John David Preston (born December 29, 1950)[1] is an American politician and author from Kentucky who served in various elected and judicial offices.
During his time at UK, Preston served as a member of the school's moot court board, law journal staff, and clerked for an attorney in Louisa, Kentucky.
His tenure was noted for his attempts to alleviate prior financial troubles for the city as well as the expansion of water lines to rural areas of Johnson County.
[8] Governor Brereton C. Jones called for a special election for the seat to be held on March 8, which Preston would win with 6,776 votes (63%) against Democratic candidate Marcus Woodward.
Preston was unopposed in the Republican primary for the seat, but was defeated in the general election, garnering 11,978 votes (38.8%) against incumbent Democratic Senator Benny Ray Bailey.
[11][12] Preston later stated that his largest political regret was choosing to challenge Bailey instead of running for Kentucky's 97th House district, a favorable Republican seat then occupied by Democratic Representative Hubert Collins.
[6] During his tenure as chairman of the Big Sandy Regional Jail Authority and Paintsville Utilities Commission, Preston was asked by Governor Ernie Fletcher to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet for National Resources and Environmental Protection.
[3] Preston is active in many community and social organizations including the University of Kentucky Alumni Association, Jaycees, Rotary Club, Freemasonry, Shriners, Sons of the American Revolution, and Military Order of the Loyal Legion.
At various periods throughout his life, he served in leadership roles for these organization such as president of the Paintsville-Johnson County Jaycees and chancellor of the Big Sandy Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.