September 2020 – Balancing the Scales

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Kentuckians For The Commonwealth P.O. Box 1450 London, Ky. 40743

BALANCING THE

scales

VOLUME 39 NUMBER 4

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Fall voter work is underway INSIDE … » Mail-in ballots and other voting options for the November 3 election » Coming up: KFTC’s Fall Gathering and Annual Business Meeting » Confronting another Kentucky Power rate hike proposal » Kentucky Democracy Project launched » » How well does your legislator align with KFTC values?

State and local elections can get us closer to the future we want

» McConnell at the center of COVID-19 relief delays and other pain … and much more!

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

2 | Balancing the Scales

is a statewide grassroots social justice orga­­ni­ zation working for a new balance of power and a just society. KFTC uses direct-action organizing to accomplish the following goals: • foster democratic values • change unjust institutions • empower individuals • overcome racism and other discrimination • communicate a message of what’s possible • build the organization • help people participate • win issues that affect the common welfare • have fun KFTC membership dues are $15 to $50 per year, based on ability to pay. No one is denied membership because of inability to pay. Membership is open to anyone who is committed to equality, democracy and nonviolent change.

KFTC STEERING COMMITTEE Cassia Herron, chairperson Alan Smith, vice chairperson Rebecca Tucker, secretary-treasurer Fannie Madden-Grider, at-large member Meta Mendel-Reyes, immediate past chair Chapter Representatives Emily Baldridge, Big Sandy Tiffany Duncan, Central Kentucky David Miller, Cumberland Carl Shoupe, Harlan County Connor Allen, Jefferson County John Wade, Madison County Greta Elenbaas, Northern Kentucky Courtney Combs, Perry County Amelia Cloud, Rolling Bluegrass Alvin Madden-Grider, Rowan County Joy Fitzgerald, Shelby County Megan Adkins, Southern Kentucky Jim Gearhart, Western Kentucky Shannon Scott, Wilderness Trace Alternates: Mikaela Curry, Big Sandy; Rachel Norton, Central Kentucky; Stephanie Kingsley, Cumberland; Chase Gladson, Harlan County; Courtney Kearney, Jefferson County; Susan Haddix, Madison County; Paul Schwartz, Northern Kentucky; Bobby Duff, Perry County; Kali Reagan, Rolling Bluegrass; Allie Secor, Rowan County; Tammy Barrett, Shelby County; Johnalma Barnett and Alayna Milby, Southern Kentucky; Shannon Davis-Roberts, Western Kentucky; Eric Mount, Wilderness Trace

Table of Contents KFTC News We’re moving closer to our vision – let’s keep it going! . ......................................................... 3 Members provide perspectives on recent political news . ....................................................... 9 KFTC’s Fall Gathering will feature various annual meeting activities ............................... 15 Shauntrice Martin joins staff, other changes . ............................................................................. 15 Why donate to KFTC now? ............................................................................................................... 16 Voter Empowerment Election details - mail-in ballots and other voting options .................................................... 4 Finding and registering 170,000 Kentuckians with past felonies ......................................... 4 Restore your vote decision tree ............................................ 5 Vision for the Election Kentucky Deserves heard .......... 6 Kentucky Democracy Project launched to register

and mobilize ........................................................................... 7 Scorecard gives data for holding legislators

accountable ........................................................................... 8 Economic Justice Find out what this is With Kentuckians hurting, McConnell sends senators about on page 7. home after no action ............................................................... 10 Inequality between rich and poor school districts grows ...................................................... 11 KFTC members and postal workers team up to support USPS .......................................... 12 New Energy and Just Transition Eastern Kentucky members dive into campaign on Kentucky Power’s rate hike............13 KYMEA communities’ choice: risky fossil fuels or clean energy............................................ 14

Cover: KFTC Voter Empowerment Organizer Santana Kavanaugh prepares for work.

www.KFTC.org/MeetOnline

KFTC has a growing list of trainings, cultural events, phone banks and more where members can learn, take action and be in solidarity with one another this fall.

We list them at: www.KFTC.org/MeetOnline. New activities are continually being added.

We make space at every online event for people to get to know each other, really interact and make connections.

Anyone can connect by computer if you have a webcam, mic and speakers. Or you can join by phone. We use Zoom video conferencing.

However, you need to register so that we can send you the appropriate Zoom link or phone number (or event location when we are able to safely meet in person again).

Visit www.KFTC.org/MeetOnline and register for the events you want to join in order to receive an invitation to the Zoom video conference.

Balancing the Scales is published by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and sent as third class mail from Louisville. Reader contri­butions and letters to the editor should be sent to P.O. Box 864, Prestonsburg, KY 41653 or jhardt@kftc.org. Subscriptions are $20/yr.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

Balancing the Scales | 3

We’re moving closer to our vision – let’s keep it going!

To KFTC members and friends:

Thanks for your commitment to justice and the many ways in which you support KFTC. Because of our shared vision and collective work, we’re moving closer to the Kentucky we all envision and deserve. And this year – election year when so much is at stake – our work is more important than ever.

an

KFTC made a decision and commitment several years ago to connect our issue work to our electoral work.

We did so because our democracy works best when we all can participate and when elected leaders work with us to create the Kentucky we want.

KFTC also works best when all of our members participate.

Because many KFTC members have invested in building grassroots power over almost four decades, we’ve received grants that helped us expand our work and grow into the organization we are today. We have more organizers working in their communities than ever before. We’ve expanded our voter work, and through New Power PAC we’re endorsing candidates who share our vision.

our

We are a member-led organization, meaning our membership sets the direction of our work as well as funds it. We give our time and our money. We’re grateful for grants and the work they make possible, but the heartbeat of KFTC is us.

We’ve had an increase in grants and major gifts, but fewer people renewed their membership in 2019 than in 2018. We’re making it work, but we need to reverse this trend.

To be truly member-led, we need many more of us renewing our membership and asking others to join and give to KFTC. Having our own money – grassroots member donations – allows us to continue being an independent voice for ourselves. We must continue to organize ourselves and recruit new folks to join us.

I work for myself and have a one-person household income. I just started receiving a small contribution from social security benefits for my children. I do not own my own car. I’ve been late on my rent twice in the past 18 months and have had to seek community support to pay my utilities a couple of times. I’m not rich.

