Janie Marksberry will be the next East County Commissioner after receiving about 35% of the votes in Tuesday’s Primary Election. She said she’s humbled be the chance to sere the community and is ready to become a member of the Daviess County Fiscal Court.
Marksberry finished with 2,927 votes, beating out challengers Matt Fitzgerald (2,282), Jimmie Sapp (1,644), and Mark Irby (1,418). No Democrat candidate filed to run, so Marksberry won’t face a challenger in the General Election.
“It’s exciting and I’m very humbled,” Marksberry said. “… It seemed like it took a long time for all the results to come in, but I’m just humbled and really grateful.”
Marksberry said while she may be one of the first women to be elected as County Commissioner, she hopes the people who voted for her did so because of her beliefs and vision.
“I hope people voted for me for my platforms and the merit of the way we ran our campaign. I’m grateful to have the opportunity and I’m grateful for my opponents,” she said. “They were all good people. They all worked hard, and we kept the race clean and in every aspect respectful.”
She said as she heads into the position, the next thing for her is to be ready to learn both from current commissioners and from the community.
She still hopes to push her platforms such as bringing a fresh produce truck to those on a food island, helping senior citizens to have more support, and supporting law enforcement.
Marksberry has previously said she hopes to utilize her experience in Daviess County and the connections she’s made to help serve the community best.
Marksberry has lived most of her life in Daviess County. She grew up on a dairy farm in the Philpot area and has lived on the east side for the last 21 years. She resides with her husband, Carl Ringwall, and they have operated Pleasant Valley Stables since 2000.
Marksberry cites her qualifications for office as 35 years of business experience in real estate, also noting her leadership role in opposing the recent proposal by the state transportation department of an outer loop around Owensboro.
Marksberry said she advocates a “smart growth” strategy for the county, which she describes as “a business-friendly approach to development that protects private property rights while it encourages business development in existing available locations.”
“I’ll always be watching and listening for [the community] and please reach out to me if you ever have any issues and I will be happy to talk to each and every one of you,” Marksberry said.
