Wayne T. Rutherford is certainly no stranger to Pike County government. His vast experience from having served in a variety of capacities, including that of County Judge/Executive, qualifies him as one of Eastern Kentucky's proven leaders.
Elected to the office of County Judge/Executive on four different occasions, he served consecutively from 1970-1982 and again from 1992-1994.
A native and lifelong resident of Pike County, he is the son of the late Frederic Rutherford and Opal Childers Rutherford. His wife, the late Mary Catherine DeHart, died in 1993. He has three children, Kim, Sabra and Wayne II. He also has four grandchildren, Beth, Olivia, Brittany and Tyler.
A graduate of Pikeville High School, he attended Pikeville College, Eastern Kentucky University School of Law Enforcement, and University of Louisville Kentucky School of Social Work.
Positions other than that of County Judge/Executive he has held include: Probation and Parole Officer for the 35th Judicial District, for a total of nine years; employed by C & O Railroad for six years, and employed by Kentucky Housing Corporation for nine years.
Honors and recognition that have come his way include being named Outstanding Juvenile Judge in Kentucky for 1970, Outstanding Young Man of Pike County by the Elkhorn City Chamber of Commerce in 1970 and being selected as one of four Kentuckians to receive the Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to the Criminal Justice System.
Notable accomplishments during Rutherford's tenure as Pike County Judge/Executive include: Establishing the county-wide solid waste collection and disposal system; Creating the Pike County Library system; Helping to create the first Pike County Industrial Commission; Establishing the county's first Road Department; Developing the county's first industrial site at Robinson Creek; Implementing the county's current 911 Emergency System; Putting the county's first public landfill in operation; Constructing the first public housing in Pike County; Spearheading county-wide fire protection, and establishing the area calling system, which made it possible for Pike County residents to telephone different parts of the county at a minimal fee, instead of a long-distance charge.
Extensive travel throughout Pike County, and visiting door-to-door with thousands of residents provided the encouragement he needed to again seek the office of Judge/Executive in 1998. Rutherford defeated incumbent Judge/Executive Donna Damron by a landslide in the Democratic Primary, but lost the General Election to Republican Karen Gibson.