Transparency, Healthcare, and Hope: Josh Baker's Vision for Kentucky

In this episode of the Blue Dot Podcast, hosts Natalie MacDonald and Brian Koehl sit down with Josh Baker, Democratic candidate for Kentucky State Senate District 24. Baker discusses his background as a veteran and hospitality industry professional, his decision to run for office, and his commitment to representing working families who he believes have been overlooked by state government.

The conversation covers his priorities of expanding healthcare access, fully funding public education, protecting Kentucky’s environment, and increasing government transparency. Baker also shares his views on economic development, community engagement, working across party lines, and building a stronger future for Kentucky. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Blue Dot, Northern Kentucky's premier political podcast, brought to you by the Kent County Democratic Executive Committee.

SPEAKER_02 0:07

I was so I I was raised that leadership is it's a responsibility, it's an action, it's a verb, it's not a career choice, it's not a resume skill that you're that you're putting together to get hired on the job. Uh and so I hold people in positions of leadership to a very high standard.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Welcome back to the Blue Dot Podcast where we spotlight the people, policies, and conversations shaping Kentucky's future. This week we sit down with Josh Baker, state Senate candidate running for District 24. Thanks so much for joining. I'm Natalie McDonald.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

And I'm Brian Cale. Joshua Baker is a Kentucky native and community advocate running to represent Kentucky's 24th Senate district. Raised with the belief that leadership is a responsibility rather than a privilege, Baker launched his campaign to give working families and everyday Kentuckians a stronger voice in state government.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

And that's right, Josh's campaign focuses on accountable government, transparent leadership, and building a stronger future for Kentucky's next generation. As a Democratic candidate, Josh says his goal is to ensure every Kentuckian has the opportunity to thrive while promoting responsible, transparent, and community-focused leadership. Josh, thanks so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Thank you for having me, guys. I couldn't be more excited to be here and be doing this today.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Yeah, thanks for joining us, Josh. Hey, uh, so tell us a little bit more about yourself, you know, why you decided to run for Kentucky State Senate, and was there a key moment or issue that made you decide to throw your hat into the ring?

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Well, to start with me, uh, I was I've grown up in northern Kentucky, graduated from Campbell County um all the way back in 2010. I know a long time ago. Uh, but uh I'm also a veteran and I've spent most of my working career in and around the service industry, finding my particular niche in the hotel industry. I spent quite a few years either being a general manager or eventually running some maintenance departments. And my working career is a good part of the reason why I am going into this. Uh a common thread that I have found throughout all of the places I worked is I really didn't meet an hourly worker that felt represented by the state legislature, whether it was uh myself or anyone I was working with, servers, bartenders, warehouse workers, cab drivers, none of us feel represented by the folks down in Frankfurt right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Yeah, you talked about that, uh, not feeling represented as a worker. You know, can you drill down into that a little bit more on some of your experiences? And, you know, how are you then making that a focus of your campaign today?

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Well, my experiences in the workplace, I think it's it's hard to really kind of go through and describe them unless you you've worked for the conditions. Uh these are industries that unions or union representation is few and far between. So uh, you know, I I was that guy that spent a decade without having healthcare just because none of the jobs, you know, would provide healthcare that would be worth keeping at the rate you were getting paid. Retirement funds are non-existent. And it's just it's it's difficult nowadays to really be in the workforce in any kind of industry that isn't already unionized, that doesn't already have access to higher education. Uh so you know, we the people, we're tired of not being represented.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Uh first of all, I didn't know you were a veteran. So thank you for your service. Thank you. I don't know how I missed that somewhere along the line, but I did.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

So secondly, yeah, it's uh I didn't spend a whole lot of time. I unfortunately uh got a pretty, pretty nasty back injury pretty early on. So uh that's my biggest souvenir is a bad back. And uh, you know, just had to figure out how to how to work full time and uh you know make a living with with what I had in front of me.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yeah, and I'm with you on uh the food service. I did food service from the time I was 15 until all through author college, author graduate school. And what's kind of sad about it is I think the tipped minimum wage is the same today as it was then, and I'm talking 1993. So we could talk about things like oh, no tax on tips and all this kind of stuff, but that's a a little tiny slice. It's performative.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

