Candidates discuss platforms at Red White & Blue Forum in Owensboro

OWENSBORO, Ky. (WFIE) - On Thursday, the Red, White and Blue Forum was held in Owensboro.

It was a chance for candidates on the local and state level to get in one last campaign push.

County Commission candidates Larry Conder and Tyler Sagardoy discussed their approach to crime.

“Our juvenile crime,” Conder began. “We will have an opportunity, even though it’s not a lot of money, of OPEID funds. It’s not a lot, but it’s a start.”

“I’ll work to reduce street violence by reducing gun thefts,” said Sagardoy. “I’ll work to reduce gun theft by promoting responsible gun ownership and raising awareness.”

Daviess County Judge Executive candidates Charlie Castlen and Bruce Kunze talked about their previous work as county commissioners and the certain kinds of projects they supported.

“There were several things that I inherited from the prior fiscal court,” Castlen explained. “One is the flooding at Wyndcrest. We were able to take care of those people and relocate those people thanks to FEMA grants. There were over 200 families that did not have potable county water. We were able to use co-severance dollars to get those into their homes.”

“We built a new soccer complex,” Kunze said. “Those are the easy decisions to make. The tough decisions to make are supporting downtown development, which I did and my opponent did not. Tough decisions are supporting a smoking ordinance to protect our young people and to protect the health of our community, which my opponent said it was not really a problem and we didn’t need to act on that.”

Kentucky State House candidates incumbent D.J. Johnson and challenger Michael Johnson both talked about education related issues.

“Last yearn one of our local school principals, Jeremy Cameron described a situation that made it difficult for certain at risk high school seniors to earn their GED,” said D.J. Johnson. “With Jeremy’s help I sponsored legislation that corrected that situation.”

“This is not the time to cut funding to education, but a time to fund education fully and completely,” said Michael Johnson. “[It is] not the time to privatize it.”

Next up, were candidates for U.S. Congress.

Incumbent Republican Brett Guthrie did not attend the event.

His opponent Hank Linderman was up to the podium.

“As our prosperity has increased, somehow working people have been left out of the bargain,” said Linderman. “That needs to stop. That’s my promise to you: If you put me into congress, my focus will be, ‘How will this help working people?’”

The final race of the evening was for U.S. Senate.

Incumbent Republican Rand Paul did not attend.

His challenger, Charles Booker took the stand and discussed some of his main focuses.

“What we’ve seen is a lot of corporate greed that has hurt communities across Kentucky,” Booker said. “Meanwhile, small businesses, independent businesses have been struggling to stay afloat. I want to be a voice for you. Most importantly, send me to Washington to protect your rights. Protect your agency. Your ability to make decisions about your life, and I want to make clear: That means on Amendment 2, we need to vote no.”

Amendment 2 would amend the Kentucky state constitution to state that there is no right to have an abortion.

Many other races were represented. We discuss them below, and for those who have them, we have links to official profiles or websites for their campaigns.

Candidates for City Commission were also present. They were Robert Morris, Mark Castlen, Bob Glenn, Jeff Sanford, Larry Maglinger, and Debbie Fillman.

Castlen, Glenn, Sanford and Maglinger are all incumbent commissioners.

Candidates for Daviess County District 1 Circuit Court Judge were also present. They were Leigh A. Jackson and Jay Wethington, who briefly retired from that same role in September.

Both candidates for Daviess District Court Judge were present. Judge Shannon Meyer was present, looking to be elected to the role she was appointed to in January after the role was vacated. She is being challenged by Nick Payne, who has been prosecutor for two decades.

There were also 6th Circuit, Family Division 3 Judge candidates. They were Jennifer L. Hendricks and Thomas Vallandingham.

The second Family Court Judge candidates were Angela Thompson and Andrew Johnson.

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