"Sam Cheek, Gilbert White, June White, Mary Pendygraft and Tony are great company to be associated with."
McKinney, who resigned his post as assistant county attorney to take the county's top government job, said he is looking forward to working with a "very good fiscal court with six excellent magistrates" and a staff that is "well-trained at all levels."
He identified several projects and programs as high on his first to-do list, including:
* Expanding broadband Internet accessibility throughout the county.
* Making sure enough money is in the state road budget to construct the Ky. 33-34 connector.
* Pushing for more recycling and possibly using revenue from the sale of recyclables to offset the cost of the county's solid waste program.
* Getting as many water and road maintenance projects funded as possible.
* Dealing with the "thorny issue" of the funding and operation of the county jail.
McKinney said he plans to file his candidacy papers to run in the November general election to serve the remaining two years of Wilder's term.
He said he also plans to run in 2010 for a full four-year term. Like Wilder, McKinney is a Democrat.
The 56-year-old native of Adair County is a 1973 graduate of Centre College, where he majored in government and economics/management.
He received his law degree from the University of Kentucky in 1988.
McKinney served for 12 years, in 1970s and 1980s, as administrator of the Boyle County Health Department and then as administrator of the West Bluegrass District Health Department.
After he got his law degree, he entered private practice in the late 1980s and then served his first stint as assistant county attorney.
From 1998 to 2004, he served as legal adviser to the state auditor.
Since then he has worked in private practice and served his second stint as assistant county attorney.
