With a new mayor and a continuing fight for financial stability, it is easy to forget the people who are in the trenches leading the fight.

The Lexington Herald-Leader nominated Lynch Mayor Ronnie Hampton as one of Kentucky’s Most Intriguing Newsmakers of 2009.

The Herald-Leader’s biography for Hampton said when he was asked to become mayor, Hampton said he had to pray about it first. The biography continued to say Hampton did agree to become the city’s leader, making him the first black mayor in Harlan County.

“I don’t feel like I’m an intriguing person, but evidently they saw fit to nominate me,” said Hampton. “I am honored by it.”

Hampton said this nomination is a good thing for the Lynch, in that they are trying to rebuild from a great financial loss.

“If it had not been for the article Merlene Davis wrote, I would not have gotten some of the funds I did,” said Hampton. “There were so many people who were sacrificial in their giving to help the City of Lynch when they really needed it. If that’s intriguing I’m tickled to death.”

In an a story written by Merlene Davis on June 29 in the Herald-Leader, Davis said her husband, a Lynch native, had always told her Lynch was no ordinary town and the residents weren’t ordinary folk. She said in the article, Hampton was asking for financial aid for the city because of their financial woes.

“We’ve still got a long way to go,” said Hampton. “We’re not out of the woods yet. We’ve got a fighting chance now. It’s not about me. There’s a scripture in the Bible where one king wanted to start a fight with another king. The one king wrote a letter to the other king and said this is not my letter but God’s letter and he laid it on the table. I’ve laid Lynch on the table. This is God’s city. What he wants to do with it, he will. We want to be conduits as he uses us to rebuild Lynch.”

Hampton said his being mayor has nothing to do with color.

“I’m proud of my race but my race is the human race,” said Hampton. “That’s who I am. We all do what we’ve got to do. I just happen to be black.”

Hampton and his wife, Debra, reside in Lynch. Along with holding the office of mayor, Hampton is Pastor of the Greater Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Lynch and a retired Supervisor at the Harlan office of Mine Safety and Licensing.

To cast your vote for Hampton, you may go to the Lexington Herald-Leader Web site and follow the prompts to Vote for Most Intriguing Kentucky Newsmaker of 2009.