If the presidential election of 2016 was the most monumental election in a generation, the election of 2018 is Kentucky’s counterpart. With dozens of platforms in each category, every candidate promises to offer something unique for the citizens of Kentucky if they get elected. However, the many candidates, offices, and viewpoints involved could easily be confusing to any voter, especially first-time voters such as those currently attending Bowling Green High. Below, The Purple Gem offers a summary of the candidates’ perspectives on crucial issues.
The State Senate: State Senators are responsible for sharing information with constituents, introducing legislation, and serving on one or more legislative committees. The candidates for Warren County, the 32nd district, are Jeanie Smith and Mike Wilson.
Republican Candidate:
Mike Wilson
First elected to the chamber in 2010, Wilson was named state Senate Majority Whip in September 2017. He is a former US Marine Veteran and Minister at Calvary Chapel of South Bay in Carson, California.
Wilson champions local businesses and emphasizes the value of Kentucky's job creators. He has sponsored the most secure pro-life legislation in Kentucky history, and laws harshly reprimanding violent offenders and drug dealers. His platform also pushes for government transparency. He voted to make legislative pensions transparent and was a strong supporter of the cause; the legislation was passed in 2017. Wilson has also sponsored legislation that helped retain the American Legion and VFW; he has also worked on legislation that’s brought thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments to Kentucky.
Wilson also believes in accountable tax management, “We need to change how we tax people and businesses. Dozens of studies have all come to the same conclusion: we need to stop taxing production and start taxing consumption. [We must go about it] it in a slow, careful way that will make sure the process doesn't hurt jobs or families while we do it.”
Wilson is also a proponent of charter schools in Kentucky. Charter schools are governed under the Kentucky Department of Education and are chartered by the local school districts.
“[sic] Charter schools give parents choice and school districts the chance to specialize… Charter schools would allow districts to open schools specializing in arts or engineering or schools that are focused on teaching students with disabilities like autism,” said Wilson.
Wilson pledges to work for the people of his district.
Democratic Candidate:
Jeanie Smith
Smith is a seventh grade Social Studies teacher at Drakes Creek Middle School in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Smith is committed to improving wages for workers; she plans to do this by repealing the “Right to Work” passage. While the Kentucky legislature passed it with the intention of bringing more jobs to Kentucky, the passage also weakens labor unions, thus heavily lowering workers’ paychecks. Smith also plans to reinstate Prevailing Wage—the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of laborers in a particular geographic area— and to raise the minimum wage. She is an advocate of affordable health care. Smith is dedicated to creating a thorough tax reform which relieves the tax burden from the middle class, And she also hopes to simplify the tax code for small businesses, invest in infrastructure, and revive the local farming industry.
Her platform emphasizes how she would fund public education, saying, “we will allow students to thrive and subsequently drive our economy,” in an interview with Bowling Green Daily News. Smith believes charter schools take money away from public schools, and she vows to protect state employee pensions by supporting arc contributions, or the amount employers need to contribute in order to adequately fund a public pension plan.
Her website showcases how she hopes to help women by improving maternity leave requirements, establishing universal Pre-K, and creating affordable childcare options.
Smith promises to be a voice for all of her constituents.
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The State House: State Representatives introduce and vote on bills representing the interests of their constituents. Representatives also serve on committees within the legislative branch. Warren County is the 20th district. The candidates are Benjamin Lawson and Patti Minter.
Republican Candidate:
“I've been an advocate for a number of causes in a lot of spaces since I've moved to Bowling Green in the 1990’s. What I do is I stand up and I show up and I fight for what I believe to be right, and I've done that consistently over the course of my life and over the course of my career at WKU. I bring with me not only the commitment and the persistence but a wealth of experience,” said Minter.
The State Senate: State Senators are responsible for sharing information with constituents, introducing legislation, and serving on one or more legislative committees. The candidates for Warren County, the 32nd district, are Jeanie Smith and Mike Wilson.
Republican Candidate:
Mike Wilson
First elected to the chamber in 2010, Wilson was named state Senate Majority Whip in September 2017. He is a former US Marine Veteran and Minister at Calvary Chapel of South Bay in Carson, California.
Wilson champions local businesses and emphasizes the value of Kentucky's job creators. He has sponsored the most secure pro-life legislation in Kentucky history, and laws harshly reprimanding violent offenders and drug dealers. His platform also pushes for government transparency. He voted to make legislative pensions transparent and was a strong supporter of the cause; the legislation was passed in 2017. Wilson has also sponsored legislation that helped retain the American Legion and VFW; he has also worked on legislation that’s brought thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments to Kentucky.
Wilson also believes in accountable tax management, “We need to change how we tax people and businesses. Dozens of studies have all come to the same conclusion: we need to stop taxing production and start taxing consumption. [We must go about it] it in a slow, careful way that will make sure the process doesn't hurt jobs or families while we do it.”
Wilson is also a proponent of charter schools in Kentucky. Charter schools are governed under the Kentucky Department of Education and are chartered by the local school districts.
“[sic] Charter schools give parents choice and school districts the chance to specialize… Charter schools would allow districts to open schools specializing in arts or engineering or schools that are focused on teaching students with disabilities like autism,” said Wilson.
Wilson pledges to work for the people of his district.
