Robert Goforth
District/Office:
Political party:
Republican
Campaign website:
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Question 1:
What’s your vision for Kentucky? How will our commonwealth be better in four years if you’re elected?
My vision for Kentucky is one of a Governor who listens more than he lectures; who leads more that he lambasts; and who is a conservative molded not by New England and Wall Street, but by Kentucky and Main Street. I want to replace Matt Bevin's Corporate First Agenda with a People First Agenda where the average Kentuckian comes first. A Goforth-Hogan Administration will value people and change the tone in Frankfort.
Question 2:
If you are elected Governor, what steps will you take to encourage transparency, media access and meaningful public participation in decisions made by state government?
My administration will be cooperative, not confrontational with Kentucky's news media, and we will be fully transparent with the public.
Question 3:
Do you believe that we have an obligation and opportunity to act on climate change? What actions would you take to ensure that solutions, such as clean energy jobs and reducing high energy bills, benefit all Kentuckians, including low-income communities, communities of color, and those who are most impacted by the changing climate?
We must balance our ecology and economy, and be realistic. Poor Kentuckians need heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. I am not for pursuing policies that cause electric bills to skyrocket and endanger many people.
Question 4:
Do you support a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to tens of thousands of Kentuckians with felonies in their past who have completed their full sentence? If the state legislature remains locked on this issue, would you use executive power to restore voting rights to all Kentuckians with felonies in their past who are currently restricted from voting? Please explain.
If someone has paid their debt to society and is obeying the law, I support their rights being restored. I would examine use of executive power to achieve this goal.
Question 5:
Will you protect or even expand access to Medicaid for the nearly 400,000 low-income Kentuckians who qualified for health care – including vision, dental and mental health – for the first time under the Affordable Care Act? What is your view of the current administration’s efforts to limit access to Medicaid, including new co-pay requirements, restrictions on vision and dental coverage and work requirements?
I believe in expanding health coverage where we can reasonably do it, and I'm not for wholesale chopping of huge numbers of people off Medicaid. The working poor and unemployed and underemployed Kentuckians need help. We cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of thousands upon thousands of our fellow Kentuckians.
Question 6:
What is the Governor’s role in opposing white supremacy, addressing racial inequality and supporting racial justice for black people, Latinx people, immigrants, those who are undocumented, and all people of color in Kentucky? Please identify at least two policy initiatives you would propose as Governor to address racial and systemic inequalities.
I support policies that uplift all Kentuckians, regardless of their race or ethnicity.
Question 7:
Kentucky has a tax code that does not raise enough revenue to meet the Commonwealth’s budgetary needs. After years of budget cuts, public education, infrastructure, state worker pensions and other essential programs have reached dangerous levels of disinvestment. What solutions would you support to raise the necessary revenue for the public investments Kentuckians need and deserve?
I'm for considering all reasonable and viable solutions to raise revenue, but I have a problem with predatory expanded gambling which I believe preys on the most vulnerable in our society.
Question 8:
Do you support Kentucky’s public workers having a quality public pension? What do you consider to be a quality public pension?
I absolutely support Kentucky's public workers having a quality public pensions. Pensions are inviolable contracts and are binding moral and legal promises. I consider a defined benefit plan with adequate health coverage to be a quality public pension, and I support finding funding to fulfill's the Commonwealth's commitments.
Question 9:
What will you do to support LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer) Kentuckians? What will you do to protect people from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity?
I believe that the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky protect everyone equally under the law.
Question 10:
Kentucky has the ninth highest incarceration rate in the nation, is second in the nation for incarcerating women, and has the second highest rate in the country of children separated from a parent due to incarceration. In addition, black Kentuckians makeup 8.3% of the state population but 21% of the state’s incarcerated population. Are you committed to ending mass incarceration in Kentucky? If elected, what will you do to make strides toward ending mass incarceration?
The cost of incarceration is staggering both for our tax coffers and for society in general. I support a balanced approach that offers second chances to individuals deserving of those opportunities, but I am also mindful of the need to keep certain career criminals off the streets.