But I became a Sustaining Giver to KFTC – giving $5 a month. I believe in our work and know that it’s one of the best investments I make every month. I invite you too to become a Sustaining Giver at whatever level is comfortable for you.

This election might be the most important of our lifetime. Our preferred candidate didn’t win the primary race, but our goal remains the same. We’ll continue engaging voters and building a powerful base of Kentuckians who can elect better leaders up and down the ballot.

It takes resources to do this. Contributions from our members allow us to build grassroots power, lean in to elections, and create the Kentucky we all deserve.

Will you renew your membership and consider becoming a Sustaining Giver? Or join KFTC if you’re not already a member?

Sincerely, Cassia Herron KFTC Chairperson P.S. Once you’re a Sustaining Giver, your membership will renew each year automatically. And if you can’t become a Sustaining Giver, make a gift now and make another gift next year.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

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Voter Empowerment

Election details - mail-in ballots and other voting options KFTC and allies are fighting for the Election Kentucky Deserves (see related story on page 6), making the case to the governor, secretary of state and state Board of Elections that Kentucky can choose to defend both its democracy and the health of all Kentuckians.

With a series of decisions in August, much of that vision was won, including universal access to voting by mail, weeks of in-person voting before election day including Saturdays, and drop boxes for ballots.

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Here are some highlights about how this year’s election will work:

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Mail-in voting •

All Kentuckians concerned about COVID-19 may request that a ballot be mailed to them at www.GoVoteKY.com starting now.

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Requested ballots won’t get printed and mailed to you until September 15, so don’t worry if it doesn’t arrive right away.

October 9 is the deadline to request your mail in ballot through www.GoVoteKY.com.

You should fill out your mail ballot completely, including signing and sealing both envelopes and not removing any flaps. These are reasons ballots in the primary election were not counted.

Mail in the completed ballot or drop it off at a secure drop box in your county or at the county clerk’s office.

The deadline to mail in or drop off a completed ballot is November 3, but because of mail delivery concerns, do it as soon as possible.

In-person voting •

Early in-person voting (for people who didn’t vote by mail) begins October 13 including at

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least 4 hours on three Saturdays leading up to Election Day. Each county will designate its early voting location, which often will be in the county clerk’s office but could be another location.

In-person voting will take place on November 3, but counties may reduce the number of polling sites, though there will be at least one countywide site.

Voters who are unable to get photo ID because of COVID-19 will be allowed to vote.

Other vital information • •

The voter registration deadline is October 5. One may register to vote or update their voter registration at www.GoVoteKY.com.

People with felonies in their past may visit www.

CivilRightsRestoration.KY.gov or call 502-7829731 to see if they got their right to vote back in Gov. Beshear’s executive action

Request a mail-in ballot at www.GoVoteKY.com Finding and registering 170,000 Kentuckians with past felonies Late last year, KFTC and healthy democracy allies won a long-fought victory to restore the right to vote to 170,000 people with felonies in their past. The problem is that few of them have been told they can vote.

Since Gov. Beshear’s executive order in December, there’s been little effort by the state to let these people know they got their right to vote back. COVID-19 has made it more difficult, diverting attention and resources elsewhere.

To rise up to this moment, KFTC has hosted more than two dozen trainings in the last few weeks to train members and allies about how to help people with felonies in their past register to vote.

Staff and volunteers have put up tens of thousands of stickies on doors and public bulletin boards in strategic neighborhoods to spread the word. They’ve held phonebanks to reach people with felonies in their past, sent out mailings and texted with people to get them registered to vote. There’s also been limited community tablings and canvassing with COVID-19-safe guidelines.

To get involved in this work locally, particularly leaving stickies on doors and making phone calls, please reach out to your local KFTC chapter organizer or alternately contact:

Tayna Fogle, Democracy Fellow, Tayna@kftc.org or 859-492-0397 Dave Newton, Democracy Organizer, Dave@kftc.org or 859-420-8919

The chart on the next page can help someone walk through the process of determining if the governor’s order applies to them.

KFTC will distribute thousands of handbills in an effort to reach people with felonies in their past who are now eligible but may not have yet learned they can vote.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

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Balancing the Scales | 5

Y O U R V O T E

Thanks to the Campaign Legal Center for providing the legal research to build this guide.

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www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

Voter Empowerment

Vision for the Election Kentucky Deserves heard, in part Note: The Election Kentucky Deserves was an open letter sent on August 12 to Secretary of State Michael Adams, Governor Andy Beshear and all members of the State Board of Elections from 54 Kentucky organizations. Much of what was asked for in this letter was won in the agreement between Adams and Beshear. KFTC and allies will continue pushing for the rest of it at the state and county levels.

Most Kentuckians agree that our democracy works best when we all have a voice and a vote in the decisions impacting our lives.

In this year’s primary election, many Kentuckians could vote early or by mail for the very first time and overwhelmingly chose those options. We had record voter turnout and largely did it safely from our homes. It wasn’t perfect. But that’s something to celebrate in any election, and especially impressive in the middle of a pandemic.

Now, the risk of COVID-19 is greater than ever. Kentucky has the opportunity to improve upon that election process and give Kentuckians the election we deserve – one that makes voting safe, convenient, secure and robust. It’s more important than ever that the voices of all Kentuckians are heard on election day, and we know from experience how to do that.

We urge you to implement these measures to give Kentuckians the election we deserve: Preparation for the election • • • • • • •

Community input at the county and state level: Voters deserve to provide input on the process.

No new photo ID rules (SB 2) so that people don’t need to photocopy ID when voting by mail and there’s no confusion about what ID people need to vote.

A well-funded, public information campaign to spread the word about changes to the election process statewide, with a focus on communities with low voter turnout and limited access to the internet and libraries.

Include www.CivilRightsRestoration.KY.gov so the 170,000 Kentuckians whose voting rights were restored through Gov. Beshear’s executive action know that they can vote.

Accessible election materials: large print for Kentuckians with visual impairments, written at a 4th grade reading level, include visual guides, and Spanish translation in counties with a significant Spanish-speaking population.

Strong poll worker training: accessible, vast and starts as soon as possible.

Resources for voters to ask and get answers to questions: a statewide hotline staffed by well-trained workers and a centralized website sharing each county’s voting process and hours.

