PINEVILLE — Pineville’s Bruce Hendrickson will be seen next week on Kentucky Education Television’s (KET) candidate forums, which will begin Thursday, September 27 at 8 p.m. with host Bill Goodman of Kentucky Tonight. All candidates on the ballot have been invited to participate. All the forums will be at the KET studios on Cooper Drive in Lexington. There will be no studio audience for the forums.
The first forum will be for Secretary of State. The candidates are incumbent Republican C.M. “Trey” Grayson and Democratic opponent Hendrickson.
Secretary of State Trey Grayson was elected to office in November of 2003 in his first run for political office and at the time of his election was the youngest Secretary of State in the country. Since taking office, he has quickly become a national leader in elections, civics, business services, and government innovation.
Grayson has modernized the Office of the Secretary of State by bringing more services online, enhanced Kentucky’s election laws through several legislative packages, and revived the civic mission of schools in Kentucky by leading the effort to restore civics education in the classroom.
A lifelong member of the Democratic Party, Hendrickson says he believes strongly in public service. He has served both on the Pineville City Council and as Mayor of Pineville in his efforts to improve the lives of those around him.
That effort extends into the classroom as well. Hendrickson has been a teacher for 30 years, the last 16 of which has been as a Biology and Chemistry teacher at Pineville City High School where he also coached football. Bruce obtained his undergraduate education at Cumberland College and Lincoln Memorial University and earned his Master’s Degree in Education from Union College.
As a small business owner, Hendrickson understands the importance of the Secretary of State’s office in making Kentucky friendly to family owned and small business.
The two candidates have a different view on a number of things. The following are their top three opinions on various subjects.
As Secretary of State, Grayson is reforming Kentucky’s elections to make them more secure, more convenient, and more accessible. The foundation of democracy is free elections, and Grayson is striving to get things done to make our elections the best they have ever been.
Grayson is using the Secretary of State’s office to improve education by restoring the civic mission of Kentucky schools. He believes that in order to move Kentucky forward there must be more citizens taking action to promote the well being of the Commonwealth. Grayson has received the endorsement of Kentucky’s teachers because of his efforts to improve education.
With his election as Secretary of State, Grayson promised to help attract jobs to Kentucky by reforming the business services of his office. He is getting things done to keep Kentucky’s business environment strong.
As a teacher for 30 years, Hendrickson understands the importance of early civic and voter rights education. By the time our youth reach voting age, it is already beyond the time to instill in them the necessity of making their voice heard in the American political process. Once elected, he says he will make the implementation of an aggressive civics education outreach program to high school classrooms a top priority of the Secretary of State’s office. There are many students who by choice or circumstance, do not go to college but are no less entitled to understanding and appreciating the voting process and their rights as citizens.
Hendrickson says he will work to improve access to the electoral process and protect the rights of all voters. The Hendrickson administration will reduce the number wrongly disenfranchised voters and Kentuckians will have a true public servant fighting for their voting rights.
Hendrickson says he will make the office of Secretary of State an advocate for the issues and concerns of small business owners across the Commonwealth. He will serve small business men and women, who are the backbone of the Kentucky economy, by working with our legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle to pass laws which reflect their needs. Hendrickson says he is uniquely qualified for this role because of his experience and knowledge as a small businessman.
The forum series airs live on KET1, and each candidate forum will also be videostreamed live and made available via podcast at www.ket.org/election.
C.J. Harte is a Correspondent for the Daily News. He can be reached via e-mail at charte@middlesborodailynews.com.
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