By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Olive Hill Chamber of Commerce sponsored a debate between candidates for mayor of Olive Hill last Thursday, October 15. The debate took place in the old Olive Hill High School gym, on the campus of the Olive Hill Center for Arts and Heritage. Questions were submitted prior to the debate by local citizens and students from West Carter Middle School, with candidates having no advance knowledge of the questions. Each candidate was given approximately three minutes to answer each question. Following each candidate’s answer, the opposing candidate was given time for a brief rebuttal.
The candidates for the mayoral race are current Olive Hill Mayor Jerry Callihan and challenger Eric Rayburn, who currently holds a position on the Olive Hill City Council. The debate began with each candidate introducing themselves to the local residents who filled the gymnasium of the old high school, beginning with Mayor Jerry Callihan.
“I am basically running to finish what we started,” Callihan told the crowd. “Everyone says that we haven’t done anything, but the town was clean before tourism.”
“I thank God for tourism since it started.” Callihan continued, acknowledging tourism’s impact on helping to beautify the city through various projects, including flowers and Christmas lights.
“But we have worked hard to make changes,” Callihan stressed of the city’s efforts. “People don’t know what has gone on behind the scenes. We have a new water plant, and we have a new intake being built now with two new pumps.”
He also listed several other projects that had begun earlier and would continue into 2028 and said when the current planned improvements were made that the city’s issue with water loss would be virtually eliminated.
“Things have changed,” Callihan said. “And all I’m asking for is the opportunity to finish it.”
Callihan’s opponent, however, painted a picture of a city that has struggled to meet basic municipal requirements and citizen expectations.
“I want to share my vision of how we can move Olive Hill forward faster,” Rayburn told the assembled residents, before thanking them for attending. “First we need to start with accountability and efficiency. The audits must be completed on time.”
“Currently, we are working on the 2023 audits,” he pointed out. “Timely audits are essential for financial transparency, responsible management, and maintaining the ability to pursue grant money.”
“We also need a better workforce system,” Rayburn said. “Whether it’s a water leak, pothole, or maintenance issue, I want a system that prioritizes and schedules repairs and keeps you informed on when your concern will be addressed. We need clear organizational structure, so employees know who they report to and their work responsibilities.”
Rayburn also acknowledged that the city had invested ten million dollars in a new water plant, but said he was concerned that the water system continues to experience a seventy percent water loss. Rayburn also addressed flood prevention and the need to ensure that every city dollar spent had a meaningful return.
The first of the submitted questions asked of the candidates was, “What would you say to residents who think Olive Hill has been neglected or overlooked for years?”
Mayor Callihan responded to the question first.
“I don’t see that we are overlooked,” Callihan responded. “Not by me or the people who work for me. But yes, by the county as a whole,” he said.
“And we do have a good workforce system,” Callihan rebutted Rayburns opening statement. “But as far as overlooked, yes, we are. We are the ‘baby brother.’ Everyone goes to Grayson. We just need to work harder and try harder.”
“We have to take responsibility ourselves,” Rayburn said in answer to the question of being overlooked. “There are less people here, and less money here. But people drive through Olive Hill to go to Grayson or Morehead. So, we have to bring opportunities here, whether that is more jobs or more restaurants.”
Rayburn said in his opinion, more restaurants will foster growth.
“And if you bring more things here that people can’t get from Amazon or Walmart,” he said, “that keeps that money local.”
Both candidates were then asked what their plans were for both bringing in new businesses and retaining businesses that currently operate in the city. Callihan answered the question by stating that the city needed to continue building their infrastructure. Callihan said that certain things had been let go in the city for a long time such as the sewer, but his administration has been working to repair issues that he inherited from previous administrations.
“As for keeping business, we do what’s right,” Callihan said. “We help them out every way we can.”
Rayburn also said that infrastructure, specifically sewage, was a problem that Olive Hill has had for a long time. He said he believed that if these issues were remedied it would be both easier to attract new businesses and to keep existing businesses. He also said there were several empty buildings in the downtown area that would be able to house new businesses if the infrastructure supported them.
“There is opportunity to get new people here,” Rayburn said. “We just need to get the right people involved and we’ve got to get people that are invested here currently to stop slowing progress.”
Both candidates were then asked how they would address the city’s water loss. Callihan replied by saying the only way to remedy the issue was by replacing the current lines.
“There is only one way to do it,” Callihan said. “And that’s re-lay the lines. When we get that completed, our water loss will be gone. No one has ‘no water loss.’”
He pointed out that included in water loss was the fire department using water or a customer hitting a line. But he said he believes when the current lines are replaced there will be no unnecessary loss of water.
Rayburn said there are always other options to remedy issues, and though he did not say he was against new water lines he did say there are other potential fixes for the issue of water loss. He also questioned if fixing the current issues with water loss might have been a better investment for the city than the ten-million-dollar investment in the new water plant.
Throughout the question-and-answer style debate both candidates agreed on key points such as infrastructure, attracting and retaining businesses, and supporting local government agencies while maintaining the best quality of life for Olive Hill citizens. There were stark disagreements, however, in the methods by which those goals could be achieved. Callihan favored a stay the course approach and listed the city’s recent accomplishments. Rayburn, on the other hand, categorically questioned those achievements and stated he is in favor of an entirely new way of proceeding to achieve new and existing goals.
The entire debate is available to stream on the Olive Hill Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