Fair and accessible election • Free mail-in option for all Kentuckians, without an extra step to mail in an application • Early in-person voting for weeks before Election Day, including evening and weekend hours so that essential workers and others can find time to vote • More polling locations open than in the primary, particularly in our most populous counties • Polling locations open late – until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. on Election Day • Accurate and public-facing ballot tracking, including whether someone’s vote counted or was rejected, with an option to fix or resubmit rejected ballots.

• Publicly-accessible drop boxes for ballots

We can choose to have an election that makes us proud – one that includes thousands more Kentuckians. We will have to invest time in shaping a collective process and resources to make it happen. Kentucky’s democracy and people are worth it. The alternative is to ask poll workers and voters to risk their lives to vote – something we truly cannot afford.

We are committed to doing our part – registering thousands of voters, making tens of thousands of calls to encourage people to vote, and letting them know about changes to the election process. We’re asking you to invest in Kentucky too, and to give us the election Kentuckians deserve.

Respectfully submitted by: 874K Disabilities Coalition, ACLU of Kentucky, All of Us or None Louisville, Central Kentucky Council for Peace & Justice, Community Farm Alliance, Fairness Campaign, Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition, Forward Kentucky, Four Rivers Indivisible, Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, Indivisible Danville, IndivisibleKY, IUE-CWA, Jefferson County Teachers Association, Jewish Community Relations Council of Louisville, KBC-LEO, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Kentucky Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Kentucky Council of Churches., Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light, Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign, Kentucky State AFL-CIO, Kentucky UU Justice Action Network, Kentucky Voices for Health, Kentucky Mental Health Coalition, Lexington Friends Meeting/Quakers, Lexington-Fayette Co. Branch - NAACP, Life Coach Each One Teach One Re Entry Corp., Louisville Family Justice Advocates, Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, Louisville Urban League, Matthew 25 AIDS Services, Mijente Louisville, Mission Behind Bars and Beyond (MB3), Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, NAACP, Kentucky State Conference, National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Northern Kentucky University NAACP, Pennyroyal Indivisible Kentucky, People Advocating Recovery, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky, Pride Community Services Organization, Quaker Committee on Kentucky Legislation, The Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass, The League of Women Voters of Kentucky, The Women’s Network, Together Frankfort,

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

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Voter Empowerment

Kentucky Democracy Project launched to register and mobilize An estimated 170,000 Kentuckians with felonies in their past got back their right to vote through Gov. Beshear’s executive action last December. The problem is, no one has told them they can register and vote.

The Kentucky Democracy Project is a new effort to register, educate and mobilize tens of thousands of Kentucky voters, particularly people with felonies in their past, and get people out to vote.

“We’re dedicated to reaching the 170,000 Kentuckians who got their right to vote back through Gov. Beshear’s December 2019 Executive Action and spreading the word about the 2020 election process to make sure people know how to cast their vote through the mail or by voting in person early. The voices and efforts of people with felonies in their past are especially important to this campaign,” said Debbie Graner, a leader from Frankfort active in the effort.

The Kentucky Democracy Project has a goal to build a healthy democracy where everyone has a voice and a vote, and is listened to by elected leaders. It has a particular focus on communities often left out of the political decision-making process – lower income communities, people of color, and young people.

The Kentucky Democracy Project’s work includes online trainings, phone banks to register and mobilize voters, literature drops on doorsteps and public spaces, COVID-19 safe voter registration tables and canvass-

ing, and mailings.

The Kentucky Democracy Project’s website at www.KentuckyDemocracy.org serves as a clearinghouse of key information about the 2020 voting process. There is a place for people to opt-in to a texting conversation with a volunteer to help figure out if they got back their right to vote, links to trainings and phone bank events people can use to get involved in this work, and other key information.

To get involved or learn more, visit www.KentuckyDemocracy.org.

Here are some highlights about how this year’s election will work: • All Kentuckians concerned about COVID-19 may request a ballot at www.GoVoteKY.com starting now.

• October 9 is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot through www.GoVoteKY.com.

• Requested ballots won’t get printed and mailed until September 15, so it may not arrive right away.

• Voters should fill out mail ballots completely, including signing and sealing both envelopes and not removing any flaps – reasons many primary election ballots were not counted.

• Completed ballots can be mailed or dropped

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off at a secure drop box in the county or at the county clerk’s office.

The deadline to mail in or drop off a completed ballot is November 3, but doing it as early as possible is encouraged.

Early in-person voting (for people who didn’t vote by mail) begins October 13 including at least 4 hours on three Saturdays leading up to election day.

Counties may reduce the number of sites for in-person voting November 3, but there will be at least one county-wide site.

Voters who are unable to get photo ID because of COVID-19 will be allowed to vote.

There are dozens of long-standing efforts in Kentucky to register voters and fight for voting rights of people with felonies in their past. The Kentucky Democracy Project is not doing it alone, but hopes to make a valuable contribution to the effort.

The Kentucky Democracy Project is a campaign of Kentucky Coalition, a social justice organization supporting leadership development, grassroots organizing and public policy advocacy in Kentucky, across the South and in Appalachia, established in 1984. It is affiliated with Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

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Voter Empowerment

Scorecard gives data for holding legislators accountable Every vote a legislator casts is a chance to do the right thing, a choice to support Kentuckians and stand against hate and oppression. Legislators need to know that, in November when 98 of them are running for reelection (63 in a contested race), we remember what choices they made earlier in the year.

In the 2020 General Assembly, the KFTC Executive Committee endorsed or opposed 41 total bills and resolutions. KFTC watched and tracked every vote, including committee votes, each legislator made on those bills.

What is the scorecard?

It’s a Google spreadsheet, viewable online by anyone plus an online interactive map For each legislator, their sponsorships, committee votes and floor votes are listed out.

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Categorized by if they align or don’t align with KFTC. Color-coded by issue category: voting rights, healthy democracy, economic justice, health care, LGBTQIA liberation, racial justice, new energy and transition.

Aligned and not aligned actions are totaled to calculate a percent alignment with KFTC values for each legislator

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Includes sponsorships and votes for the 41 bills and resolutions that the Executive Committee endorsed or opposed in 2020.

Additional data about each district is included, such as rates of unemployment, poverty, and unaffordable houses, and relevant election turnout and results data

Legislator Scorecard Interactive map (online at: bit.ly/ KFTCLegislativeMap)

Click on your county/district to see that legislator’s score.

Using the scorecard spreadsheet

Look up a legislator in the spreadsheet and:

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Look at their percent alignment to KFTC. Click on their name to jump to the list of specific votes they made in the 2020 General Assembly.