It's performative economics. Uh sorry, sorry to cut you off.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Um, yeah, please do, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Uh but yeah, it's performative economics. They're they're trying to say, look, we're we're for you, we're for you when I don't know about y'all, but I think you know, uh universal access to healthcare would take a lot of stress off of employers and small businesses not having to provide it. A lot of people could go and start a business because they don't have to have expensive uh marketplace market rate insurance. Um, but you know, we we don't want to talk about that. That's a they tell us we can't afford that. You know, those short was it, 300 million that they did on Medicaid. Uh, but then Governor Bashir reached in and found that money to fund it. So guess what? The money's there. You're lying to us by saying it's not there.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Yeah, exactly. So let's talk about those platform issues that you're focused on. Obviously, healthcare is is one of them, but what are some of the top priorities that you'd focus on on day one when you get into Frankfurt?

SPEAKER_02 5:18

So, along with healthcare, it's gonna be we need to fully fund our education system. Like, not just fully fund the classrooms and the transportation systems. But when I say fully fund our education system, I mean pay the teachers so that all they have to do is teach. Someone with a master's degree that takes care of our children should not have to go and work a second job on the summertime because the it's the system doesn't want to pay them enough. To me, it all comes down to priorities. Kentucky gives, I don't even know how many hundreds of millions in tax breaks every year, but they're telling us they can't afford to fund our education or healthcare. Um, those those are kind of the two big priorities. I get really emotional over those. Uh I very much I also love the ecology that is northern Kentucky. Uh like I said, I grew up in this area. I grew up running around the woods and the parks. And uh, you know, I love love the deer and the birds and the wildlife and our watersheds. And I really genuinely want to protect what we have. Uh Kentucky not only has abundant natural resources, but we're just we're just lucky to live in a beautiful state. Um people people come by and vacation here and take photos of our backyard because of where we're at. Uh, and that's something that should be cherished and protected at every turn we can.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

I totally agree with that. The uh, you know, and environmental uh issues, especially. Well, uh well, let's let's go through the list. Public education, health care, and the environment are all under assault right now by the Republican uh government that we have in place, not only in the Kentucky supermajority, but nationally, you know, all three branches of government. So drilling in a little bit more on the environmental piece of it. So what do you see around you specifically and in the state do you think are some of our greatest risks, and where would you like to focus?

SPEAKER_02 7:08

So, as far as what we can do locally, I think that Kentucky does have a pretty strong tradition of trying to take care of our virus. We have a wonderful fish and wildlife department. Uh, at the state level, we are lucky enough to have a ton of really good farmers within easy driving distance of where I live. So, from my point of view, I believe that we already have expertise out in the field. We just need to once again prioritize funding them, listening to the experts, working with the young college kids that are passionate about the environment. So I would I would really like to see the state government really be proactive in working with the folks that are already in the state versus uh funding another committee or research program or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Yeah, and as I sit, if I look at my window right now, I can see the Omaran Lake and the Bank Lake watershed. So I don't know if you've ever spent any any time ever in this this part, but I was thinking about the environmental impact of data centers today, and we have to realize they're they're not going anywhere. So I I think it's gonna be really important in this next election for people to demand answers from their representatives of how are you going to balance this environmental piece of it and still be able to promote growth. One of the things that I'm worried about is that people are just going to rubber stamp, be a rubber stamp for what the Trump administration is already saying. He's out there saying, yes, let's be uh pro data centers, and I'm already going to get get rid of all of these environmental restrictions to make it easy for them. So I think it's gonna be super important for people at our level in your district to be able to hear answers from you. How are you gonna balance that?

