At the Kuttawa City Council meeting on Monday night, Barbara Campbell was nominated and elected to fill the vacancy left by her late husband, Jimmy. He passed away on December 11 after an illness.
On Tuesday morning, Barbara told West Kentucky Star she never had political aspirations until she was asked if she would be willing to serve.
Campbell said, "I was always alongside my husband, he was in public office. I never had considered it until this opportunity came about, but like I said, I was beside him and knew what it involved."
Regarding her new position as Kuttawa's first woman mayor, Campbell said it's a bittersweet situation.
"First of all, that the position was even open and available is a sad thing for me and for the people here, too. He was really well-liked and known and it's been pretty sad," she said.
As for plans in her term, Barbara wants to begin by finishing what her husband started.
She said, "Some things that we wanted to do to continue on with Jimmy's legacy and fulfill the things that he had going on."
Campbell said the city is checking with the Secretary of State's office to determine if she will serve all of her late husband's s term, which would expire at the end of 2022, or if voters will choose a new mayor along with city council members in an already-scheduled November election.
