Paducah rally draws a quartet of House hopefuls and about 100 fans

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

A quartet of Democratic state House candidates and about 100 well-wishers showed up at Kyle Henderson’s downtown Paducah union hall for an impromptu filing-deadline-day rally in Paducah.

“From where I’m sitting, Kentuckians made a mistake,” said Henderson, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 184 business manager. “We’re going to rectify the situation. We’re going to step up to the plate and send these candidates to Frankfort and take back what is ours.”

In the Trump tsunami of 2016, the GOP flipped the Democratic-majority House of Representatives. The legislature’s lower chamber was all that stood between Kentucky and a “right to work” law and prevailing wage repeal.

Egged on by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, the Republican-majority Senate and House passed both measures at warp speed in January, 2017. Bevin quickly signed them into law.

House hopefuls Abigail Barnes of Salem, Al Cunningham of Benton, Martha Emmons of Paducah and Desiree Owen of Barlow all pledged to back organized labor in the state capital.

“My position is that I will do all I can to help the unions,” said Barnes. “Obviously I’m against right to work because it is right to work for less and I’m absolutely for the prevailing wage.”

Barnes, an attorney, is challenging Rep. Lynn Bechler, R-Marion, in the Fourth District, which encompasses Crittenden, Livingston and Caldwell counties and part of Christian County.

Bechler’s support for RTW, prevailing wage repeal and a measure to make it harder for some unions to collect dues through payroll deductions landed him on the USW District 8 traveling “Wall of Shame Banner.”

Barnes, Cunningham, Emmons and Owen also oppose RTW and paycheck deception legislation and support the prevailing wage. They also oppose Republican efforts to cut state pension benefits.

“The pension issue infuriates me,” said Emmons, a bike shop owner who grew up in a union family. “It’s like stealing. Somebody gave me their money to keep and I promised to keep it. Instead I gambled with it at the gambling tables, thinking I’d put it back but I kept losing and losing and losing.

“Now I said to my friend, ‘You know I really hate it and I feel really bad, but I’m only going to pay you back part of what you gave to me to keep. In essence, I stole it from you.’”

Emmons wants to succeed Third District State Rep. Gerald Watkins, a fellow Paducah Democrat who is running for the city commission. The district mostly encompasses Paducah, the McCracken County seat.

Watkins is on the “Wall of Fame” side of the USW banner because he opposed the three anti-union bills.

Owen, co-owner of a hunting lodge, said the pension issue is personal to her. She said her niece is the warden at the Green River Correctional Complex. “She was about to retire this last year, that’s how frightened she was. She wasn’t ready to. We’re going to lose our best people because they’re afraid about what future holds.”

Owen, whose father was an Ironworker, is challenging State Rep. Steven Rudy, a McCracken countian, in the First House District. Rudy is also on the “Wall of Shame.”

The district includes western McCracken County plus Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton and Hickman counties.

Cunningham agreed with Owen. The Benton resident who retired in 2016 as business representative for Painters and Allied Trades District 91, is running for the Sixth District House seat being vacated by Democratic State Rep. Will Coursey.

Also on the “Wall of Fame,” Coursey is running for Marshall County judge-executive.

“This is not a time to cut pensions,” Cunningham said. “We need to feed them.” He said GOP proposals to curb benefits for current and retired state employees and force most new hires into risky 401(a) plans will make it harder to recruit good applicants for jobs such as teachers, police and firefighters.

“Pensions are more of an investment for our children and grandchildren,” he said. “We need the most skilled and best trained people we can get.”

Cunningham faces primary opposition from Linda Story Edwards and Drew Williams, both of Benton. Two other Benton residents are running in the GOP primary: Randall D. Fox and Chris Freeland.

The Sixth District includes Marshall and Lyon counties and part of McCracken County.

The filing deadline for the May 22 Democratic and Republican primaries was Monday.