SPEAKER_02 8:53

Well, we always do have to, as you as you guys said, we always do have to balance uh the protections for the community, protections for local environments with whatever economic development. For example, you know, we we saw in the coal industry what happens when one company controls all of the resources. You know, we we get company towns and strikes. So we already have an established history of trying to trying to deal with that exploitation. So being down in Frankfurt uh with the state government, I feel like it has a very unique role to kind of be uh the go-between between what the the federal funding wants to put together and then what the local local actually needs to be effective, to be good for us. Uh so I see that the role of the state legislature is to know exactly what their local community knows. Uh, we have a wonderful network of local governments that uh are fairly easy to get a hold of and transparent. Um, I have a uh city council meeting I'm attending tonight, so uh Cold Springs. And uh, you know, with all the other ones, you can walk into the city governments, sit down and have a conversation with them. That's not as easy in Frankfurt. So I think that the role of the state legislature, it is part of my responsibility to communicate not only what is going on, but to understand from the community what is best for them. Because only the community is gonna know what's best for the community. Someone in Frankfurt 100 miles away isn't gonna know, people in DC sure as heck aren't gonna know. So, as as the state, as a representative, I also have quite a few house districts that uh overlap. So I'd be working very closely with those uh house districts, and they're also able to once again really focus in on the community. So I do believe that there is an existing network that can be utilized to be able to transparently govern uh by the will of the people. I and again, just like like it is with healthcare and education, it's a matter of priorities, and it's a matter of our leadership genuinely leading versus uh politicians as a career as a career path.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Yeah, you're talking about um meeting your local constituents and making sure that you understood their needs and then communicated those up into the state house and and tried to actuate some of that. Uh and your district, District 24, you know, is is large and it it uh touches Bracken, Pendleton, Campbell, and Kenton counties. So you have the uh what is uh Covington, the second or third largest city in Kentucky. So you have the urban area and that urban sprawl up north a little bit, and then you get down down south into you know some of the Kentucky hinterland and and the rural areas, and you're gonna have all those constituents with those various needs. So yeah, it sounds like communication and a lot of uh getting out to see the people is gonna be required in order to really understand the broad spectrum of those needs.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Yeah, and uh one of the I think one of my favorite things about representing specifically this district is because of what you said. It is it is a slice of the, I think, you know, the whole of Kentucky life, from the densely packed urban areas of Covington of Newport all the way down to the beautiful rural areas of Southern Campbell, Pendleton, and Bracken. And because I have to represent people from quite literal, literally all walks of life, I'm not able to go one direction or another. I think a lot of times when you have hyper-specific localities, what works, what is a solution for Covington and Newport just is not going to work down in Bracken County. So you have to be able to understand the needs of your constituency. You have to have the time to be able to sit down and understand all of the different needs of the different communities and then work with the local governments to enact those solutions that's best for the constituents.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

And I hear you talk a lot about talking to the constituents. I see you, you're everywhere. You're at all the events, you're out there talking to people, listening. I think it's it's so it's so important. And another thing is I've heard you say, I think three or four times in this brief conversation thus far, you've said the word transparency. And on your website, you have a quote that says, Power should be held in a glass cage, contained and transparent. So this is top of mind for a lot of people right now, especially at this local level, because I think a lot of people are grappling with the fact and of understanding that we don't have transparency in our government, not even in our local government. So is there anything specifically besides getting out there talking to people that that you think you can do to bring back that trust and transparency to people, especially once you're in office?

