Ike Lawrence

Gov Bevin has chased two companies that never broke ground in Pikeville and Greenup Co.(Ashland). He also went to India for the federal gov't, not the state of Kentucky.  Meanwhile, I was stopping the foolishness of moving out of debt free gov't buildings and tearing down a perfectly good bridge next to Rupp Arena. 

My vision is to address the Kentucky Uglies and Kentuckian's Kitchen Table Issues. They are diabetes, obesity, heart disease, all cancers, ‎dental, car accidents, etc. These Uglies have taken a back seat to pension and opiod headlines these past four years. 

Entrepreneurs and small business startups are the 'bird-in-the-hand' that always beats an outside company's false promises of 'two-in the-bush'.

The internet, digital media, cameras on phones, and all the latest wireless technology have made local, state and federal gov't a thousand times more transparent and accessible than our parent's generation. We can't get more transparent than now.

I do not feel state gov't has an obligation to act on climate change as Man cannot control the weather or climate. We can lower energy bills across the board by conservation in home, business and inviting energy competition and alternatives into our great state.

'Completion of their full sentence' is a debate of definition. If one is out on parole or probation for good behavior after 7 years but still has 13 years until their sentence is finished, then I am for restoration after the full sentence has ended. I would not use executive power to restore voting rights. Ex-cons are restricted from voting because of their abhorrent behavior, not the victims. If one likes the vote, which they obviously don't care about in order to commit a serious crime, then don't commit the crime.  If the victim can't vote, why should the criminal?

I am for a higher co-pay instead of ‎work requirements for all recipients, most of whom are exempt from work requirements under the qualified exemptions. Any savings by a few working/ volunteering would be eaten up by the bureaucracy of more gov't oversight. Gov't and private health insurance works well when all parties have some skin in the game on costs.

I oppose any and all supremacy and hate groups. Two initiatives I would encourage is getting the father back in the home and ending welfare after 5 years or a sum of 60 months, like president Clinton initiated. Lack of father in the home and out of wedlock single parenthood is the number one reason for poverty in the US.

Indiana and Tennesse are kicking our butt because one state has no state sales tax and the other state does not have burgeoning pension obligations strangling its budget. ‎I would raise net revenue by cutting out waste, fraud, fat and high salaries of top end officials. Getting a handle on our finances without raising more taxes will invite citizens and businesses of other states to move to our UnCommonwealth of Kentucky.

I support fair pensions, not overpromised pensions. Underfunding is due to added benefits made retroactive to the original contract, I hear. We are the 7th highest in salaries to teachers and one of the top five in liability to current retirees. If there are only three solutions, and one has been rejected on procedural grounds, then what is the solution by the teachers? If teachers have none, then we are on a collision course toward insolvency, which nobody wants.

I support all Kentuckians, regardless of their -hyphen before their title. I am very active In the Greater Lexington Apt Association and the National Apartment Association that brings fair, safe and affordable housing to Kentucky towns.

There is no such thing as mass incarceration. The masses are not incarcerated. It is individuals who commit crimes, not the masses. I am committed to getting more fathers back in their homes so that the stronger family unit can keep their children from doing wrong.

Go to ilikeikeforgovernor.com to read my vision for Kentucky and my 40-year resume in the private and community sector.