Democratic Candidate:
Jeanie Smith
Smith is a seventh grade Social Studies teacher at Drakes Creek Middle School in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Smith is committed to improving wages for workers; she plans to do this by repealing the “Right to Work” passage. While the Kentucky legislature passed it with the intention of bringing more jobs to Kentucky, the passage also weakens labor unions, thus heavily lowering workers’ paychecks. Smith also plans to reinstate Prevailing Wage—the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of laborers in a particular geographic area— and to raise the minimum wage. She is an advocate of affordable health care. Smith is dedicated to creating a thorough tax reform which relieves the tax burden from the middle class, And she also hopes to simplify the tax code for small businesses, invest in infrastructure, and revive the local farming industry.
Her platform emphasizes how she would fund public education, saying, “we will allow students to thrive and subsequently drive our economy,” in an interview with Bowling Green Daily News. Smith believes charter schools take money away from public schools, and she vows to protect state employee pensions by supporting arc contributions, or the amount employers need to contribute in order to adequately fund a public pension plan.
Her website showcases how she hopes to help women by improving maternity leave requirements, establishing universal Pre-K, and creating affordable childcare options.
Smith promises to be a voice for all of her constituents.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The State House: State Representatives introduce and vote on bills representing the interests of their constituents. Representatives also serve on committees within the legislative branch. Warren County is the 20th district. The candidates are Benjamin Lawson and Patti Minter.
Republican Candidate:
Benjamin Lawson
As well as working for Van Meter Insurance, Lawson is a Warren County Republican Party Officer and the founder of the Southern Kentucky Young Republicans.
Lawson emphasizes how he hopes to bring a modern vision combined with Bowling Green’s core values to the table that will fight for realistic, permanent solutions. His platform highlights how he hopes to use bipartisan tactics and include all possible perspectives.
“My platform is a recognition that we deserve better. A government that listens, acts, and pursues excellence. We should not be satisfied with being good or good enough, we should strive to be the best. Nothing changes if nothing changes. It’s time to fight the status quo, it will not work anymore,” said Lawson in an interview with Bowling Green Daily News.
Lawson further believes that only an updated tax code can fund an effective future, and he plans to start with eliminating tax loopholes. The future he hopes to bring to Warren County is centered around providing stable, predictable funding for government services.
Lawson guarantees to be a voice for the everyday person.
Democratic Candidate:
As well as working for Van Meter Insurance, Lawson is a Warren County Republican Party Officer and the founder of the Southern Kentucky Young Republicans.
Lawson emphasizes how he hopes to bring a modern vision combined with Bowling Green’s core values to the table that will fight for realistic, permanent solutions. His platform highlights how he hopes to use bipartisan tactics and include all possible perspectives.
“My platform is a recognition that we deserve better. A government that listens, acts, and pursues excellence. We should not be satisfied with being good or good enough, we should strive to be the best. Nothing changes if nothing changes. It’s time to fight the status quo, it will not work anymore,” said Lawson in an interview with Bowling Green Daily News.
Lawson further believes that only an updated tax code can fund an effective future, and he plans to start with eliminating tax loopholes. The future he hopes to bring to Warren County is centered around providing stable, predictable funding for government services.
Lawson guarantees to be a voice for the everyday person.
Democratic Candidate:
Patti Minter
Minter is a history teacher at Western Kentucky University and served as Faculty Regent on the WKU Board of Regents for seven years.
“I have a lot of experience working with multi-million dollar budgets. [As the elected Faculty Regent] I advocated not only for our faculty constituents, but also for staff and students,” said Minter, “I’ve already taken an oath to be a fiduciary, to be responsible for the future and the well-being of not only the students and the employees of WKU but also of the commonwealth in general.”
Her platform focuses heavily on protecting public education through closing corporate tax loopholes. She vows to promote jobs and higher wages for all public employees while keeping pension promises. Minter plans to use bipartisan tactics to accomplish this, a skill she honed during her time as Faculty Regent.
“I came on to a board that was primarily Republican, and I learned how to work across the aisle with them. Many of them were far removed from the college experience, many did not go to WKU, they were all extremely wealthy. So part of what I was doing was learning how to talk to people who don't understand the lived experience of other people and helping them understand,” said Minter.
Minter believes in a community with economic stability, a multitude of educational opportunities and profitable jobs. She promises to be a strong voice for the district.
Minter is a history teacher at Western Kentucky University and served as Faculty Regent on the WKU Board of Regents for seven years.
“I have a lot of experience working with multi-million dollar budgets. [As the elected Faculty Regent] I advocated not only for our faculty constituents, but also for staff and students,” said Minter, “I’ve already taken an oath to be a fiduciary, to be responsible for the future and the well-being of not only the students and the employees of WKU but also of the commonwealth in general.”
Her platform focuses heavily on protecting public education through closing corporate tax loopholes. She vows to promote jobs and higher wages for all public employees while keeping pension promises. Minter plans to use bipartisan tactics to accomplish this, a skill she honed during her time as Faculty Regent.
“I came on to a board that was primarily Republican, and I learned how to work across the aisle with them. Many of them were far removed from the college experience, many did not go to WKU, they were all extremely wealthy. So part of what I was doing was learning how to talk to people who don't understand the lived experience of other people and helping them understand,” said Minter.
Minter believes in a community with economic stability, a multitude of educational opportunities and profitable jobs. She promises to be a strong voice for the district.
“I've been an advocate for a number of causes in a lot of spaces since I've moved to Bowling Green in the 1990’s. What I do is I stand up and I show up and I fight for what I believe to be right, and I've done that consistently over the course of my life and over the course of my career at WKU. I bring with me not only the commitment and the persistence but a wealth of experience,” said Minter.
By Ruthie Kesri