Republican Rally Kicks off 2014 Political Races

The fall of 2013 has arrived and politics is in the air. The Republican Party held a rally at exit 28 on Interstate 71 on Friday night.  Among the politicians there were Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, and Thomas Massie, all of whom represent the people of Oldham County at the Federal level. There were also many local politicians in attendance.

Back home on the local level not many decisions about who is running for office have been publicly announced at this time. It appears that there will be competition for the offices of sheriff, PVA, and mayor of LaGrange. There will surely be competition for other offices. I was informed by Sheriff Steve Sparrow at the rally that he will be a candidate for sheriff in 2014. That is the only person who has informed me that he is definitely seeking reelection.

The big question is, what will be the issues?  It usually is not sufficient for a candidate to simply run for an office and say he/she is better than the incumbent. If the incumbent has done nothing wrong and has generally been on the right side of the issues he/she will usually be reelected. What the issue are will be is usually decided by the public. The two biggest issues out there at the present time both relate to LaGrange. Those are the recent institution of a compensation tax and the Oldham Reserve. Another issue that is likely to be born of those two issues is the spending habits of LaGrange.

At the county level the decision to construct a new jail and the continuation of an insurance premium tax, that is larger than necessary, could become election issues.

Although the present fiscal court has had some tense moments it has been a harmonious court for the most part. Are there chinks in the armor of the court? Certainly there are. However, I do not see as many vulnerable members of the court this election as there were in the elections of 2010. On the other hand, one never knows what may become an issue between now and the primary elections which essentially decides who is going to be elected to office since Olham County has few democrats running at the county level. Of course, the city elections are nonpartisan.

Anyway, stay tuned to this site for the political news of the Oldham County. Who knows, it could be that a few "looks" may be taken at the statewide elections.