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2020 Legislator Scorecard (online at: bit.ly/KFTCLegislativeScorecard)

Look at additional data included about each district, like “what percentage of folks have unaffordable housing?” and “what’s the unemployment rate?”

Create links between this additional data and the votes the legislator made • Use this data to educate voters!

Important links bit.ly/KFTCLegislativeScorecard to explore the spreadsheet bit.ly/KFTCLegislativeMap to explore the interactive web map Data isn’t just Census numbers and election turnout percentages. Data can be created and used by us regular folks! Got ideas about how data can support your local organizing? Or want to help produce analysis using the scorecard? Email: lauragreenfield@kftc.org.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

Balancing the Scales | 9

Member Perspectives

Members provide perspectives on recent political news McConnell’s action already has resulted in pain for Indigenous

By Tiffany Pyette

Jefferson members leading effort to grasp abolition movement

Louisville is the center of one of the largest uprisings in the country.

Organizers, community members and folks across the state have gathered in For me, as an Indigenous woman living in Kentucky, finding out that NichLouisville for more than 100 days to protest the killing of Breonna Taylor, olas Sandmann had been hired by Mitch McConnell’s demand justice, create community space to heal and find joy, and imagine a campaign was very upsetting. world without police.

The only thing this young man has as a claim to Members of the Jefferson County KFTC chapter gathered as well to discuss how best KFTC can support on-the-ground organizing and fight for racial fame was a confrontational encounter with Omaha elder Nathan Phillips. In that incident, he was mocking justice. One thing became clear: we have a responsibility to educate ourselves. an elder and he ultimately was the “face” of a group of When organizers call for defunding the police, what does that mean? students from Covington being deeply disrespectful.

What’s the difference between defunding, reforming and abolishing?

When I first watched the encounter, and the sub What are examples across the country and throughout history where sequent interview where Nathan Phillips cries, I cried. communities found justice without using the police and prison system? What We are taught in my culture to respect our elders and about murderers and rapists? care for them. When Natives talk about elders, we do What have my own personal interactions with the police been? What has not simply mean an older population – we mean inshaped those interactions? dividuals who are cherished community members that How do we deal with the conflict (internal and external) that comes up carry tradition, language and knowledge. They have all more than earned the when talking about abolition? position of respect we give them. Nathan Phillips is an honorable man.

What is the history of police? Why were they created?

The following media coverage of the encounter was extremely harmful. Peo Jefferson County members and staff are working together to create a curple were eager to call traditional Indigenous drumming and singing “aggressive.” riculum for members to understand better the calls for defunding and abolishing the police. The curriculum will launch this fall and be available for all In reality, we drum and sing in prayer. They were eager to criticize an elder for his members. Each week, new content will be shared in an accessible way (closed peaceful position. He has met opposition before at Standing Rock. He prayed captioning, language interpreting, etc) and will vary in form (zoom calls, artithen, too. cles, discussion/journaling questions, video, etc.).

When I saw a local Kentucky news outlet covering Sandmann’s hire by Check the KFTC blog, Facebook page and register for KFTC’s Fall GathMcConnell, I watched as comments poured in from all over Kentucky insulting ering workshop on abolition and a caring economy on October 3 (kftc.org/ Nathan Phillips, insulting Indigenous people, making jokes, sharing memes, etc. fall-gathering) to stay up to date on the curriculum offerings.

I wasn’t sure if I was angry or heartbroken; maybe it was both.

“I do not think it is wholly my place It is not easy to be Indigenous in Kentucky. It hurts to see that the place you love, to determine why we need to abolish the the place you live in and give to, your ancespolice, because I am a POC who has been tral home, is a place that actively mocks you, fortunate (scratch that: privileged) to only laughs at you, erases you, etc. have ever had non-threatening encounters It hurts to watch my senator, who is with the police. But what I do know is that supposed to represent all of us (yes includwe need to listen to folks who have been ing the Natives!), elevate someone who is organizing against police brutality and only known for something that hurt Native racism for a long time, especially Black people. It was a clear illustration in my eyes femme and LGBTQIA+-identifying organizers,” wrote a Jefferson County chapter that the senator did not care about the Indigenous people in this state at all. member involved in the conversation.

“Understanding the histories and I don’t yet know what he will contribute complexities that inform why this is will to the campaign officially, but Sandmann’s be crucial to demanding racial equity in hire has certainly given us something already – pain.

This is how we plan and train these days … via Zoom video conference. the conditions we face now.”

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

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Economic Justice

With Kentuckians hurting, McConnell sends senators home after no action Kentuckians are hurting from the triple whammy of long-term economic distress, the COVID-19 health crisis, and collapse of jobs and income due to the pandemic.

According to a recent story in the Washington Post, half of all adults in Kentucky have lost some employment income since March, one fourth of all Kentuckians say they do not get enough food to eat, and one third of all Kentucky households struggle to pay the rent or mortgage.

Yet Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, arguably the most powerful member of Congress, sent the Senate home for an August recess despite having taken no action on several pending federal relief bills.

That includes the INVEST in America Act passed by the House in June – a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild U.S. infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transit systems, schools, housing and broadband access, while addressing clean energy and health care needs.

The House bill (also known as The Moving Forward Act) includes the RECLAIM Act and reauthorization of the Abandoned Mine Lands Program, essential programs to assist communities where coal once dominated the economy.

It also includes support for local and state governments, and an extension of supplemental unemployment payments that pumped $100 million a week into Kentucky’s economy.

(Kentucky’s Republican House members all voted against the relief package; Democrat John Yarmuth supported it.)

This summer, McConnell failed to even introduce a COVID relief bill in the Senate until the very last moment. Then, when he failed to reach agreement on a plan within his own party, he sent senators home without taking a vote on any package of federal aid The Senate’s failure left millions of people at risk of eviction, homelessness, increased food insecurity – and essential services like the U.S. Postal Service without the funding it needs to maintain services.

An August 11 Washington Post story featured statements from many Kentuckians expressing grave concern, including Jason Bailey of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Wes Addington of the Ap-

palachian Citizens Law Center, Adrienne Bush of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, and many individual workers and small business owners.

“We're seeing huge numbers of people needing help,” said Jason Bailey, the executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. “I can't imagine a state that needs additional relief more than Kentucky does.”

