candidate for
I'd like to take this conversation in two directions. Both residential housing and our veterans. For years, one of my biggest grievances with the government has been it's subpar care of veterans who have served their country, and have become injured or maimed by their work. Often times these veterans end up living on the streets because of physical, mental and emotional damage, and struggle to find work or housing. In the private sector, if an employee had their knees and back destroyed from years of jumping out of planes, that employer would be obligated to pay for the damage cause by their "scope of work." But in the military, servicemen and women's bodies are roughed-up daily, and often times their request for relief is put on hold for weeks or even months while they agonize, waiting for their former employer to help them. With such a large military community, we need to focus on taking proper care of our servicemen and women, especially after they retire or leave the military. Making sure they have decent living conditions, and proper health outcomes should be the role of the federal government, but if they won't do their job properly it's up to residents and volunteers locally to find ways to ensure that our servicemen and women aren't left on the streets. As far as residential housing shortages, I question whether or not that is a major issue here locally. In the county there are houses for sale all over the place, and many times the cost of a mortgage in Christian County can be comparable to the cost of renting a house in Clarksville. I'm often baffled by people who spend $1000/month on rent when that would be sufficient for a mortgage and insurance on a nice 3 bedroom home in the country. Then you also have equity in your property that can be sold later. For city-living, we also have a large number of empty houses around Hopkinsville and the surrounding areas. Maybe these homes are destined to be rentals, or maybe we should focus on enticing developers to come in and convert our old buildings into apartments or build tiny-homes. However, it sounds to me like the best thing our local government can do to encourage consistent housing is to promote financial education of our young people and especially renters, making sure they are familiar with how mortgages work, banking and interest rates, real estate, and inflation.
Our biggest competitive disadvantage with Montgomery County (Clarksville, Tennessee) is that they don't have a state income tax, but Kentucky does. The first thing I would do is use my relationships in Frankfort to encourage and lobby the legislature to end the state income tax, or to take further steps to end the tax without just creating a bunch of new taxes. County leaders can collaborate with leaders in other counties to force-multiply our voices in Frankfort, showing solid support from the grassroots. We also need to look at the strengths and weaknesses in our area, and build on the areas we excel, while not trying to force it when we have a disadvantage. We have some of the most sought-after hunting land, excellent fishing and outdoor spots, Pennyrile State Park, which is a hidden treasure, Jeffers Bend, and many other small business tourist destinations that should be encouraged and supported by their county government. We also have a solid resource in our young people, many of whom are experienced in technology, coding, gaming, and things that will be mainstays int he future. So while we should encourage a strong trade and skills education in our area, we should also encourage our youth to pursue the areas they value. If they're into coding and gaming, why not incorporate a professional e-Sports center into the region of the county with the fastest internet? If they're into drones and photography, why not encourage them to get into Agriculture Technology. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we can encourage the citizens of Christian County to follow their dreams and pursue the things that hold the highest value to them. Others will see that, and come to Christian County for tourism, industry, and travel, to find out what it is we are doing "so right."
This is an area that I've recently gained a tremendous amount of experience because of the December tornadoes. Although I've had past experience (my parents home was hit on Happy Hollow Rd in the early 2000s,) it wasn't until Dec 11, 2021, that I began my "on-the-job" disaster relief training. What I learned is that without a solid plan and a team of leaders, many resources can be lost to bureaucracy and also to emotional and physical shock experienced by survivors, especially when the survivors are also the ones in charge of handling the emergency. There are just a few points I would like to focus on, because a full Disaster Relief Plan would require an entire book: - FEMA and state disaster requirements are often confusing and difficult for survivors to navigate. County government should work with local media and news outlets to insist that accurate and helpful information be shared with the community, including how to apply for relief, what to expect, and an example of the FULL process, including appeals, denial letters, and Long Term Recovery. - "The second disaster" is a term used for the often immediate influx of donated goods that accumulate in a disaster area. A solid plan for the intake, triage, and handing-out of donations is absolutely crucial to both short term and long term support for survivors. It's also important that volunteers know what to do with these donations, and have a solid game plan for supply drops and wellness checks. - Communicating with law enforcement, emergency management, and officials is extremely important, but those individuals must also be able to communicate effectively with volunteers and the community. A tremendous amount of work can be completed using volunteer efforts and donated goods and materials, but there has to be a process for making sure those materials and volunteers are being utilized based on their skillsets and without duplicating effort. - For future disasters, I would be highly motivated to incorporate a property tax break for any homeowner that intends to build a tornado shelter, or other type of shelter than can be used to protect their family and potentially other people's families as well. For public shelters, Crofton has set the standard ... they built a tornado shelter that can hold a huge number of families, and they welcome families from outside their city limits. They not only built a shelter designed for emergencies, but one that can be used as a Community Center, for events, meetings etc, when emergencies are not present. I would love to see grant applications for shelters submitted for every region of the county.