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Well, I was so I I was raised that leadership is it's a responsibility. It's an action, it's a verb, it's not a career choice, it's not a resume skill that you're that you're putting together to get hired on a job. And so I hold people in positions of leadership to a very high standard. Uh, it should be my responsibility to be out there and know the community because I'm running for public office. I'm running to advocate for the public. Uh, our campaign is as transparent as can be. We are uh, you know, everything you can look up all of our finances. We're 100% volunteer powered. Transparency should be the bare minimum, honestly, that we expect from our local government uh or any of our governments. Unfortunately, it shouldn't be something that we can use as a campaign slogan. Transparency should be the bare minimum that we expect from our elected office because it's an elected office. It's a public position.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Yeah, that uh transparency, you know, uh circling back around a little bit on the data centers and some of the economic development, the SRI and things that we've discussed many times on the podcast, that lack of transparency, you know, economic development that is all of a sudden happening, and many of the people, many of the people directly involved, or it's happening right in their backyard, don't know anything about it, didn't get a chance to weigh in on it, don't really understand the full impact.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

You know, uh yeah, when you're talking about your natural resources and you're talking about the farming and the rural communities buck butted up against data centers and a lot of other economic development, there's there's uh all kinds of logistical development that's happening with distribution centers. That could be an uphill battle for you. Are you are you seeing things around you right now in terms of those economic forces that you feel uh you would have some some pretty rapid uh approaches or quick solutions to how to maybe get everybody on the same page and make sure you could bring that transparency to some of this?

SPEAKER_02 15:34

Yeah, uh for I guess the the first and easiest answer is being around all of the candidates that are running this year. I have been kind of blown away with the local folks in uh in Campbell and Kenton that do genuinely like this this batch of candidates. Now I don't know what's going on over on the Republican side, but I can say this batch of candidates. Uh so I'm really encouraged. I'm really encouraged by people around my age. That's most of the people running right now uh are fall in the millennial category. So I'm very encouraged by that. And then I think that there's there's starting to be more of an an appetite uh for working with and understanding what's going on in our government. Kentuckians are are catching up. Like our legislature, yeah, they tried to sneak some stuff in. House Bill 775 gets a nice 50-year tax break to sales and use for data center development. I wonder why they want to come build here. Um and I just it doesn't help the local community. So we're we're seeing a lot of quick action, a lot of special interest, uh paid a lot of really good money to make sure that these laws got passed this last session by our uh Republican supermajority. But I think Kentucky's had enough. I think America's had enough, but I think especially Kentucky has had enough. You look at the way our uh US House primary got bought by outside people. You know, the 25 plus million dollars is going on. Why? This is northern Kentucky. Why are they dumping 20? You know what we could do with 25 million in our community? Like and I think that was a big wake-up call. And I'm really, really encouraged by the reactions of our community, the way that Kentuckians seem like they're stepping up. And I I have a ton of hope. I genuinely believe Kentucky's best days are ahead of us. I think that we have an incredibly bright future. I think with a small population of just four and a half million people, we can conversate, figure out a consensus, and get our shit done.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Absolutely. That's why we got to flip these seats. And I'm telling you, you know, it's um it's it's I agree with you in that I think things are starting to hit at home locally, right? People are seeing this land issue. Things are happening in their own backyard, they're losing health care. And maybe all that was out there a little bit on the surface, but now it's it's it's there, it's really grandular and people are feeling it. And this kind of Epstein Trump class of the Uber rich just making it like crazy. Well, we can't buy groceries, you know. So I think if people like you and all these people out there who are stepping up, that's that's why we're seeing this. And you mentioned Shelly, Shelly, yeah, funky Fren Meyer. So you mentioned her briefly, but I guess what sets you apart from from her and all of this?

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Uh well, I mean, I could take two different routes with it. Um, one, we can just look at the action she's taken and the vote she's done without anything she said, just her actions, and I can go through the list and say I won't do this, I wouldn't do that. But to to kind of sum it up, the campaign's taken to calling it the three C's, but my my compassion, my conviction, and my love of the community. Uh I I am just a genuine person that cares for the folks in my life. I mean, you ask any of my family or friends, uh, thankfully they're all supporting me. I don't think I would be doing this if I wouldn't have support support at home. I couldn't be doing this without support from home.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

But you sp you spoke about some of those bills. What are just a couple of those bills that maybe she voted for that really contributed to this supermajority takeover and and harm that's being done to Kentuckians?

