, helping identify areas affected by water erosion. Through that partnership, we were able to secure assistance to fix Blaine Creek Road, saving taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars.

I believe Lawrence County deserves leadership that is transparent, listens to its people, and takes action. Too often, folks feel like their voices aren’t heard or they don’t fully understand what’s happening in local government. I want to change that by making county government more open, accessible, and accountable.

One of the biggest issues I hear about is roads and infrastructure. We need a clear, consistent plan to maintain and improve them. I also believe we can be smarter about how we invest in equipment—whether that means leasing or applying for grants—to make sure we’re using taxpayer dollars wisely.

I want to make it easier for people to be involved. That means offering more opportunities for community input, including evening meetings so working families have a chance to attend and stay informed.

At the end of the day, I’m running because this is my home. I care about the future of Lawrence County, and I want to do my part to make a positive difference for our families, our workers, and the next generation.  In closing, I believe Lawrence County’s future depends on smart, strategic planning, strong teamwork, and leadership that’s willing to listen and take action. I’ve seen what can be accomplished when people come together with a common goal—we’ve done it in transportation, at the fairgrounds, and in working with state and federal partners to bring resources back to our community. I also believe that faith in God plays an important role in guiding our decisions, keeping us grounded, and reminding us to serve others with honesty, humility, and purpose. We don’t have to accept “that’s the way it’s always been done.” By planning ahead, working together, and using our resources wisely, we can continue to make real progress .I truly believe that, with faith, hard work, and unity, we can move Lawrence County forward—building a stronger, more transparent, and more prosperous future for our families and the next generation. If you have questions about my plans or anything you want to discuss please don’t hesitate to reach out (606)371-6446

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JUDGE/EXECUTIVE PHILLIP CARTER

My name is Phillip L Carter age 74. I am a lifelong resident of Lawrence County. I am married to my loving wife Lucrece, I have two children and 3 grand children. I graduated from Louisa High School and attended Ashland Vocational School.

I started work for the Lawrence County Fiscal Court when I was just 18 years old, working four years in the road department before starting work for AEP. I worked for AEP at The Big Sandy Plant for 37 years before retiring. I have had the pleasure of serving the citizens of Lawrence County as Judge Executive for 3 terms. I have over 50 years experience in road construction, maintenance, management, infrastructure and helping people of Lawrence County.

In the last eight years I have led Lawrence County through 7 federally declared disasters and Covid. My office has helped to give out and worked with other agencies to help give out over 1000 tons of food to citizens of Lawrence County.

During my leadership Lawrence County was:

Named SOAR County of the Year in 2023.

Lawrence County was the only county in Eastern Kentucky to see an increase in the last census.

Lawrence County has received more funding to pave roads in the last year 8 years than ever before ( announcement coming within the next few days)

As to date we have put over 54,000 tons of gravel and 44,000 tons of asphalt on county roads as well as 8,447 feet of pipe.

During my administration we have built a youth soccer complex, pickle ball courts, new fairgrounds (which was obtained by land that was donated) and

Updated Stella Moore ball fields to help create a safe space and environment for the youth of Lawrence County.

We have updated Lawrence County Wilderness Park and the Cove which has the largest inflatable water park in Kentucky to help serve the families of Lawrence County.

We have worked closely with tourism to make Lawrence County and Louisa a desirable place to visit.

We have purchased property along US23 to serve as an industrial park.

I have helped to get drinking water infrastructure to over 60 people in Lawrence County and working on more line extensions.

I have worked with the City of Louisa to help pave streets, clean and cut right of ways.

I have a great relationship with our State Representative, State Senator and all the State Agencies in Frankfort. We have received more grants and funding than other administrations.

With all the accomplishments my administration and I have accomplished over the last eight years I still have numerous projects that I want to see completed, including an indoor REC Center for the youth of Lawrence County, work with the Library to build a Branch Library in Blaine, work with the Health Department to purchase a mobile health unit to serve all areas of the county, update Blaine, Fallsburg, and Chapman parks to include pickleball and playground equipment. I have and will continue to work seven days a week for the citizens of Lawrence County. To me there is not a better county in the state or better people anywhere than Lawrence County.

I love this county and its people and I am respectfully asking for your vote as Lawrence County Judge Executive.

William Spradlin

Republican, Lawrence Co. Judge/Executive

People, as election day is up on us in a couple weeks. I would be humbled, to have your vote we need a change in Lawrence County.

My main focus will be getting our roads fixed cleaning out these ditch lines to keep our roads from breaking off, trying to get more businesses coming in our area and rezoning in the county.

That will give developers better opportunity to build things in our county, but we all have to work together. It’s about all of us, 1 want to have a open door policy for everyone to come in and express their concern. I’m number four on the ballot. I appreciate your vote. God bless and take care.

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Sheriff candidates next…