“If we don't get the kind of help we need ... a town that had 100 restaurants now has 20, which means 80 percent of the hospitality jobs are gone,” said Dan Wu, the owner of Atomic Ramen in Lexington. “The tax revenue is down, and the whole city and state's economy is going to be down.”

Along with many allies in Kentucky, KFTC members have stepped up pressure on McConnell over the summer to provide urgently needed federal aid to people and communities.

On August 12, KFTC ran a full page ad in 11 eastern Kentucky counties featuring an open letter urging McConnell to pass the RECLAIM Act and shore up funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, as part of any COVID-19 relief package. The letter has been signed by hundreds of Kentuckians, including many former miners with Black Lung disease and others concerned about the health and well-being of their communities.

Pressure is building for McConnell to pass a relief package when the Senate returns in September. Here are three ways to help make that happen: 1. Sign your name to this open letter to Sen. McConnell (https://bit.ly/33bQv7v).

2. Call Sen. McConnell today. His Louisville office number is 502-582-6304.

Tell him to: “Deliver the federal aid Kentuckians urgently need by passing the RECLAIM Act to clean up old mines, securing funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, keeping expanded unemployment benefits, doing more to help schools and hospitals, and funding safe elections, our postal service, and state and local governments.”

Latest updates here: #FederalAid4KY

Contact members of Congress Sen. Mitch McConnell (202) 224-2541 – Washington Online: https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/ public/index.cfm/contactform Sen. Rand Paul (202) 224-4343 – Washington Online: https://www.paul.senate.gov/contact Rep. James Comer, 1st District (202) 225-3115 – Washington (270) 487-9509 – Madisonville (270) 408-1865 – Paducah (270) 487-9509 – Tompkinsville Online: https://comer.house.gov/contact Rep. Brett Guthrie, 2nd District (202) 225-3501 – Washington (270) 842-9896 – Bowling Green Online: https://guthrie.house.gov/contact Rep. John Yarmuth, 3rd District (202) 225-5401 – Washington (502) 933-5863 – Louisville (502) 582-5129 – Louisville Online: https://yarmuth.house.gov/contactjohn2 Rep. Thomas Massie, 4th District (202) 225-3465 – Washington (606) 324-9898 – Ashland (502) 265-9119 – LaGrange (859) 426-0080 – Crescent Springs Online: https://massieforms.house.gov/ contact Rep. Hal Rogers, 5th District (202) 225-4601 – Washington (606) 679-8346 – Somerset (606) 886-0844 – Prestonsburg (606) 439-0794 – Hazard Online: https://halrogers.house.gov/ contact-hal Rep. Andy Barr, 6th District (202) 225-4706 – Washington (859) 219-1366 – Lexington Online: https://barr.house.gov/contact Not sure what Congressional district you live in? Find a map here:

https://bit.ly/2YGpYvn

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

Balancing the Scales | 11

Economic Justice

Inequality between rich and poor school districts grows This article was published on the blog of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy As schools across the commonwealth face unprecedented new costs and challenges from a surging pandemic and historic recession, prior cuts in state core funding for K-12 education make the challenge even worse for Kentucky’s poorest districts. A new analysis from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy shows the funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts continues to rise, climbing to levels not seen since before the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA).

The new KCEP research shows that wealthy districts had $2,840 more in state and local revenue per student than poor districts in the 2018/19 school year (the most recent for which data is available). The gap increased $122 in 2019 compared to the prior year, and is now just $208 shy of the pre-KERA gap in inflation-adjusted terms.

This gap is growing even as schools face new costs for distance learning and safe school operations including personal protective equipment; as the state and school districts anticipate deep tax revenue losses due to the unprecedented recession; and as families struggle with record-setting unemployment and rising food and housing insecurity — especially in low-income communities.

The drivers of growing inequity between rich and

poor districts are inadequate state core funding for schools and an increasing reliance on local revenues, which create an advantage for students in wealthier communities. Even before COVID-19 hit, Kentucky ranked 4th-worst among states in core school funding cuts per student since the Great Recession. Now revenue shortfalls associated with the COVID-19 pandemic will likely stress both state and local investments in students, with potentially devastating impacts for students in poorer communities. In the short term, Kentucky needs much more in federal aid from Congress to prevent budget crises.

“Research shows that adequate and equitable school funding closes achievement gaps and boosts student outcomes. Kentucky was once on the frontlines of education reform that creates success for students no matter where they live,” KCEP Deputy Director and author of the analysis Anna Baumann said. “But we’ve been backsliding. As a result, we’re starting off the school year with the twin crises of a global pandemic and a level of inequity nearing what we as a state consider unconstitutional.”

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, federal aid provided to states in the COVID-19 pandemic thus far is sufficient to close just one-fifth of state revenue gaps. Education budget cuts caused by insufficient aid will magnify existing disparities and fall hardest on low-income students and students of color.

“Years of budget cuts have led to larger class sizes, outdated resources and technology, aging transportation and custodial equipment, reductions in classes like art, music, dance, agriculture and technology, and aging and crumbling infrastructure. And this was all before COVID-19,” Kentucky Education Association President Eddie Campbell said.

Campbell is a teacher in Knox County, among the poorest 20% of Kentucky school districts.

“Now, public schools are faced with additional costs related to COVID-19: transporta-

tion, technology, internet, cleaning, sanitizing, equipment for rooms and buildings and personal protective equipment.”

Though federal CARES act resources are already being used to address needs created by the pandemic, they are not enough to get districts through the school year. “It’s time for Congress to pass a no strings bill that provides all the funding necessary to stabilize our state,” Campbell said.

Kentucky superintendents in districts in the bottom quintile anticipate major challenges this school year if revenue shortfalls lead to another round of budget cuts.

“If budget cuts occur, what do we give up? The teacher providing reading interventions, a related arts teacher, or the counselor helping students prepare for college or future careers?” Green County Superintendent Will Hodges asked. “Funding within our district is a challenge during the best of times. During this pandemic, the fear that revenues could plummet is a worry to all districts, but it is magnified for those districts that fall in the bottom quintile.”

Owsley County Superintendent Tim Bobrowski lifted up Extended School Services (ESS), transportation and food service as examples of “critical services that would suffer immensely” in another round of budget cuts. Furthermore, “local loss of jobs within the [school] system would affect the entire community,” Bobrowski said.

