Sarah Brookbank

sbrookbank@communitypress.com

One of Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seats is up for election. The seat is occupied by Rand Paul.

The primary for U.S. Senate is May 17. Kentuckians must be registered for a party to vote.

Candidates Jim Gray, Tom Recktenwald, Ron Leach and Sellus Wilder were present at the debate.

FLORENCE – One of Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seats is up for election this year. It is one of 34 seats up for election nationally. Republicans hold 24 of those seats and are currently in control of the Senate.

The seat is currently occupied by Republican Rand Paul, who has held office since 2011.

Four Democratic candidates for the seat attended a debate at Gateway Community and Technical College’s Boone Campus on Monday.

The primary for the Senate seat is May 17. Kentuckians must be registered for a party to vote for the Senate candidate.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican primary for the general election in November. There are three Republicans running for the seat, including incumbent Sen. Rand Paul, who dropped out of the presidential race in February.

The Democratic candidates covered a wide range of issues, touching on more than 20 topics including foreign policy and domestic issues.

Candidates Jim Gray, Tom Recktenwald, Ron Leach and Sellus Wilder were present. Candidates Rory Houlihan and Jeff Kender were not present.

Brent Spence Bridge

The questions began with a topic on the forefront of the minds of many Northern Kentuckians – how to fund the Brent Spence Bridge project.

Candidate Leach said the federal government should have a hand in the funding. He said $400 billion goes over the Brent Spence Bridge every year.

“That’s a national asset, not just a Kentucky and Ohio asset. As a nation we should be investing in the Brent Spence Bridge and other infrastructure projects,” Leach said.

Candidate Wilder proposed that Kentucky, Ohio and the federal government should each pay a third of the cost to build the bridge. Wilder said if a compromise is not made soon, a toll road may go in despite negative feedback.



Candidate Gray also said the federal government should invest in the bridge. He said America has a history of building itself out of great decline and great trouble.

Candidate Recktenwald said the gas tax needs to be changed to help fund restoration of infrastructure. The national gas tax is what helps fund infrastructure projects.

“I think the first step we should make is to tie the gas tax to a per-gallon tax, greater than a percentage of what it costs. With the prices going up and down so much, when it goes down we benefit in our pocket, but the roads and bridges that need to be built or repaired loose out,” Recktenwald said.

Immigration reform

The candidates were all in favor of immigration reform, but had different ideas on the topic.

Recktenwald said the last thing the U.S. needs is a wall. He also said while he does not have the answer, he believes that a plan needs to be made with help from both parties.

Leach prescribes to the 2014 Senate compromise bill which was stopped and would work to get the bill back on the table.

“The Congressional Budget Office assessed that as having a net positive on our deficit of about $160 billion in the first 10 years. I believe it was over $600 billion in the next 20 years,” Leach said.

Wilder also brought up the 2014 Senate bill and said immigration reform could lead to fixing the Social Security problem as well.

“Social Security is out of balance because we don’t have enough current workers funding current retirees,” Wilder said. “One way to shore up our Social Security crisis is to magically create million more taxpayers which we could do with a path to citizenship and immigration reform.”

Gray said the first priority is keeping American citizens safe and reform is essential.

“We’ve got to remember that we are a nation of immigrants … Donald Trump is wrong. It is not reasonable, it is not realistic, it is not doable and his model won’t work,” Gray said.

Social Security

The Social Security fund is predicted to run out in 2034 and current Sen. Rand Paul has suggested moving the retirement age back, so citizens must be older to get benefits.

Gray said he does not agree with Rand Paul on extending the age of retirement or privatization of Social Security.

Recktenwald said Republicans use scare tactics when they say Social Security is going broke. He said he would support small tweaks to the system, including increasing the age to keep the system stable.

Leach said Social Security can be easily fixed if the government removes the cap on wages subject to Social Security.

Wilder said the trouble comes from politicians wanting to avoid any pain, but all changes are going to cause some discomfort.

“I absolutely agree that we should remove the cap on wages that are subject to Social Security. Like I said earlier, a path to citizenship for undocumented aliens could also produce a million more taxpayers who could shore up the problem as well,” Wilder said.