SPEAKER_02 19:19

Let's just go with this last session. You know, we don't have to dig back all the way to the beginning, her freshman year as a senator. I'm sure I'll do some crazy things as well. Uh, but just this past year, her her support of the the budget bill that went through, where they just straight up looked at us in the eye and said, Oh, we can't afford this stuff when they're talking about our healthcare and our education. Uh, House Bill 775 that added in the brand new 50-year sales and use tax break for data centers. She was part of the legislation that has reduced the amount of warnings we need to have on pesticides. She has introduced and supported legislation that goes after uh civil rights, whether it's for the LGBTQ community or whether it's trying to stick the government's nose in uh the woman's doctor's office. None of that's going to gel with me. Like that's just uh I don't think that that's the role of the government. I think we should stay out of the bedroom in the boardroom, and we should we should really stick to what the community can do to make things better for the average person.

unknown 20:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Amen on that.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah, I mean, as we mentioned, I think on our podcast um just last week, we're talking about basically uh the Republican candidates, some of them, it's like having an anvil tied around your neck right now where the GOP is, you know. I mean, and even I think that some of them probably don't buy some of the policy and some of the rhetoric that's coming down from the national level and is as filtered out through the states and all the state legislatures, but they have to play that game and they have to speak the party line, and uh it puts them at a disadvantage. And then you put on top of that what their actual their own personal policy beliefs are uh and what they enact. And I think we just have some rather toxic government officials out there right now. I believe that's leading to this pushback. We've been apathetic for a while, and as uh Natalie just mentioned, all this has come home a roost, and now we're being directly affected by these policies, and our apathy maybe led to that. And that's why communities are speaking up and people are showing up at City Council, and we have a nice great bunch of younger candidates who are getting involved because they see that they it's their time, right? You know, you gotta take the power and use it.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

And just for example, look at the uh the Maha movement, which of course Shelly is a is a big proponent of food is medicine. Uh but the Maha movement is all about the distrust of expertise. Um it is and we're we're we're now seeing the the consequences. Whether we want to talk about the uh diesel outbreak happening across the country, the uh I'm not gonna butcher the the pronunciation, but the the diary on the lettuce that we're dealing with right now. Like that's just we've seen what happens when we reduce the safety regulations that uh anyone in the construction industry would tell you safety is written in blood. You you are not given a safety regulation for the fun of it. Uh those cost money, they take more time, they make your job more difficult. If there is, if there is a reason the the experts are telling you to do something, I promise you there's a good reason for it. Um, you know, and I like I like to sit down and listen to experts nerd out, whether whether it's gonna be, you know, uh someone from the fish and wildlife, whether it's a farmer with 30 years experience, retired teacher, nurses, uh, which uh Nisia, she she's been my Nisia, she's been a fantastic opponent research. Um, and she's she's really helped me getting my talking points together about the Maha movement. So I want to want to give her a quick plug. But yeah, and that's what I say. I like I think I think if you you have ever sat down and talked to an expert in their field, they want to answer your questions, they want to talk to you about it, they want to share what they're the nuances. Uh, I've I've never met an expert that doesn't want to talk about their field. So just the idea that there's this conspiracy and they're hiding the information from us, and these peer-reviewed journals are all made of I I think that's just a whole lot of noise. I mean, y'all just haven't sat down and talked to an expert. I'm I'm telling you right now, the nerds, the nerds are out there and they want to tell you their information. I promise. Just go talk to them. I'm one of them. We we want to talk to you.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Exactly. You know, you you these people who think they do research on their phone, you know, and and they want to tell you about whatever research, whatever medical research they think that they know the key to. But you know, Dr. Fauci, who's spent his entire life in immunology, doesn't know what he's talking about.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

It's it's it's it's hubris. You know, we we absolutely because we can talk about it, we think we're experts. And you know, I I'm not innocent of that. Throughout the years, I'm sure I have I have read up on something and felt like I had too much information on this and then ran my mouth and was proven wrong by a quick Google search. That's I'm sure that has happened to all of us. Um but that's not something I'm gonna walk out on the campaign trail and say, like I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be at if I'm talking about it any kind of authority, I'm gonna make sure I'm I'm backed up by experts. Like they they publish peer-reviewed research papers all the time. If you if you want to know the information's there, get the get it and read it. And you're the you can be a smart that's so I I go and I try to find whatever medical journals have been published, whatever the the actual bill text says or whatever it is. Because it is the information's there. We just we can't think we know better than the information that we have in front of us just because it goes against what our confirmation bias wants to see.

