Statement is provided by the Candidate. It is unedited by the staff of www.knoxky.com.
I am a retired teacher with 30+ years working with our children, coaxing, encouraging and pushing them to be the best they can be. I have had many of your children in school, many of you in class and sometimes both you and your kids, so you know me. I am the current president of our Knox County Retired Teachers’ association, Vice Chair of our Democrat Executive Committee and Vice President of our Knox County Democrat Women’s group. I think the only thing we get to take with us when we go is what we give away while we are here and that God has always given me more than I need so I have it when someone else doesn’t have enough. I volunteer my time, money and goods to several under served organizations, helping out the women and children’s homeless shelter with the food bank and needed household goods, I supply Go-Bags with hygiene kits for Social Services to give children who are being moved into foster homes so they something of their own to take with them and on monthly community services projects for various underserved groups in our counties. I actively support causes I feel are important to our communities and invest my time, work and money in the same. I take Matthew 25 verses 31-40 seriously and try to follow the instructions Christ left as part of my life.
I am running for State Representative for Knox and Southern Laurel Counties to restore some kind of balance into our state government. When the balance of any scale becomes unlevel things begin sliding to the ground and breaking. We are there, in Frankfort things are crashing.
I believe a quality education in all areas of life is the single most important service we can offer our children, families and communities. Our children are the future of our communities, our nation and our planet. I will do battle for them if needed. I feel that battle is needed now more than any time since compulsory education was enacted to ensure our children a high quality public education. If our students, no matter the age, are to be job-ready, we must ensure they have the experience needed to run and use the most recent equipment, techniques and skills needed in all employment fields. The Commonwealth is responsible for meeting this need. We must hold our government to its obligation to its students.
The needs of rural Kentucky are different than needs in Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky. We can’t be lumped in with the more urbanized areas. We need a different set of actions to ensure our citizens’ needs are met. I want to fight for those needs. I want our small business owners to receive tax incentives just like the major industries in other parts of the Commonwealth do so our economy grows and unemployment rates drop,and wages increase. I want to see lost coal jobs replaced by well paying jobs in alternative fuel jobs; wind and solar are growing industries in the Commonwealth, why can’t be bring them here and produce wind turbines in Knox and Laurel county. I want every single County in the Commonwealth to have a residential addiction facility that allows family support without having to travel four hours. I want access to mental health professionals without a four month wait for an appointment. I want our overdose deaths rates eliminated. I want us to act ahead of addiction issues not wait until we are reacting to one.
I hope you give me your vote in November 6th. I assure you, I will be
A Voice for US,
Debra Ferguson Payne