Taxes

According to Forbes, the national debt in 2014 was $483 billion. Candidates were asked if they would raise taxes.

Leach said there needs to be an aggressive reform on taxes for corporations, to make sure they are not hiding money offshore. Leach also said people who have done well should also pay their dues.

Wilder said the issue is balancing the budget while not adding to the deficit. Wilder said getting rid of tax loopholes that help 15 of the Fortune 500 avoid paying income taxes, combined with streamlining the federal budget will help avoid raising taxes across the board.

Gray cited his experience as mayor of Lexington and fixing the budget deficit of $3.5 million when he took office. Gray said the city reformed pensions, cut spending and reformed health insurance for government employees. Gray said the city saved $100 million, which it then turned into a fund for low-income housing.

Recktenwald said the wealthy don’t pay their fair share of taxes and that he supports a flat tax system. He said by simplifying taxes into three tiers, the IRS could be rendered obsolete.

ISIS and foreign intervention

Candidates also weighed in on ISIS and policy on foreign conflict intervention.

Recktenwald said stopping ISIS is an absolute priority, but it can be done without deploying a large number of troops.

“We have smart technology and drone technology where we can get the intelligence we need,” Recktenwald said. “We can use these smart weapons to take out whatever we need to take out.”

Leach is a retired Army major and a Green Beret who served four combat tours. His wife is also on active duty in the Army as a nurse.

“I am the only one at this table with the background experience to lead the debate in Washington in the U.S. Senate to say is this a clear, concise military objective in the nation’s best interest. If so, are you doing to deploy those folks and will you be with them for the rest of their lives if necessary,” Leach said.

Wilder said the U.S. needs to defend itself, but can do it without expanding its military. Wilder said using military intelligence in a smarter way will help present and future conflicts.

Gray also said the intelligence community plays an important role in protecting citizens. He said cutting funding to intelligence agencies leaves citizens open to attacks by terrorist organizations.

“Even Senator Lindsey Graham has said … no one in the U.S. Senate has done more to dismantle the national intelligence system than Rand Paul,” Gray said.

College costs

Each candidate said the government should have a hand is helping students pay for college.

Recktenwald said Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin made a mistake by cutting the community college plan out of the budget and that schools should look into making a degree possible online to help students avoid paying for transportation and housing.

Leach said the student debt crisis has a drag on the economy, because young people are unable to invest in homes and their futures.

Wilder said interest rates for students should be lowered because the industry is looking for a profit, not to help students.

Gray said while college is important, high school counselors should also help students explore trade schools and technical training as an option. Gray also said students should be given the option to refinance their loans.

Decline of coal jobs

As potential representatives of Kentucky, candidates were asked about Kentucky’s bad health rating and the decline of coal jobs.

Gray and Leach said Bevin hurt Kentuckians by getting rid of the Affordable Care Act. Both Recktenwald and Wilder believe in universal health care. Wilder said it isn’t just health care coverage that needs improving, but environmental regulations to protect citizens.

The candidates believe there is no “war on coal,” but believe coal country is in dire need of jobs and economic redevelopment. Leach said Americans owe coal workers much more than they are given and there needs to be a serious investment by the federal government in the area. Recktenwald said the problems facing coal country are brought on by Mitch McConnell’s war on the EPA.

Who are the Democratic candidates

Jim Gray is a businessman and mayor of Lexington. He is the first openly gay mayor of Lexington.

http://www.grayforkentucky.com/

Sellus Wilder is a farmer and a former city commissioner and mayor pro tem in Frankfort.

http://wilderforSenate.com/

Tom Recktenwald is a retired technology teacher from Louisville.

http://www.nevermealwaysus.com/

Ron Leach is a former Green Beret and Army major from Brandenburg.

http://www.ronleach4ky.com/

Jeff Kender is a steelworker from Phelps who comes from a family of coal miners.

www.kender4Senate2016.com

Rory Houlihan from Winchester has worked for military and corporate flight lines.

https://www.facebook.com/Rory4US