SPEAKER_00 25:04

But you're talking about the uh just the Republican policy and the just the ideological, if not political, differences and the the divisiveness between uh the parties and and the belief systems, you are gonna have to reach across that aisle and work with Republicans. So how how do you uh how do you envision that happening and and you know what are your qualifications, background, experience, personality that you think enables you to be successful at that?

SPEAKER_02 25:34

Well, uh first and foremost, I would hope that funding education, healthcare uh would be fairly bipartisan. Um I'm not sure I I haven't really met people that disagree with that. So, you know, I'm I'm gonna hope that uh the people in in Frankfurt are gonna be cooperative with that. I mean, I I don't understand why why you wouldn't want to prioritize making sure that we're healthy and educated before investing in private economic development. Uh, but uh I think the thing that might be controversial, I think the thing that might require some uh or will require some working across the aisle is I think Kentucky can have a really strong recreational cannabis industry. I have seen what states like Michigan, Colorado, uh, and Ohio have done with their their recreational industries, both good and bad. And it's frankly, it's a lot of money that Kentucky's left lying around. There is hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax revenue that we could be using to further fund these issues. Um and uh I know that that can that still can be a uh fairly partisan issue. Like we've only just recently got medical cannabis in the state. But I'm hoping that when we do sit down and we do begin talking about how to implement this entirely new industry into the state, that I will be able to sit down across the Republicans, find a common ground, uh whether it is in the potential for the economic development for the farmers and the the retail, whether it is sitting down to talk about what we could do to make the the farming sustainable and protect our environment through it. I would hope that I can find a common ground through something that benefits Kentucky. And then that's that's the end. That's you you gotta start with there, you gotta be willing to negotiate, you gotta be willing to go back and forth. And you know, sometimes you gotta be you have to stand on what you believe is uh the non-negotiables. It's one thing to negotiate on maybe a tax rate or you know, uh a percentage of of where this funding is gonna go where. I don't think that the question of uh fully funding this stuff should be a question. I don't think human rights should be a question. Uh and those are things that I I would not I'm not going to flex on. But again, I'm I'm here to do what's best for the community. And if the community says XYZ is best for us, well, it doesn't matter what my opinion is. It's my job to go get XYZ done for the for the community. And I really hope that the folks in Frankfurt have that mindset. And if not, I guess I'm just gonna have to yell at them until they get in line.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

Well, there's always that.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Yeah, but it's true, you know, when you break it down into we just want healthcare, uh, human rights, and education, you know, and and you have the supermajority just pushing against it. And at the end of the day, uh healthcare for all is an economic principle that helps business. As you said earlier, when businesses don't have to find a way to provide healthcare for their uh employees, then that's an economic boom for them.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

And I think spreading healthcare to everybody, it doesn't have to necessarily be just one big bill, one big signing. All right, everyone has healthcare. I think we could do it incrementally in with the the levers of governance we already have. Medicaid, for example. Medicaid is it's federally funded, but it is ran by the states. Kentucky can expand Medicaid eligibility to cover every single child in Kentucky from zero to 18. Step number one. We take care, we make sure the children are healthy. I don't know many people that would tell me that's a bad idea. If they're around, I'm sure I'll meet them in Frankfurt. But uh we're we're, you know, that that's just a step. That's just something that I, you know, I was able to sit down and think about. Like, and that's simply expanding eligibility. My wife works for uh the uh county government across the river, Hamilton County, and she works for their jobs and family services. She works for workforce development, and I can tell you right now, it's it's uh the requirements, the hoops, it it's not set up to have people succeed. It's truly not. Uh, and the federal requirements are federal requirements, but guess what? The states can go above and beyond. We can have we can have a better system than what the federal government mandates. And I think it's frankly bad leadership to not be working towards that every single session. Um, again, I fully support economic development, sustainable economic development after we fund our education and our healthcare.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

