The seat for district 89, which covers parts of Madison, Laurel, and Jackson counties was vacated by republican Marie Rader at the end of last year.
Rader cited health concerns as her reasoning for leaving the position, which would have been up for election this November, and still will be between the two candidates running. Polls will be open for Republican Robert Goforth from Laurel county, and Democrat Kelly smith from Berea for the representative position.
Candidate Smith sat down with Marisa Hempel and told her about her years with EKU in special collections at the University’s library, as well as explained she is a mother.
Smith said her party affiliation is Democrat, and her main platform issue is finding solutions to remedy statewide budget cuts, especially concerning education. Pension reform is also another topic Smith touched on, and said that since she has been on the campaign trail, many people have expressed concerns with retaining their pension benefits to her.
Another issue mentioned on her campaign trail is that of legalizing medical marijuana in the Commonwealth, which Smith says she is not well versed in but it is a topic of conversation that needs to be addressed. The drug epidemic, in her opinion, could also be partially remedied if those with mental health issues would have better access to medial care as well as insurance statewide.
Lastly, Smith touched on abortion, and said that she believes a large number of abortions are obviously not the answer. She commented that the option for women to have more access to healthcare and other outlets, such as affordable childcare, would hopefully give other options instead.
