RussellNot a ballot

Voter guide · Nov 3, 2026

Russell Mayor & City Council Election 2026

6 of 6 council seats are on the ballot, with 12 candidates running. Updated Oct 20, 2026. Every claim links to its source. How we check

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Nov 3Election Day

How to vote · 11 days left

Find where to voteCheck your registration
In-person no-excuse absentee voting begins (Oct 29): the election office's notice

These links go to official state and county election sites. Hours and rules differ by state; your election office has the final word.

The candidates

Listed alphabetically by last name. Every position links to its source.

Voters citywide choose one mayor and may vote for up to six City Council candidates; the six with the most votes win.

In-person no-excuse absentee voting begins · Oct 29

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Also on your Nov 3 ballot

We research city races only. For these races, go to the state's official guide or a nonpartisan one.

Official voter lookupState voter guideVote411 (League of Women Voters)

Districts come from 2020 Census blocks and the district maps for this election. Your address decides your districts.

What the next council decides

01Data center zoning rules4 sourced facts

Where it standsThe council drafted resolutions referring data center rules and a zoning map change to the Greenup County Joint Planning Commission; a September 30, 2026 meeting ended before a vote, and an October 13 meeting took public comment only.

What's on the tableWhether to send the rules to the planning commission and, after its hearing, whether to adopt them by ordinance.

02Data center moratorium3 sourced facts

Where it standsOn June 8, 2026 the council passed a 180-day moratorium on accepting, processing and approving data center applications.

What's on the tableWhether to keep, lift or let the moratorium expire, and whether rules are in place first.

03Former AK Steel site3 sourced facts

Where it standsRubix, of the Submer Group, wants to build a 2-gigawatt data center on the former AK Steel Ashland Works brownfield, most of which lies in Russell.

What's on the tableHow the site is zoned and whether a data center can locate there.

04Public comment on data center decisions2 sourced facts

Where it standsResidents objected that public comment was not on the September 30, 2026 agenda; the council held a public-comment-only meeting on October 13, 2026.

What's on the tableHow and when residents can speak before the council votes on data center rules.

2 notes on these statements

Mayor Ron Simpson is not running for mayor and is running for City Council; council members Don Fraley and Ryan Biederman are running for mayor. The Daily Independent (via Yahoo News) · Jan 10, 2026

All six City Council seats and the mayor's office are on the 2026 ballot. Kentucky Secretary of State · Nov 3, 2026

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Who matches you?

Answer any of these questions. We compare your answers with each person's sourced record, and nothing is stored. Questions where no one has a sourced record yet are left out. Tap a selected answer again to skip it.

  1. 1. Should Russell adopt specific zoning rules for data centers before any project moves forward?

  2. 2. Should the data center moratorium stay in place until zoning rules are adopted?

Seat the councilSeat the Council →Pick a winner for each open seat and see where the resulting council stands on each issue.On the recordHow the council voted7 council decisions, each member's vote side by side, with a link to the minutes.

Key dates

The seat math

0 stay (not up this year): 6 on this ballot

6 council seats plus a mayor who doesn't vote on council items. The council decides by a 4-vote majority.

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