Process for selecting Dem. nominee in 75th LD begins this week

Fayette County Democrats will have a candidate for the 75th state House district by Aug. 8 as the process to select a replacement for Rep. Kathy Stein (D-Lexington) will begin this week. Stein is expected to withdraw her name from the House race to seek a state Senate seat. With three candidates already expressing interest in Stein's seat, a nominee will be selected following a "preference vote" among precinct committee members at an Aug. 6 candidate forum.

According to party rules, an "executive committee" comprised of two Fayette County Democratic leaders is officially selected to set the process whereby a nominee for the vacancy is chosen. In this case, that committee is comprised of Fayette County Democratic Party Chairman David O'Neill and 75th Legislative District chairwoman Jennifer Miller.

O'Neill told PoltickerKY.com the committee has chosen to honor the result of the Aug. 6 forum vote, in which the precinct committee members from precincts within the 75th can participate.

The first step in the nomination process for those interested in running, however, is to contact O'Neill. Prospective candidates will then be asked to fill out a questionnaire and submit three letters of recommendation to the committee, along with a written statement describing their message.

Those who complete those steps by July 31 will then participate in the August 6 forum, where they can address the precinct committee members, introduced by speaker of their choice.

The subsequent vote results will then be used by the executive committee to officially select a nominee.

O'Neill said he was aware of three candidates from Lexington who were interested in pursuing the nomination: attorney Foster Ockerman, minister Kelly Flood, and former 88th Legislative district candidate Lamin Swann.

"All three have been heavily involved in their communities," said O'Neill.

The 75th District seat is now open after a shuffling of candidates between different races in Fayette County. After holding the 75th since 1996, Stein is expected to withdraw from her re-election race by the end of this week in order to seek the 13th state Senate district seat. That seat is open after current state Sen. Ernesto Scorsone (D-Lexington) announced he would withdraw to seek a Fayette County circuit judicial post.

Stein was selected to run for the 13th Senate District seat by a different executive committee last week. That committee was comprised of O'Neill and all the legislative district chairs from districts within the 13th.