Sounds good. Sounds like you're yeah, sounds like you got your priorities in order. We love it.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Well, you know, we got to hear a lot about your platform, a lot about you, what you would do. And we like to end things on a positive note with a little lightning round to get to know you just a little bit better if you're up for that.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

Let's do it. I'm sitting right here.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Alrighty. Sound good. Let's put you through the let's put you through the lightning round. Okay, first question. Um, I know you like to wear Hawaiian shirts, flowery shirts. So I may know the answer to this already, but if you had to spend one week alone with no phone, would you want it to be on the beach or in the mountains?

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Uh surprisingly enough, it would be in the mountains. Uh, I was born right outside of Boone, North Carolina. I grew up in the hills of northern Kentucky. Um, if you put me in a cabin in the middle of the mountains and I'm gonna be a happy camper. That being said, I I love getting sunburnt on the beach too. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Pros and cons of the booth. And we talked a lot about how beautiful Kentucky is, and we have so many beautiful places right here in northern Kentucky. What's your favorite park?

SPEAKER_02 31:32

Uh now that's that's a hard question, honestly. We because we do. Uh I this time I'm gonna specifically pick a park that is in my district. Uh, you know, I got to do some of the political politik and stuff. But uh, I'm gonna say I grew up spending a lot of time at the Alexandria Community Park. Um, it's a really, really beautiful area. If y'all haven't been down there, it's a really nice little lake with a track that goes around it. You can go and fish. They have a couple of playgrounds, and it's just somewhere I spent a ton of time as a kid uh running around running around and enjoying it. So definitely the Alexandria Community Park has a special place in my heart.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

I will have to check that out.

unknown 32:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

I lived in northern Kentucky my entire life before I knew Doe Run existed until now. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

It's it's amazing the secrets we hold in this place. Uh and that's why I tell people to get out and get to know your community. I I did not, I thought I knew the the community, but uh I my eyes have been opened so much more, and man, I like northern Kentucky a lot more than I did.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Wow, it's great.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

This may be a really controversial one for uh for our listeners for you to answer, but who makes the better pet? A cat or a dog?

SPEAKER_02 32:42

Oh man, making me pick. Uh so we we have cats, uh, just because that's that's yeah, we we're cat people. Uh, but my mom has five senior rescue dogs that I dearly love. And actually, when we're done with this interview, I'm I'm driving down to go have dinner with her and them. So uh cats for me, but it depends on your living situation, and uh they're both wonderful, perfect creatures.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Anyone who fosters um or takes on and adopts or rescues senior animals is just I just don't a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

Uh I'll give them a little quick uh Frankie's Furry Friends is the uh is the nonprofit she works with. They actually do a senior to senior adoption program uh that picks up the medical bills. Um so if anyone out there, uh any seniors are wanting to adopt a senior dog, there's a great rescue out there that's doing work in our community right now.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

Yeah, my my mom my mom did that for 40 or 50 years down in Dallas, Texas. She lived down there, worked for the SPCA and then eventually got a little disillusioned with that organization, started working specifically for rescue organizations. And um, I mean, she had probably 40 or 50 rescues over her lifespan. So yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Very special people who who take that responsibility on and give their love to a rescue animal.

unknown 34:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

My mom, my mom's a good one, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

I would cry every single day. That's my problem.

SPEAKER_02 34:10

I don't know how she does it, man. They take such good care, they love them so much, but as soon as they find them a home, they're like, oh, peace and quiet.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

And I'm just well, we'll jump over to the music scene. If you all of a sudden were the official DJ of Kentucky for one day, what's the first song you'd play?

