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John Black, Candidate for Judge/Executive
John Black, Candidate for Judge/Executive
Black has been in politics since 1983, serving in various positions such as LaGrange City Council, Mayor of LaGrange, and Oldham Judge/Executive.
According to County Clerk records, Black registered as a Democrat in 1975 and remained registered until switching to Independent in 2015, then to Republican in 2016. He remained a Republican since then, however, he did revert back to a Democrat briefly in July 2025 after expressing his desire to leave the Oldham County Republican Party. He is currently running for office as a Republican.
Below is a screen shot from a 2019 Facebook post where John Black commented on in July 2025, in which he stated his intent to leave the Republican party.
The post was eventually deleted.
He registered as a Democrat on July 7, 2025, and then switched back to Republican on July 22, 2025.
Data Centers
John Black attended a meeting on May 22nd, 2025, wherein the WHP Data Center discussed how to bypass the incoming moratorium to get a data center onto the Sauerbeck property. You can listen to the meeting here:
Here is a clip of Mr. Black discussing WHP's plans regarding data centers.
Data Centers.mp4"What's Happening" Magazine
In more recent news, The Oldham Era reported that John Black attempted to use the tax-payer funded What's Happening magazine to announce his run for Judge/Executive.
According to The Oldham Era, Black wrote on page 12 of the publication:
“… While my time as Mayor is coming to a close, my dedication to public service is not finished. I still have the energy and passion to serve, and I am seeking the Office of County Judge/Executive in the May 19, 2026, election."...
The Oldham Era reported that the publication was notifed about the wording by another candidate running for office. Once they were alerted to the issue, the company reprinted the magazine with corrected wording and said they destroyed the originals.
The Oldham Era had contacted the Kentucky Press Association legal counsel Jeremy Lister-Perlman of Kaplan Johnson Abate & Bird who then provided the following statement regarding the situation:
“Any attempt to use public funds to promote a public official’s campaign poses serious ethical and legal concerns. All public officials in LaGrange are bound by a code of ethics that prohibits them from using their offices to secure advantages for themselves.
“By law, La Grange tax dollars can only be spent on proper expenditures as determined by the City Council.”
At the April, 2026 LaGrange City Council meeting, The Oldham Era reported on the matter further. During public comment, a citizen asked Mayor Black if he thought his original statement [in the magazine] was appropriate. Black replied, "Yeah because it didn't even get sent to the people... the only people who got it were the few copies we got here just to proofread what was said."
However, although the publisher stated the original copies got destroyed, the Era also reported that an attendee of the meeting had found at least 10 copies of the original magazine lying on a table in the lobby of City Hall that evening.
Additionally, though unconfirmed, a woman commented on a Facebook post regarding the incident, that she and her mother had recieved an original magazine in the mail.
This situation has been reported to Kentucky Registry of Election Finance (KREF) by a concerned citizen. The outcome of KREF's response is pending.
City of LaGrange Audit Concerns
The Oldham Era article also discussed concerns about the most recent audit:
Concerns about the city's finances under John Black's leadership have been an ongoing issue and was reported about in 2022:
Pay Raises
A vote for an additional pay increase caused a heated debate over Open Meeting proceedures.
The Oldham Era reported, "The raise passed, but not without opposition from councilor Laura Taylor, who argued that the vote should have been advertised on the agenda prior to the meeting, along with an opportunity for public comment."
Ms. Taylor also stated, “I understand what Trey’s saying about KLC and how you don’t need to publish an individual agenda item, but this was just added tonight,” Taylor said. “We have not published this to the public at all for any comment or consideration.”
Mr. Black responded, "To that point, Black said the public would likely just attend the meeting and complain about the raises.
“They’d probably just come here and say you don’t need any more money,” Black said. “People will come up here and say Laura, you’re not worth the 6.5%. If you’re willing to hear that, I’m willing to delay this until next month.”
The article also mentioned, "Black and Jason Taylor shared several barrages throughout the meeting, with the Mayor arguing that Taylor was needlessly “riling up the public” before meetings and not accurately describing its use of funds, namely from the American Rescue Plan Act."
Morris v. Oldham County Fiscal Court
Disclaimer:
The information presented here is provided solely for educational purposes to assist voters in making informed decisions. All content is derived from publicly available records and reflects factual, historical information regarding a candidate’s actions, votes, and public statements. It is not intended to personally disparage or defame any individual.
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