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Beshear Brings Campaign Kickoff Tour to Paducah

Beshear Brings Campaign Kickoff Tour to Paducah
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By Mike Cooper
Jul. 10, 2018 | PADUCAH
By Mike Cooper Jul. 10, 2018 | 06:21 PM | PADUCAH
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, on a two-day statewide tour announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2019, spoke to supporters Tuesday at Paducah Tilghman High School.

Beshear, along with his running mate, Nelson County High School Assistant Principal, Jacqueline Coleman, used the Paducah visit as one of seven across the Commonwealth to introduce their campaign. In addition to Paducah, they visited Ashland, Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, Owensboro and Pikeville.

He said, "I have poured my heart and soul into being attorney general because I love Kentucky. I was born and raised in this state, graduated from its public schools and my wife Britainy and I chose it as the place we would perform our most important job, raising our children. As governor, I will work every day to bring Kentuckians together to tackle our most pressing problems."

Beshear promised to continue his fight in the drug epidemic, especially with funding treatment and suing opioid makers. He spoke of another key focus which will be creating good paying jobs, as he pointed out that Kentucky has some of the lowest paying jobs and lowest wage growth in the country. He promised to bring to Kentucky the types of jobs that pay enough for families to live on.

Beshear pledged to restore honesty and transparency in government by instituting one of the nation's toughest ethics codes and pushing for legislative term limits. He commented, "we need term limits so people aren't looking at the next election and will actually look very hard at issues like expanded gaming in an effort to provide a dedicated revenue stream to our pension system, that will have the courage to take action where it's needed, and not just where it's politically advantageous."

He said leaders in Frankfort are placing their own interests ahead of the interests of regular Kentuckians. He explained, "We need a new generation of leadership willing to listen and work with people, not bully them and say it's my way or the highway."

As governor, Beshear said he would work to fund every public school and public university in a way that creates true opportunity for our children. Teachers would be treated with respect, their retirements would be honored, and they will have a seat at the table because they educate and care for our state's most precious resource, our children.

He stressed his commitment to western Kentucky and spoke of his deep family roots in the Dawson Springs community and Hopkins County.

Beshear admitted these are big goals, but he believes they can be achieved by working together and trusting one another. He spoke of how his family is supporting him in his bid for governor, and also feels he has the best running mate, Jacqueline Coleman.

Coleman has worked in public education for over 10 years as a teacher, high school basketball coach, and administrator. She said, " Frankfort is broken, and as Kentuckians, we can no longer allow our government to blind side us time and time again, at the cost of our children's future. We need a change and that's why I'm running with Andy. His fight to protect our families has made him an outsider in Frankfort, and his passion and conviction for Kentucky is the one thing that will truly restore open and honest government that will once again work for each and every one of us."

When asked how this administration would go about increasing revenues for schools, Coleman commented, "we want to explore options like expanded gaming in the interest of keeping our funds in Kentucky, and working on our pension system, and our education system, and not other states around us."

Beshear said he and Coleman are excited about the opportunity to listen to Kentuckians in every corner of the state, and to share their ideas on how to move Kentucky forward. 
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