Kight loses race for commission
By JEFFREY SAULTON, jsaulton@newsandsentinel.com
POSTED: May 15, 2008
GLENVILLE — In a county with several uncontested races, an incumbent lost in the Democratic primary for a seat on the Gilmer County Commission.
Reta Kight, county commission president, was defeated by former Glenville Mayor Brian Kennedy by a marign of 321 votes.
Kight, who has been a commissioner for 18 years, said her defeat came from a controversy over the county sharing its 911 service with Lewis County and the 911 center’s location in that county.
“He (Kennedy) got more votes than I did; that’s generally how it works in an election,” she said. “Typically, I have been at the center of a controversy over the E-911 service.”
In Tuesday’s primary election, Kennedy received 1,015 votes to 694 votes for Kight, according to unofficial tallies.
Telephone calls to Kennedy seeking comment for this story were not returned Wednesday evening.
“We have been sharing 911 with Lewis County and we are receiving excellent service,” Kight said. “But we have one citizen who brings it up every year, wanting us to have 911 in Gilmer County and to bring it back here.”
Kight said the county decided to cooperate with neighboring Lewis County rather than go alone.
“When we established E-911 in 1995, we felt it was cost-effective to go that way,” she said. “We didn’t have the budget to do it on our own.”
Kight said the county had to consider its budget and the best way to see its citizens are protected. She noted there are other counties where the 911 services and expenses are shared. In the region, Wood and Wirt counties and Ritchie and Doddridge counties have agreements in providing the emergency response service.
Kight, who also works as a technology integration specialist at Sand Fork and Troy schools, said she plans to serve out her term to the end of the year and “let someone else do it.”
Darren Feit of Troy was unopposed for the Republican nomination for county commission.
