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Kentucky Democratic Party Calls for Mobilization, Gaskins Files for 2018

Nicole Erwin

  Nineteen-year-old Kayla Harrington and 18-year-old Maybry Green of Benton want to inspire others their age to get involved in the political process. The two young women were among 200 Kentucky Democratic members, Thursday night, at the annual Purchase Area Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner. They, along others at the event, want  to learn how to captivate a “resurgence in energy” they see in their party.

 

Keynote speaker and former Maryland Governor and presidential candidate Martin O’Malley issued a call to action to everyone in the room.  He said he wants to help the party at local levels spread the message of an “opportunity for all.”

“We have the ability to change the future...Touch your neighbor and tell them you can change the future.” O’Malley said to the group gathered at Kenlake Resort.

 

Harrington said her peers often fear the backlash that comes from saying “I’m a democrat.”

 

“I think a lot of young people are very afraid to say that.” She said. When young people do try to identify with a party, she said they often get confused. Specifically about “issues like abortion and right-to-work and all of those things,” she said because they aren't familiar with party lines.

 

Green said her peers even get “belligerent towards others about their beliefs.” Making it hard, she said, for the young people to work together on bipartisan beliefs. The "meanness" is often too much, she said.

 

Dark Times, Brighter Future

 

O’Malley said Trump’s administration has painted a  “dark canvas” that Democrats can brighten with a “wellspring of new activism” by engaging young people and women.
 

But Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Mary Nishimuta says those young people, along with the entire democratic party, need a unified message to be successful.

 

“That's something that the Democratic Party has not done extremely well and that's something that we're working very hard over the summer and over the coming year to change.” Nishimuta said.

 

So that when people say “why are you a Democrat you have a very concise answer” she said.

 

Nishimuta said “everybody agrees that we stand up for the opportunities of working families of working Americans. But what does that really mean?” Five hundred different responses are likely, she said.  “And I think that it's not been really communicated well."

'United We Stand'

A number of democratic leaders spoke at the event, including Attorney General Andy Beshear, House Minority Leader  Rocky Atkins and  Senator Dorsey Ridley.

Beshear said the state is in “trying times” because the continued alleged illegal behavior of Governor Matt Bevin.

 

Beshear said  Bevin's executive order last week that dissolved and reorganized several state education boards was unconstitutional.

 

Friday, Bevin eliminated state boards that set curriculum standards and certify public school teachers. He then re-created the boards with new members.

 

Beshear threatened to sue Bevin for a fourth time earlier in the week for eliminating and replacing state boards that oversee the University of Louisville and the Kentucky Retirement Systems. He also won a lawsuit challenging Bevin's budget cuts to colleges and universities.

 

Beshear said the KDP is  “in the battle for the soul of our commonwealth” and said members must  “stand up fight.”

 

That sentiment would resonate throughout House Minority Leader Rocky Atkins remarks, who challenged members to “get off the bench and get in the game.”

 

Atkins said there has been a lot of fighting on the House floor--"I'm in my 31st year in public service," he said. "I've watched 30 years of progress torn down in 30 days.”

 

But he said the energy he is seeing on the ground in response to policy decisions, "is greater than ever and there is evidence tonight with more than 200 people here.” Atkins said.

 

Like O’Malley, Atkins said he is “tired of this meanness” and the “talking down” that powers the political atmosphere.

 

Senator Dorsey Ridley, spoke briefly, but helped initiate concerns regarding threats to education.

“Education is the equalizer” said Ridley. Because it creates jobs, he said. And supports the middle class, “two things democrats have always been for.”

 

 Issues Worth Fighting For

 

Right-to-work legislation, education, equal pay and mobilizing young KDP members to campaign and run for office were highlighted most during the event.

Thirty-two-year-old Kevin Johnson said the current administration as well as local concerns, like supporting public libraries has motivated his recent interest in politics. In addition to remarks made by KDP leadership, Johnson said he would like to have heard more regarding gun control.

 

Overall, he felt renewed hope for the party’s ability to take back leadership in the Commonwealth.

 

Former Democratic 1st Congressional Candidate Sam Gaskins announced he has filed with the Federal Elections Commission to run against Republican Congressman James Comer in the 2018 election.

 

He said he wants to bring attention to HR 11-80, a bill passed by the House of Representatives that would allow employees to swap overtime pay for "comp time,"

 

“People in western Kentucky don’t understand that it’s going to give business owners and people that don’t care about their workers a chance to steal money and time from them.” Gaskins said.

 

Gaskins said the issue is bipartisan and that both Democrats and Republicans have asked him to run. Gaskins ran and lost against Republican James Comer in the 2016. Gaskins said the loss was due to a lack of name recognition and financial support.  

 

Gaskins said he encourages anyone with Kentucky’s best interest to run.

O’Malley said the future of the democratic party is bright with a “wellspring of new activism.”

 

 

 

Nicole Erwin is a Murray native and started working at WKMS during her time at Murray State University as a Psychology undergraduate student. Nicole left her job as a PTL dispatcher to join the newsroom after she was hired by former News Director Bryan Bartlett. Since, Nicole has completed a Masters in Sustainable Development from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia where she lived for 2 1/2 years.
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