In the Dayton Independent school district, 85% of students qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch. “Our students need and deserve the same level playing field of opportunity and access as all children across Kentucky. An across the board cut would expose our most vulnerable children the most,” superintendent Jay Brewer said.

Among the possible consequences of another round of state budget cuts in his district, Brewer listed reverting to half-day instead of full-day kindergarten, eliminating universal preschool, reductions in teaching and support staff including mental health counselors, increased class sizes and diminished learning opportunities, inability to remain current with instructional materials and to maintain or improve school security and safety expectations.

Floyd County could similarly face bigger class sizes and cuts to tutoring, ESS, student meals and continued on next page, bottom

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

12 | Balancing the Scales

New Energy and Transition

KFTC members and postal workers team up to support USPS KFTC members in eastern Kentucky teamed up with members of the Kentucky Postal Workers Union to demonstrate support for the U.S. Postal Service with a car caravan rally in Inez.

They brought three immediate demands of elected officials and of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy: •

•

•

Provide at least $25 billion in immediate support for the Postal Service, as is included in the U.S. House version of the INVEST in America Act; Stop the mail slowdown policies introduced by Postmaster General DeJoy and supported

by Mike Duncan, chair of the postal service’s Board of Governors; Ensure public confidence in voting-by-mail by providing the resources for the most timely delivery of election mail possible

“In the mountains, the post office is a gathering place,” said Floyd County member Kathy Curtis.

“It’s a place where you get your chickens. It’s a place where you get your money orders to pay your bills.

It’s a place where the people know your face and know who you are, know when your ma dies, know your favorite chicken dumpling recipe. It’s real people at the postal service.”

Clyde Trent, secretary of the Kentucky Postal Workers Union from Berea said the post office can handle mail-in ballots for November’s election, even though President Trump has been trying to cast doubt on the reliability of the service.

“A lot of people right now are thinking this

has something to do with the election coming up,” KFTC and the KPWU spoke, participants drove Trent said. “People are thinking the post office can’t their cars decorated with signs reading “Don’t mess handle the ballots, but we can because every year we with the USPS” and “Mike D knows better” through handle Christmas cards. I promise you there are more downtown Inez past the post office, Duncan’s home Christmas cards going out in the mail than ballots and the Inez Deposit Bank, which is owned by Duncan. being returned in the mail.”

Inez was chosen for the action The Courier Journal describes Duncan as a conbecause it is the home of Robert fidant of McConnell’s and a “longtime fundraiser for “Mike” Duncan, a close political and ally” to the senate. A 2009 Courier Journal artially of Sen. Mitch McConnell and cle showed McConnell calling him a “good friend” the chair of the postal service's and “valued partner.”

Duncan has been closely involved in GOP poliBoard of Governors.

“We just hope that Mike Dun- tics at the state and national level for many years. He’s can realizes that this type of rural Kentucky’s Republican national committeeman and area is exactly who will be hurt most previously served as the chairman of the Republican by any cuts in services,” said Inez National Committee. resident and KFTC member Nina He also is involved in two high-profile super McCoy. “We don't have a UPS PACs that support Republican candidates: the Mcstore or a Fed-Ex; we depend daily on the post office. Connell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund and AmeriIt is part of the fabric and heart of our community. can Crossroads, the newspaper reported.

So much of Kentucky is rural. Mitch McConnell needs to realize this is the life-blood of the state he was elected to represent.”

Like most everything else, the pandemic has put a financial burden on the USPS. Help could come in the form of the $25 billion in aid being held up by Mc- Members of KFTC and the Kentucky Postal Workers Union gathered in Inez to support Connell. the U.S. Postal Service. They rallied and drove a car caravan through downtown Inez, past After members of the house and bank belonging to Mike Duncan, chair of the USPS Board of Governors.

Inequality between rich and poor school districts grows continued from previous page “vital elective programs and even certain instructional programs that will affect students, especially those with learning disabilities,” Superintendent Danny Adkins said.

Superintendents also note the challenges students and families are facing at home because of the pandemic. To Bobrowski, “the affordability of high-speed internet access is a key … a necessity for all families.”

Adkins is concerned that “students in eastern Kentucky

are facing both device and connectivity issues.”

“Uncertainty of food, housing, and other essentials is a real concern for a growing population during this time. With time, the disparity between children will continue to grow. Our children are just as valuable and have as much potential as any child across the state,” Hodges said.

In May, the U.S. House passed the HEROES Act which included general fiscal relief to state and local governments that would have helped stabilize states’

education, health care and other budgets, as well as aid to families in the form of increased SNAP food assistance, extended supplemental unemployment insurance and rent relief. Last month the U.S. Senate went into recess without passing a relief bill. https://kypolicy.org/new-analysis-inequality-between-richand-poor-kentucky-school-districts-grows-again-even-asdistricts-face-new-covid-costs-and-looming-revenue-losses

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

Balancing the Scales | 13

New Energy and Transition

Eastern Kentucky members dive into campaign on Kentucky Power’s rate hike KFTC’s members in eastern Kentucky, alongside New Energy and Transition Committee members and solar allies, are diving into a campaign to oppose a rate change proposal from Kentucky Power.

Kentucky Power, a monopoly electric utility that serves large parts of eastern Kentucky, has already raised its rates twice in the past five years. Its current rate proposal being considered by Kentucky’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission (PSC), raises residential rates significantly and makes it harder for eastern Kentuckians to benefit from energy efficiency and rooftop solar – all in the middle of a global pandemic.

Here are just a few ways Kentucky Power's proposal puts shareholder profit over the well-being of eastern Kentucky families and communities. (To learn more, visit kftc.org/kentuckypower2020): •

•

•

•

Setting a bad precedent Kentucky Power’s rate proposal also is significant because of a potential precedent it could set.

In 2019, state legislators eliminated one-forone net metering, a successful solar policy which let rooftop solar customers receive a one-for-one kilowatt credit on their electric bills for the power they contributed to the electric grid, and allowed for the steady growth of home-grown solar businesses and investment in Kentucky.

The Republican-controlled General Assembly changed the rules in 2019 so that the PSC will determine, utility-by-utility, how renewable energy customers are credited for the excess power they generate.

Kentucky Power is the first PSC-regulated utility to propose a change to its net metering policy, and if approved the changes would strike a real blow to the burgeoning growth of solar in the region. How the PSC rules on the proposal will likely set an important precedent for the rest of the state-regulated investor-owned and cooperative electric utilities.

