Will he or won't he?
Magistrate Hutchins hints he'll run, but for which office?

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Tim Hutchins

In the crowd of 200-plus people at the US31E meeting in the Bardstown High School cafeteria earlier this month were the "usual suspects" who come to such events: elected officials, local dignitaries, politicians and lastly, political hopefuls.

I know I didn't see them all, but of those I spotted in attendance were judge-executive candidate Kenny Fogle (as well as incumbent Dean Watts); fourth-district candidate David Shields, and jailer candidate Jon Ryan.

Fourth-district Magistrate Tim Hutchins was there, and the questions on everyone's mind were: a) when is he going to file his candidacy paperwork?, and b) which office is he going after?

I suspect Tim's response to me when I asked him those questions was the same as he's given everyone else: "I have plenty of time left before the deadline," he told me. "I haven't decided which office I might run for."

I pressed him a little harder for some more hints, but he gave me none -- though he did ask me if I was going to write something "good" about him politically.

I spent some time talking with one of his associates who offered no additional insight as to his political leanings. "He'll make the right decision when it comes time to make it," I was told.

Apparently Hutchins is mulling other possibilities outside his current office as fourth-district magistrate.

The race for fourth-district magistrate is already a three-way race, with some strong candidates who have a good base of support in the district.

Austin Weller is well-known in the county as a former deputy sheriff and jailer. He's probably more aware of how county government works than most magisterial hopefuls.

Bill Osborne is no stranger to political office, having served two terms on the Nelson County Board of Education. Of all the fourth-district candidates interviewed so far by The Kentucky Standard, Osborne's ideas seem to be freshest. He seems to have learned from his service on the school board the importance of making decisions for the present while planning for the future.

David Shields, the former proprietor of Old Delaney's Store who ran against Hutchins in 2002, is also a candidate for fourth district magistrate.

Shields waged a tough -- and expensive -- campaign for Hutchins' seat. To the best of my recollection, Shields and Hutchins both spent more than $10,000 in their campaigns. No matter the financial cost, both men campaigned hard.

While probably not connected directly to Shields' 2002 campaign, at least one of his supporters also supported a drive to make an alleged "sewer tax" a campaign issue in the judge-executive's race. Yard signs declaring "Welcome to the Nelson County Sewer Tax District" were placed along major highways leading into the county, and advertising time was purchased on PLG-TV 13.

The nonexistent "sewer tax" failed to become an issue in the campaign.

We'll know soon enough into which ring -- if any -- candidate Hutchins throws his hat. One thing appears certain -- any campaign he chooses will probably be haunted by his false alarm debacle from last year. While turning in a false alarm is a misdemeanor in the legal sense, it may well be a capital offense for his political career.

Any campaign Hutchins enters will be a tough row to hoe, carrying that political baggage.

He has his record as a successful businessman, and 12 years of service doing a reliable job representing his District Four constituents in Nelson Fiscal Court -- all facts his opponents can't deny. But after months of press coverage about the false alarm -- including his recent letter-to-the-editor that blamed everyone but himself for an act that's done his reputation more harm than good -- aren't necessarily things that build voters' confidence.

His accusations of various and sundry conspiracies and the tales of the wrongs he suffered may all be based on facts. I'm sure that from his viewpoint, he's simply telling his side of the story. But to the electorate, Hutchin's letter may have said more than he intended (click here to read it).

The only thing that changes more quickly than Kentucky's climate is its political climate. Ibelieve it is too early to write-off Hutchins as a viable contender -- IF he can put the false alarm issue behind him, create a solid campaign message and stay on that message. If he can avoid getting caught up in the trap of spending all his time defending himself, he might deflect the political grenades he'll have to dodge in his next political campaign.

With all this said, Tim may just decide not to run for re-election, opting instead to focus on his business -- and run for a seat on the Bardstown City Council in the fall.