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Oh, I wouldn't subject the state to my weird music taste. I would let my wife take over. She's she's the the real DJ, she's the one that listens, uh, that really knows all the good music. Uh, I'll just kind of uh listen to what she puts on, and then when I'm choosing the station, it's honestly usually some intro from the anime that I'm watching. I'm that kind of nerd. Love it.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

I love it. All right, and what's one skill that you have that would surprise most voters?

SPEAKER_02 35:00

Uh yeah, I don't really have the vibe of it on the campaign trail, but my favorite hobby is going out to the shooting range. Uh, I absolutely love my uh my HK VP9 SK pistol. I built my M4 rifle from the ground up. I have a Ruger 308 that I can take out. And uh yeah, that's uh yeah, I that's pretty Kentuckian when it comes to that part. I uh I do absolutely love to get out there and smell gunpowder. And especially if you've never been to the wildlife management areas, they a lot of them will have shooting ranges. Uh and they just recently started started trying, it was free to access, but I think that they needed they needed some extra funding because the state didn't didn't give them enough, so now they're they're charging for their their lanes.

SPEAKER_01 35:44

Do you skeet shoot?

SPEAKER_02 35:46

Uh I've been skeet shooting before. I don't have the proper equipment set up for it. Most skeet ranges in the area are private clubs, and uh it doesn't really work for my vibe, you know?

SPEAKER_01 35:58

Yeah, well, there you go. Thanks for playing along.

SPEAKER_02 36:01

Yeah, that's gonna be amazing. Thanks for having me. This is uh really fun conversation.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

Yeah, thanks for joining us, Josh. And uh before you go, uh let all of our listeners and viewers know how they can get involved with your campaign and where they can find you.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

Uh find us on our socials. We try to be really, really active on that. Uh and if you want to volunteer, you can reach out directly to us, fill out the form. We'll gladly take you. Um and again, this campaign is entirely volunteer ran. Uh, there's not a single paid person on this. So we any creative expertise, any skills, my sister's my social media manager. Um, we, you know, so we're with if you if you have time, if you have effort, we're gonna have you. If you don't have time and you don't have the to go with us, I'll take your donation, but I'll take volunteers first.

SPEAKER_01 36:51

And your newsletter. Sounds good. You got the newsletter.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

Yeah, so we we just put out a newsletter. Uh it's got quotes from the campaign. I had all of our campaign committee meeting or committee folks put something in it. Uh, and it is a hundred percent human-made. None of us use any any kind of AI. Um, it's not that uh, you know, I'm anti necessarily anti-AI. I think it's just a flex nowadays to be able to say 100% human-made.

SPEAKER_01 37:16

That's great. Yeah, I saw you that you put out that newsletter. I was like, that is such good information. You got it out there, and again, you're just communicating with the people. So we gotta do it.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

It's the public office. It's the job. Like if you're not if you're not in the public face, if you're not uh with them, as soon as I signed up, I knew I kind of gave up my private life. I I am a public-facing figure, and uh my my job is to be the best pace facing public figure I can.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:41

Well, I we appreciate, and I I'm sure everybody out there at your meeting on the campaign trail appreciates how seriously you're taking it, and that you are really, you know, hitting the pavement and you know putting your your money where your mouth is in terms of getting out and and understanding the people you may represent uh in the State House. So thanks for doing that, Josh.

SPEAKER_02 38:01

Thanks, y'all. I'm just a person for the people trying to make change for all of us.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

Fantastic. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 38:08

Thank you so much, y'all. You have a great one.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

And that's it for this candidate interview. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss any of our upcoming podcasts or exclusive material. And don't forget you can join the conversation at our Facebook and Instagram pages or at blue dot podcast.com. Till next time, stay curious, keep the fucking focus. Never stop fighting for what matters. Peace out, everybody.