During forums hosted by the Christian County League of Women Voters Thursday night, candidates for State Representatives in the 4th, 8th, and 9th Districts discussed several topics including education, pension, and healthcare.
If elected, 4th District Democratic challenger and attorney Abigail Barnes said her priority will be education and teachers.
Republican State Representative Lynn Bechler, who is seeking his fourth term, said there are a lot of priorities in the state and in the district and education is certainly important but not the only thing. He added the law passed regarding the pension didn’t change for retired teachers.
The second forum included 9th District State Representative Myron Dossett and his Democratic challenger William Coleman. Coleman said he wants to do more to serve his community and his priority is education.
Since running for office, Dossett said his goal and priority has always been to create a better environment for adults and the next generations coming along. He added we have a serious issue within the state that was created in the last 30 to 35 years with the pension system.
The final forum of the night was the 8th District State Representative race. Another topic discussed during the debate was Governor Matt Bevin’s proposal to roll back Medicaid coverage. Democratic challenger Jeff Taylor, who served as state representative for nine months, said he understands Bevin’s rationale and the challenges but it comes down to humanity.
Republican incumbent Walker Thomas stated he supports the governor’s plan.
Some of the other topics discussed included illegal immigration, redistricting, infrastructure, early voting, and a statewide wage increase.
