Kessler holds off Lopez in Democratic sheriff’s race

By Steve Keenan
Staff Writer

May 16, 2008 09:36 am

— With Tuesday’s election, Chief Deputy Steve Kessler hoped to move up one spot and have a shot at replacing outgoing Sheriff Bill Laird in Fayette County.
Midway through reporting Tuesday night, Kessler found himself lodged in a tight race with Montgomery resident Pete Lopez. It stayed that way until the end, with Kessler earning a 159-vote margin.
In the 39-precinct totals, Kessler outpaced the three other candidates in the bid to be the Democratic nominee to seek to occupy the sheriff’s post in the place of Laird, who was ineligible to seek the office again and instead set his sights on a Senate nomination. Kessler amassed 3,125 votes, or 32.22 percent, to lead the field.
Kessler’s résumé boasts 27 years with the county sheriff’s department, including the past few years as Laird’s chief deputy.
Another man with a great deal of experience as a deputy, Lopez ran a close second most of the night. A 25-year FCSD officer, he tallied 2,966 votes, or 30.58 percent. Retired FCSD lieutenant Lawrence Boley, who currently works for the Fayetteville Police Department, was third with 1,948 votes, or 20.08 percent. In fourth for the Democrats was Paul Washington, of Oak Hill, with 1,661 votes, or 17.12 percent.
In the fall, Kessler will square off with Republican Randy Prince, a Danese resident. His party’s only entry, Prince tallied 953 votes.
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In another contested Democratic race, Ken Eskew, the current county commission president, handily defeated challenger Jonathan Walkup, who hails from Victor. Eskew, a Fayetteville resident, garnered 6,290 votes, or 68.39 percent, while Walkup had 2,907 votes, or 31.61 percent.
Eskew says the county has made great strides in recent years to position itself for a better future.
A combat veteran of the Korean War who was originally elected in 2002, Eskew will meet Republican candidate Jim Murdock in November. Murdock, the lone Republican and a Fayetteville resident, had 1,197 votes.
Circuit judges John Hatcher and Paul Blake, prosecuting attorney Carl Harris, assessor Eddie Young, family court judge Janet Frye Steele and surveyor Leon Spencer were unopposed, and no Republicans filed for those races in November.
— E-mail: skeenan@register-herald.com