June 2, 2017
Looks for viable House candidates
Minority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, is still considering making a run for the governorship in 2018, but he told Franklin County Democrats on Thursday he’s focused on recruiting viable House candidates who can get off the bench and get in the game.
Adkins, the 13-year majority floor leader before the Kentucky House of Representatives flipped in the last election to a Republican majority, told county Democrats at a party meeting he’s in the scouting process for viable House candidates who want to make a difference in their own local districts.
“There’s some dissatisfaction with what’s gone on in this past session and what’s going on in Washington, D.C.,” Adkins said. “It’s creating an opportunity of a lot of energy on the ground. People are coming off the sideline and getting involved in the process. Now, understanding they can make a difference.”
People repeatedly talk to him about the policies and controversies occurring at both the state and federal level, Adkins said, and he and his House caucus members plan to harness that power for the 2018 elections.
“Those policies passed … in the 30-day session, they were passed at rapid speed. Many of those complex issues, (were) many of those that impacted blue collar, middle class working people,” Adkins said. “Kentucky is a competitive state and we have been a competitive. Kentucky wasn’t a desert. We’ve had industry and business here for some time.”
The difference in policy and philosophy for House Democrats, Adkins said, is that the state can be both competitive, recruit and retain businesses and industry and stand for workers to make a decent wage that will drive the economy. The strongest economy, Adkins said, was built on the middle class.
Now that the Republican supermajority has passed right-to-work legislation, giving workers union benefits without the requirement to pay union fees, and passed repealing prevailing-wage legislation, which before required a company pay a base, average wage for state-funded construction projects, has squeezed the wallets of the middle class, Adkins said.
“You may go out and speak about the momentum you’ve never had (as the Republican supermajority),” Adkins said. “But here’s what I’m going say to that, what have you done with your policy on those folks… you pass policy that drives down wages of middle class working people.”
House Republicans finished out Election Night winning 64 seats compared to 36 seats won by Democrats. Adkins, who was elected in 1997 and is serving his 30th year in the House, said that will change.
“A good part of my time right now is being spent recruiting candidates not to win back some of these seats but to win back the majority,” Adkins said. “I can tell you our recruitment is going very well. We have more people wanting to run for office because of this energy on the ground. It’s time to get involved and get off the bench and get in the game. A lot of these out-of state-issues are driven by out-of-state interests.”
Adkins told The State Journal he and his fellow caucus members remain busy traveling across the state for the recruitment process and the true change will happen at the organizational, grassroots level, but he’s still considering a run for the governorship.
“I’m getting a lot of encouragement to do so. Of course, I’m concentrating right now on the task at hand and take back the majority in the House of Representatives. That’s where my commitment is,” Adkins said.
“There’s no question I’m looking at that possibility as a run for governor just because of the encouragement that I’m getting. I’m not going to let those people that are encouraging me, distract from the job that I’ve been given which is the Democratic leader of the House. I’m going to keep working hard at that. I’ve fought hard for policies I believe are good for people all across Kentucky. With the support of my family, which I think they are supportive, there’s no question we are giving it a serious look.”
By Brad Bowman
The State Journal