“Kentucky Power company could be tak[ing] the lead in moving Kentucky to solar production,” said KFTC member Artie Ann Bates of Letcher County.

“Instead, they’re moving in the opposite direction.”

Taking action and fighting back Given the importance of this rate proposal, and KFTC’s active membership in eastern Kentucky, members and allies are fighting back.

KFTC, alongside the Mountain Association (formerly known as MACED) and the Kentucky Solar Energy Society, is intervening in the formal le-

Kentucky Power’s proposal punishes prospective rooftop solar customers by devaluing renewable energy in a way that would put rooftop solar out of reach for most households.

Kentucky Power’s proposal increases both the monthly charge and per-kilowatt charge on residential customers by 25 percent, making it harder for eastern Kentuckians to make ends meet.

Kentucky Power claims to be helping out low-income customers with a “declining block rate” during winter months. But this block rate disincentivizes energy efficiency and would make homes that use little or moderate amounts of energy pay more. The best way to help out low-income customers would be to not increase our rates at all.

Kentucky Power’s proposal requests a $36 Kentucky Power Customers million investment in “smart meters” of Boyd: 24,177 Johnson: 7,174 questionable value to Breathitt: 5,168 Knott: 7,718 ratepayers. This will Carter: 8,650 Lawrence: 7,740 allow the utility to Clay: 82 Leslie: 5,292 keep raising rates in Elliott: 27 Letcher: 11,207 coming years in order Floyd: 15,037 Lewis: 268 to pay for that investGreenup: 15,038 Magoffin: 3,055 ment and to profit shareholders.

Source: company

= 165,093 Martin: 4,728 Morgan: 1,168 Owsley: 16 Perry: 14,863 Pike: 32,571 Rowan: 1,114

Kentucky Power Service Area gal proceedings that regulated utilities like Kentucky Power must go through when trying to change their rates. KFTC, Mountain Association and KYSES are serving as “joint intervenors” in this rate case, which will allow them to formally weigh in before the PSC and ensure that the interests of residential and small commercial customers in the Kentucky Power service territory are heard and valued in the case.

They are represented by long-time ally Tom FitzGerald of the Kentucky Resources Council.

Just as important, KFTC also is launching a robust organizing strategy to make sure that Kentuckians’ voices are heard in this rate case. The PSC always accepts comments from the public on rate cases, and public outcry has helped halt some of the worst utility rate proposals in the past.

Kentucky Power customers, or anyone who cares about energy democracy and clean, accessible energy in Kentucky, are encouraged to take action by submitting a public comment to the PSC before November 18.

Visit kftc.org/kentuckypower2020 to learn more about the case and for a simple way to submit comments.

Read Kentucky Power’s proposal and case filings at https://psc.ky.gov/PSC_WebNet/ViewCaseFilings. aspx?Case=2020-00174.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

14 | Balancing the Scales

New Energy and Transition

KYMEA communities’ choice: risky fossil fuels or clean energy

By Andy McDonald As the cost of building clean energy systems drops lower and lower, Kentucky’s electric utilities have the opportunity to meaningfully shift their energy mix away from fossil fuels and towards affordable, renewable energy – if only they would take it.

This question is playing out right now at the Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KYMEA), a wholesale supplier that provides energy to several cities and towns across Kentucky.

The KYMEA is developing an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to determine how to meet its customers’ energy needs over the coming 10-20 years. In the process, it is considering whether to invest in new coal or natural gas power contracts to serve its municipal members.

These potential investments would pose a significant financial risk to KYMEA’s member communities, in addition to negative environmental and public health implications.

In Kentucky, there are dozens of retail electric utilities, including investor-owned utilities (e.g., LG&E, KU, Duke Energy and Kentucky Power), cooperatives and municipal utilities.

The KYMEA was formed in 2015 and began supplying power to its eight municipal utility customers in May 2019. The municipal utilities are scattered across the state and buy their power from various wholesale suppliers, including the KYMEA. They are unique in that they are not regulated by the Public Service Commission, which regulates the investor-owned utilities and co-ops. The legislature exempts municipal utilities from PSC regulation because they are overseen by local boards or elected officials.

The KYMEA buys its power from several power producers and then re-sells it to its municipal utility members. The large majority of KYMEA’s power comes from coal, with some natural gas, and a small amount of hydropower.

The KYMEA currently has a 100 megawatt coal power contract due to expire in 2022. This represents almost one-third of KYMEA’s power supply and gives its members a chance to reduce the cost, financial risk and environmental impacts of their energy supply.

Without community input, the KYMEA may turn to other coal or natural gas resources to replace the expiring contract. Across the country, electric utilities are turning away from coal and natural gas in favor of wind and solar because renewables have become the least-cost option in many places. Indeed, the KYMEA

already has a contract for 50 megawatts of solar that’s expected to come online in 2022. However, they are still considering additional coal and natural gas options.

Aside from their environmental and public health impacts, coal and natural gas generation present significant financial risks to local communities. The cost of their competitors, wind and solar, has fallen dramatically in recent years and continues to decline.

Meanwhile, large-scale battery storage is now available and its costs are also falling dramatically.

We see this trend in Kentucky, where hundreds of megawatts of coal generation have been retired in the past two years by Owensboro Municipal Utilities and Henderson Municipal Power and Light (HMP&L).

In July 2020, HMP&L announced a contract for 50 megawatts of solar power, enough to meet 20 percent of its electricity demand.

In Indiana, the “Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) presented analysis for its 2018 Integrated Resource Plan, finding it can save customers more than $4 billion over 30 years by moving from 65% coal today to 15% coal in 2023 and eliminating the resource by 2028. To replace retiring coal, NIPSCO found that a portfolio of solar, storage, wind and demand management is the most cost effective, along with a small amount of market purchases from the Midcontinent ISO.” (UtilityDive.com, October 2018) While cheap natural gas has had a major hand

in driving the shutdown of so many U.S. coal plants, market forces and the need to cut carbon emissions places natural gas at a long-term disadvantage relative to wind, solar and battery storage. This is now leading some utilities to transition directly from coal to renewables plus battery storage, without building any new natural gas generation. Utilities in three states (Arizona, Colorado and Florida) announced such plans in June 2020.

