25 March

Reply to question from a concerned voter.

I got the below message from a young man on Facebook doing the right thing, asking questions to be an informed voter. I know that others may have the same questions so I posted my reply here.

What are your plans to help job opportunities, and support for families? What will you try and do for the education system? Where do you stand on recovery and the recovery homes, as well as mental health? Where do you stand on medical marijuana? Just a few things for me to really understand before I decide my vote.

Cody, thank you for asking these questions. Sorry that it has taken me so long to reply.

First, when you ask about job opportunities, remember, I am running for the 10th district house, which is both Hardin and Breckinridge counties. Right now I believe that the best place to build jobs is in Hardin County, to begin with. They have much more infrastructure than Breck does. But I think that it is better for Breck county folk to drive to Hardin County than it is for them to drive all the way to Louisville. Especially with the price of gas.

The thing about jobs in Hardin County is we need stability. Gov. Beshear had a deal all worked out to build batteries in Hardin County until Ford walked out on them. We need to develop partnerships we can rely on.

In Breck county we need to build on our strengths. We put out some well trained, professional students at the tech center. And some superb students in the medical program. We need to build opportunities for them here in the county.

As far as families go, the last time the minimum wage was raised was 2009. I believe that families relying on low paying jobs need a boost. I think that a gradual increase, up to $15 an hour, would do a great deal to helping families. And for those already making that it would push their wages up as well.

Also, I want to add another comment about families. Recently New Mexico became the first state to pass no-cost Universal Child Care Legislation. I think that this is something Kentucky needs to look at and consider if it will work for us.

The Republican party has failed to support public education. They brag about how much they invest, but they hide the truth in the numbers. SEEK funds are terribly out of date, they need to be raised by 15%, not the dribs and drabs the Republicans are putting in. They underfund schools, and then criticize the school districts. Any problems the districts are having is the fault of the Republicans writing legislation. They demand steak dinners on a hot dog budget, and then accuse local school districts of poor performance0.

Also, there is a piece of legislation called KERA, the Kentucky Education Reform Act, passed in 1990. It made Kentucky a model for public education in the United States. Since then the Republicans have whittled away at KERA reforms and now it is nothing. I believe that it is time for KERA 2027. We need to pass legislation to reform and update our public education practices in Kentucky.

I consider health care a right, not a commodity to be bought and sold by insurance companies. This includes recovery and mental health. Currently we push off this kind of care to non-profit and religious organizations. It is time the state took recovery and mental health seriously.

I know that medical marijuana helps a lot of people with treatment for ailments like epilepsy, PTSD and other neurological issues. When someone in my family was suffering from cancer treatments the only relief they had was from marijuana bought illegally on the street. This was a terrible risk, not just because it was illegal but because you didn’t know what else was in there. I consider medical marijuana to be another tool in a doctor’s kit. It can help or it can be abused. We need to make sure it only ends up in the hands of those who need it.

Thank you again for your questions. I hope my answers help.

John