Jefferson County voters appear to have elected incumbent Chris Kolb and political newcomer Sarah Cole McIntosh to represent them on the Jefferson County Board of Education. Preliminary results posted on the Jefferson County Clerk’s website showed Kolb and McIntosh leading their opponents by several thousand votes as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.
A spokesperson with the clerk’s office said there were about 10,000 votes that remain to be counted throughout the county.
Kolb will continue to represent voters in district 2. McIntosh will take the district 7 seat vacated by Chris Brady, who decided not to run for a third term.
In district 4 in southwest Jefferson County, incumbent Joe Marshall ran unopposed.
Meanwhile, votes cast on the JCPS tax-levy question will be retained, but not counted. The petition that made the tax subject to referendum has been struck down by a Jefferson County circuit court judge. That means the 7-cent property tax increase will go forward, with or without voter approval. The judge’s decision is subject to appeal, so it’s possible that votes could eventually be tabulated.
District 2
In district 2, which encompasses the Highlands and St. Matthews neighborhoods, Kolb kept his seat against challenger Hurt, with 30,082 votes to Hurt’s 15,607. The Spalding University professor and JCPS parent has said he plans to focus his second term on continuing to find more funding for the district. He was the main driver behind the property tax increase that appeared on the ballot. Hurt opposed the increase.
District 7
In district 7, in southeastern Jefferson County, former JCPS teacher Sarah Cole McIntosh has defeated far-right candidate Tammy Stewart, scooping up 29,484 votes to Stewart’s 17,091. McIntosh taught middle and high school social studies in JCPS for 16 years. She is now a stay-at-home mother to two, serves on her children’s school-based decision making council, and is active in the PTA. McIntosh has said her priority will be addressing pressures on families from outside the classroom, including poverty and trauma.
Stewart, who was a bus driver for JCPS for four years, opposed the tax-increase, which appeared on the ballot. The Courier Journal has reported Stewart has made anti-immigrant comments on Facebook. She has also spread misinformation calling the coronavirus a “government experiment.”
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