These trends point to significant risks to the KYMEA’s members from any new investments in coal or natural gas generation, whether that be new construction or contracts with existing power plants.

During this time of rapid change in the energy sector, with renewable energy and battery storage costs rapidly falling, and ever-growing demands to regulate or halt the burning of fossil fuels, any new investments in coal or natural gas carry serious risks for the KYMEA and its member communities.

KYMEA is accepting public input from its member communities on its Integrated Resource Plan.

Without everyday Kentuckians speaking up, the agency may very well go ahead with the investments in coal and gas it is considering.

If you live in Barbourville, Bardwell, Corbin, Falmouth, Frankfort, Madisonville, Paris, Providence, Berea, Benham or Owensboro, please follow the “Take Action!” steps to make sure the KYMEA hears what’s best for your community!

TAKE ACTION NOW! If you or someone you know live in a KYMEA-member community, your voice is needed to make sure KYMEA invests in a clean energy future, rather than risky fossil fuels.

The KYMEA is offering a couple of ways for people in their member communities to provide public input on their IRP plans: • Submit written comments at kymea.org/irp/irp-feedback.

• KYMEA-member communities who get 100 pecent of their power from KYMEA are Barbourville, Bardwell, Corbin, Falmouth, Frankfort, Madisonville, Paris and Providence. Other KYMEA member-communities include Berea, Benham, Owensboro Suggested comments / talking points • • • •

Please do not invest in any new coal or natural gas power supplies. Both coal and natural gas generation carry significant financial risks for the KYMEA’s members and their customers.

Please prioritize energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy to meet your members’ energy demands. We need local energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to help customers lower their energy bills and stimulate economic development.

I support clean, renewable energy.

I support KYMEA reaching 100% zero-carbon, renewable energy by 2030.

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020

KFTC’s Fall Gathering will feature various annual meeting activities Under “normal” circumstances, KFTC would host a weekend-long annual meeting to gather in person, learn with each other, share meals and stories, and elect our leaders for the year. But as the world has shifted, so are we.

This year, we’re turning our annual meeting, which had been scheduled for a weekend in late July, into an online fall gathering, where we’ll come together in a series of creative sessions during September and October. We hope that in addition to connecting with each other virtually, we’ll also learn and deepen our understanding of issues facing many Kentuckians today. And because so much of our organizing is impacted by the results of elections, we’ll create opportunities for folks to take action safely through phone or text banks, literature drops and other activities leading up to Election Day on November 3.

Details are still being finalized and may change, but our tentative schedule is: • • • • • •

Friday, September 18: An opening panel with special guest Nsé Ufot, executive director of the New Georgia Project, which works to register 1,000,000 African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans to vote.

Online sessions covering health care for all (Saturday, September 26), and abolition and a caring economy (Saturday, October 3) Creative online gatherings including cultural sharing, yoga, and connecting over coffee (throughout) Phone and text banks, literature drops and other voter engagement activities (throughout) Celebrating our work and each other (Saturday, October 10) KFTC annual business meeting and election debrief (Saturday, November 21)

As details are finalized, this information and registration details will be updated at kftc.org/fall-gathering and shared via email and social media.

Shauntrice Martin joins staff, other changes Shauntrice Martin has accepted the position of Interim Chapter Organizer for the Jefferson County chapter. Martin has worked with KFTC over the last two election cycles, in addition to leading and powering a number of other social justice efforts in the Louisville area. She steps into the role of chapter organizer for the remainder of this election cycle and into next year while KFTC explores and considers structural changes through the Organizational Change Initiative. Martin began on August 16.

Martin is a Louisville West End mother focused on dismantling the food apartheid. She is a long time civil rights advocate focused on Black Liberation. You can follow her all over social media @BlackMarketKY.

In other staff changes, the Executive Committee authorized converting Tayna Fogle's two-year Democracy Fellowship into a permanent staff position. And Kevin Short, KFTC’s organizer apprentice in the Cumberland Chapter will be stay on in that position for another 12 months. Also, Alicia Hurle stepped down as KFTC’s Deputy Organizing Director for Democracy, effective August 15, to become co-director of the Kentucky Civic Engagement Table and Commonwealth Alliance Voter Engagement.

Finally, KFTC hired 25 voter empowerment organizers in early September, both full-time and part-time, to work with chapter organizers and local democracy teams through the November election. They are: Brooklyn Lile, Derik Overstreet, Blake Hennion, Jessica Williams, Demontez Campbell, Raymond Taylor Jr., Pedro Sanchez-Villa, Audrie Lamb, Diane Donahue, Meredith McLean, Molly Spicer, Simon Boxall, Briana Carr, Dayjha Hogg, Shauntrice Martin Daniel Thacker, Courtney Jackson, Robert Pyette, Olivia Meyer, Hattie Nunley, Brittany Lowe, Santana Kavanaugh, George Watkins, Adriel Downing, Whitney Kuklinski and Collin Brown.

Balancing the Scales | 15 /

KFTC OFFICES AND STAFF MAIN OFFICE Morgan Brown, Burt Lauderdale, Ashley Frasher and Kevin Short P.O. Box 1450 London, KY 40743 606-878-2161 | Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org

FIELD OFFICES Louisville E’Beth Adami, Carissa Lenfert, Corey Dutton, Jessie Skaggs and Shauntrice Martin 735 Lampton Street #202 Louisville, KY 40203 502-589-3188 Bowling Green Laura Harper Knight and Alexa Hatcher 958 Collett Ave., Suite 500 Bowling Green, KY 42101 270-282-4553 Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein, Caitlin Sparks and Dave Newton 640 Main Street Covington, KY 41005 859-380-6103 Central Kentucky Jessica Hays Lucas, Heather Mahoney, Laura Greenfield, Erik Hungerbuhler, Meredith Wadlington, Tayna Fogle and Nikita Perumal 250 Plaza Drive, Suite 4 Lexington, KY 40503 859-276-0563 Floyd County Jerry Hardt and Jacob Mack-Boll 152 North Lake Drive P.O. Box 864 Prestonsburg, KY 41653 606-263-4982 Berea Lisa Abbott, Amy Hogg, Michael Harrington and Julia Basil 210 N. Broadway #3 Berea, KY 40403

859-868-1179

Email any staff member at firstname@ kftc.org except for Laura Greenfield use lauragreenfield@kftc.org

16 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | September 9, 2020