Candidates discuss economy and healthcare

Political candidates for both local and state offices spoke to the public in Carter County on Saturday, May 2, at an event in Willard. The open-air event allowed each speaker to present their platform and answer questions from their current or potential constituents on topics important to local voters, such as the struggling economy and not only the rising cost of healthcare but also the lack of necessary coverage for county voters. Many of the candidates present voiced opposition to what Republican President Donald Trump has named his “Big Beautiful Bill.”

“It will absolutely decimate our rural poverty communities,” candidate Ned Pillersdorf said of the bill.

Pillersdorf, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Hal Rogers for Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District.

“The Medicaid cuts will be catastrophic,” he noted. “We are projected to lose more hospitals than any other congressional district in the nation.”

Pillersdorf lives in Floyd County, and told those present that he has been a poverty lawyer for 45 years.

“I’m running because, unlike the Republicans, I actually care about the less fortunate.”

Pillersdorf said the fact that Rogers cast the deciding vote for the “Big Beautiful Bill” is, “an unconscionable act of treason for our population.” Pillersdorf said the “Big Ugly Bill,” as he calls it, gave tax breaks to the top one-tenth of one percent while Medicare and Medicaid suffer.

Senate candidate Amy McGrath also spoke to those present. McGrath, a Democrat, is running to fill the seat that will be vacated by Mitch McConnell – who will retire at the end of his current term.

“I’m running for this open US Senate seat,” McGrath, a 20-year veteran of the United States military, with most of her service in the Marine Corps, told the crowd. “And my slogan is ‘Country over Party,’ because it isn’t about party.”

McGrath has intimate knowledge of parties meeting in the middle because she is a Democrat and her husband is a Republican. And, she noted, the issues Kentuckians face cut across those party lines.

“The prices of everything have skyrocketed,” McGrath told those present, introducing a key point of her platform.

McGrath said she agreed with Pillersdorf that there should not be cuts for those relying on Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs while the wealthy enjoyed tax breaks.

“I’m not about that,” McGrath said of the cuts the “Big Beautiful Bill” will cause to social programs. “It (the bill) really just gives tax breaks to Elon Musk and the people making the most money.”

“It’s on the backs of all of us,” McGrath continued. “The average Kentuckian is paying $5,000 more than last year. If you break it down, the average Kentuckian is paying an average of $2,500 just because of the tariffs. Tariffs that were unilaterally put in that we did not have a say on. What that does is jack up the price on everything. We are all paying for it. Other countries aren’t paying for it – we are paying for it.”

McGath said that the other factor costing Kentuckians money was the rising cost of gas due to a “war we did not need to start.”

Candidate Benjamin Hurley, a Republican running for Kentucky Congressional District 5, is from Pike County, and is also a veteran who served in the 101st Airborne Division.

“After six years of jumping out of airplanes, I came home to my hometown of Phelps and noticed a regression instead of progression,” Hurley said. “My county and many other counties have become dilapidated. So, going forward, I decided I wanted to run for the US House.”

“What we need,” Hurley said, “is more jobs. It’s just that simple – we need better paying jobs.”

Hurley told those gather that instead of “sounding like a crooked politician,” he was prepared to put his own money where his mouth is.

“Currently your US House Representative makes $14,000 (monthly),” Hurley said. “Your median household income is $2,900, and I will match that.”

Hurley said that the difference will be used to fund small community projects around the district.

“That way, the only way I make more money is if I bring in better paying jobs.”

Another key point of Hurley’s platform was to set term limits on congress, and said that with career politicians, Washington has turned into a nursing home.

Vincent Thompson, Democratic candidate for the US Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnel, began by saying his wife had passed away in 2020.

“She had been battling congestive heart failure since 2015,” Thompson said. “We were told that she needed to go to Vanderbilt for a heart transplant. But the problem was she was on state insurance because she was a teacher on disability. And we were told that she needed to go to a state hospital.”

“I hold the fact that insurance was dictating her healthcare, rather than her healthcare provider, as a key factor in her passing,” Thompson said. “When I get to DC, the first thing I am going to do is make sure insurance companies get back in their own lane. They need to be taking care of reimbursing healthcare and not telling nurses and doctors what they are supposed to be doing.”

Thompson said that healthcare should revolve around health and not a company’s financial bottom line.

Pam Lewis, candidate for Kentucky House District 96, said she grew up in Carter County in a little house across from Willard Elementary.

“I never really wanted to be a politician,” Lewis said. “However, we need change. Kids in our communities are suffering.“

Lewis, who is a teacher and manages a nonprofit that provides clothing for foster children, said that there is a need because the government has failed that population and others.

She told those present that public education is “taking a beating.”
“It has some issues,” she said. “And there are a lot of things I would like to change. But I can’t do that sitting at home.” 

Lewis also echoed the need to improve healthcare, citing an incident with her mother’s struggles with diabetes, and the fact that her care was often marginalized or nonexistent due to her insurance.

“Our healthcare system is failing our people,” she said. “I want change, and I am a be-the-change type of person. That’s why I’m here.”

Iva Markicevic Daley, candidate for the Kentucky State House of Representative for Elliot, Morgan, and Rowan Counties, said the first thing people need to know about her is that she is a mother, and that shapes every aspect of her life.

“That is the primary reason I am running for this seat,” Daley said.

Daley said that during her pregnancy she had been between jobs and was on state funded insurance. When she experienced severe abdominal pain, and a 45-minute trip to Morehead for care, she realized just how crucial medical support was for struggling families in the region. Daley also pointed out the struggles of veterans, her husband being a combat veteran, to receive the proper and necessary health care they deserve.

“What I have seen come out of Frankfort isn’t helping families,” she said, calling the current situation “maddening,” and hoping herself to help provide necessary changes.

Grayson Mayor Troy Combs, who is running for reelection, began by thanking everyone for attending the event and taking interest in both their local and state government.

“The mayor’s election for Grayson is a nonpartisan office,” Combs said. “And I am really glad to be at this event in Willard to see the nonpartisanship of this event. I think it is great that people running as a Democrat or a Republican can get up here and we can all listen to each other and have a civil dialogue.”

“I’m proud to be a part of that,” Combs continued. “And I am proud to be here.”

Combs said the city and the county work well together, and that Grayson is proud to be the county seat of Carter County.

“Grayson is making a lot of developments, we are growing a lot, and we have a lot of good things going on,” Combs told those in attendance. “And it is my goal as mayor to keep working with the county.”

Combs said the various city and county departments have made it easy to work together and get things done, and his goal is to continue to foster that for the benefit of not only Grayson, but the county as well.

Derrick McKinney, who is currently serving as Magistrate of District 2 in Carter County, is also running for Mayor of Grayson in the current election.

“I’m an East Carter High School graduate,” McKinney said, telling those gathered that he was proud of his Carter County roots. “And I’ve been a lineman here in Carter County for 25 years. I want to run for mayor because I want a change for Grayson. I’m a small business owner, and I want more for our small businesses.”

“The sports park is still not completed,” McKinney continued, addressing other concerns. “I want it completed within the first year of being elected.”

McKinney said he believed the funds to do so are sitting unused and need to be utilized for their intended purpose.

“I want more for our children too. I’d like to see the city pool back for our kids,” he said, as well as other things to benefit Grayson’s youngest population.

McKinney finished by saying he was always available in Grayson to answer any questions concerning his platform and to hear concerns from Grayson residents.

Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com