On a local level, we need to look at why people start businesses in the first place. The number one reason people start a business is to make money. But how can you expect to make money when government makes it so challenging to get started? Fees, reports, requirements, inspections, and other obstacles make it easier to quit than to get started, but we also can't just expect government to solve all our problems. Many counties and cities have "Innovation Stations" where small or cottage-sized businesses can get a head start on their business idea without sinking a ton of money into startup costs. Christian County could benefit from small stations like this – located around the county, where the needs are the greatest. In addition, encouraging our farm families to sell their products by providing mini-farmers markets around Christian County is a vision I've wanted to pursue for some time now. We don't need "Cadillac" Farmers Markets that costs taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to sell bread and vegetables. But a small, dedicated farm stand that can be utilized by farm families or local "makers" can be installed in each area where markets are scarce and people have to travel to find fresh, healthy food. As a small business owner who worked in a variety of industries, I've learned that sometimes government regulations make owning a business more challenging than it's worth. Creating a strong business environment, and pledging to reduce tax burdens for all Christian County residents and businesses, will attract jobs, growth, and retain our young people. Encouraging startups as well as established businesses to locate here can put us on track to innovative new ideas and jobs, while still leaving room for our "values," the farm families and rural communities that make Christian County an ideal place to live.
Absolutely. One of the main reasons I decided to run for Judge-Executive is that our tax burden isn't representative of the services we receive from county government. Our elected officials like to say that they've reduced property taxes, but at the same time, most people's property values increased by 15% to 20% or more last year, ultimately increasing the property taxes they paid. We can't keep expecting the same homeowners and property owners to pay more and more taxes while government seems to provide less services and accountability. The most logical way to reduce the tax burden is to look at county expenditures and waste. Our county government has historically spent 2-3 times the cost for expenditures. Nearly every building project, repair, or maintenance project ends up costing taxpayers far more than the fair market value for the goods or services. In addition to curbing wasteful spending, I will look at spending habits from each office, board, and budget in the county and find ways to collaborate, improve, and increase efficiency of government, the same way I collaborate, improve, and increase the efficiency of my small business. As a small business owner, I can't just ask taxpayers for more money when my budget is tight. I have to look for ways to innovate, cut spending, and seek out poor spending habits. It's only fair that we ask county government to do the same.
I do not support the establishment of new taxes nor do I support increasing existing taxes. As a lifelong lover of books and libraries I can tell you with certainty that a giant budget does not make a better library. The people, leaders, and volunteers who care about their library will do more to benefit the community than simply taxing individuals who may or may not ever set foot inside the building.
I think people associate "health care" with staying healthy, but that is not the case. Health care should be called "sick care" because it's something people typically pursue when they are sick or injured. For "health care" we need to focus on the root causes of illness – not just treating the symptoms. This issue goes along with my plan to incorporate healthy food, community gardens, and education of local flora and fauna into citizens day to day lives. Typically, people who are educated about their food make better choices when it comes to their eating habits. What people don't often realize is that Kentucky has enough natural resources and prime growing conditions to ensure that nobody in this state should ever go hungry again. It's all out there just waiting to be plucked from a branch or picked from the soil. For those living in cities, there are plenty of healthy foods that often get ignored, mowed, sprayed with harmful weed-killers, etc. As I walk door to door and get a close look at people's yards I see God's bounty of food and free supplies just waiting for some resident to wake up to the health value they pass by every day. In order to ensure that residents of Christian County grow up healthier, stronger, and with less illness overall, we need to revamp our mindset completely about where food comes from and what resources are available, grown by nature, at the perfect time for human consumption. I would support efforts for farm freedom to allow more products, processing, harvesting and foraging, leading to better health outcomes overall. I will also encourage – through my own volunteer efforts – more attention on resources like Jeffers Bend and rural Ag Tourism destinations to help educate all of the residents of Christian County (and our visitors.) "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food..."
One important area that I want to focus is on the reduction of crime and recidivism rates in Christian County. I think that we tend to believe that simply having a strong police presence is enough to deter crime, however we are once again treating the symptoms – not the cause. I would like to expand the jail program for communicating with everyone who touches the criminal justice system in our county. Find out what caused them to turn to crime, why they chose to break the law, and finding solutions that will help them return to their community and be productive members of society. Certainly there are those who simply choose the criminal lifestyle, but often times people turn to crime because they don't feel there are any other options. I believe that by digging into the reasons, as opposed to reactionary responses to crime, will ultimately help us prevent crime by stopping it at the source.
