By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Barren County Magistrate Jeff Botts announced he will not seek reelection for another term in 2026.
Botts represents the first district of the county on the Barren County Fiscal Court. He was first elected to the court in the 2018 with 1,016 votes over his opponent Scotty Mitchell’s 769 votes, according to election results at the time. Botts ran unopposed for reelection in the 2022 election.
The announcement came at the end of the Dec. 16 Barren County Fiscal Court meeting.
“I have made a personal decision not to rerun,” Botts said. “There’s no major reason other than just family. Got four grandkids, started out doing this with one, my dad has passed away in the last couple years, a lot of stress [and] I think my calling has been completed.”
“I’ll finish out this next year doing the best I can. I want to thank [everybody] for supporting me,” he added.
After his announcement, Barren County Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd thanked Botts for his service to the county, joking that he still has a year of work to do before his term expires.
“Thank you for your service,” Byrd said during the meeting. “Botts brings a lot to the table: owning a business you take a different perspective of county government…It’s been an honor. I have loved working with [Botts].”
When asked about some of his notable accomplishments, Botts mentioned providing pay raises to county employees, the renovation of the old U.S. Bank building, which is now the Barren County Development Center, the permanent coroner’s office on South Franklin Street, the upgrade of the county barn and the permanent storage space of the election equipment at the corner of South Franklin and East College streets.
Botts encouraged people to fill his soon-to-be-vacant fiscal court seat by filing the proper paperwork with the Barren County Clerk’s Office by Jan. 9, which is the deadline to file to run in the upcoming election, according to the election calendar. Currently, Mark Shipley is the only person to file for district 1 magistrate, the secretary of state website stated.
“You can go down [to the clerk’s office] and get on the ballot,” Botts said. “You have an opportunity to serve. I would encourage anyone that wants to.”
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