1. How does your background qualify and prepare you for serving in this office?
I am a proven, experienced leader. My family has been in the cattle business for four generations and I have owned and operated my own stockyard business. Additionally, I have owned and operated several successful men’s clothing stores in Central Kentucky. When the economy worsened in Montgomery County in the mid-90s, I successfully ran for County Judge/Executive, created 3,000 jobs and helped revive our county’s economy. More recently, I was recruited to work in the Transportation Cabinet as the Commissioner of Rural Roads, where I was instrumental in improving our rural infrastructure across the state.
2. Please describe a major change or accomplishment you would like to make if elected.
As the Commissioner of Agriculture, I will find ways to secure a job market for our young farmers, and for young people in general, in which they and their families will prosper. This is the most important item on my agenda as I run for Commissioner of Agriculture because, without young people, Kentucky has no economic future.
The Department of Agriculture must be the economic engine that drives Kentucky forward. The Department of Agriculture must bring new economic resources and visionary programs to our communities.
The Commissioner of Agriculture must also preserve Kentucky’s agricultural heritage. When you think of Kentucky’s agricultural heritage, you think of the horse industry—from thoroughbreds to draft horses to sport horses to pleasure horses—the entire horse industry. Kentucky must protect its corn, tobacco, soybeans as well as its bovine and poultry industries, but if the horse industry fails, Kentucky agriculture fails. I will do whatever I can to continue to protect, preserve, and promote our long-celebrated legacy as the “Horse Capitol of the World.”
3. 2010 was the ten-year anniversary of HB 611 and the Ag Development Fund, which is a result of the tobacco settlement and is a fund to help farmers. Declining cigarette sales and increasing obligations on debt-service mean less money for the Ag Development Fund. With AD funds declining, how would you continue this critical support?
The Department of Agriculture and the Governor’s Agriculture Policy Board must work together to ensure we are spending the money allocated from HB 611 to invest in sustainable forms of Agriculture. Together we must lobby the state legislature to continue funding agricultural programs who are funded through HB 611. Also, we must work with local agriculture boards to ensure they are wisely managing the funding they receive from HB 611 funding.
4. Immigrants play an increasing role in Kentucky’s agricultural economy. What is your position on the current discussion around immigration policy as it relates to Kentucky’s farm community?
The federal government has failed at enforcing our immigration policies. This has put the burden of immigration law enforcement on state and local agencies. Kentucky must find a way for illegal immigrants to come forward so they can be documented and begin the process of becoming legal citizens, while not infringing on the right on citizens who have immigrated to the state legally.