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Election 2012

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May 8, 2012

CORONERS' RACES: Incumbent Knable wins Floyd primary

Conway and Hall prepare to take over Coots’ coroner position in Clark

By TARA SCHMELZ tara.schmelz@newsandtribune.com

NEW ALBANY — The Floyd County incumbent coroner won a chance for re-election in November and Terry Conway will face off with John Hall to be Clark County’s first coroner outside of the Coots family since the 1920s.

Floyd County’s Leslie Knable beat out her Democratic Party opponent, Todd Caufield, with 2,226 votes, or 62.8 percent. Caufield received 1,319 votes. Knable will now face off with Republican Thomas Sonne in November.

Clark County’s Conway won the republican primary with 3,025 votes, or 54.8 percent, beating out challenger Mark Goodlett, who received 2,492 votes.



FLOYD COUNTY

Knable worked the polls along with five other people on Election Day. She said every election is an uncertainty.

“I knew I was the most qualified candidate ... I felt that very strongly. I feel like I’m the best candidate going into the fall [election],” she said. “I have a lot of work still ahead of me. I don’t take winning for granted at all. I’m honored to represent the county. I think it will be a tough election. They all are.”

Knable said the vote helps to tell her what the community thinks of what she has done thus far in her four-year term.

“I’m glad the community is pleased with the job I’m doing. That means a lot to me. I put my heart into it,” Knable said. “It’s a good feeling to know that people are still behind me.”

Knable said for the next few months she will be focusing on her job as coroner. After that, she will start working on campaigning for the November election.

Sonne, who will be competing with Knable in the November election, was unopposed in the Republican primary.



CLARK COUNTY RACE

Someone from the Coots’ family has been coroner for Clark County since 1888, with the exception of two years in the late 1920s. However, outgoing coroner Edwin “Huck” Coots IV cannot run again for a third-consecutive term, and his son, 21-year-old Edwin “Tucker” Coots V, is in college and isn’t ready for the position. That left two Republicans and one Democrat fighting for the open seat.

“I’m pleased I’ll have the opportunity to provide the citizens of Clark County with the services they deserve,” Conway said of his win.

Clark County’s results took much longer than neighboring Floyd County to come in. Conway said he found out he won just before 9 p.m.

“It was nerve-wracking,” he said of the wait. “I was pleased [with the results].”

However, he doesn’t plan on resting now.

“I have a meeting in the morning with people who have been helping me on my campaign and to get things moving from here,” Conway said. “Tomorrow’s an all new game.”

Conway will face off with democrat John Hall, who was unopposed in the primary, in November. In the meantime, Conway plans on going to every event that he can to meet people, make personal phone calls and use social networking to campaign and get his name out there. He said he is going to do that, because of the lesson he learned from this election.

“Every vote counts,” he said.

General Election Day is Nov. 6.

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Election 2012