Last updated: May 06, 2011 - 6:28 pm
Source: dailyjournal.net
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A big crop of agriculture commissioner candidates has been trying to cultivate support among a largely indifferent electorate in Kentucky.
Five Democrats and two Republicans, all of whom have farming backgrounds, are vying for their parties' nominations in a May 17 primary that could draw participation from as few as 15 percent of the Kentucky's registered voters.
Leading Democratic fundraiser B.D. Wilson of Frankfort plans to begin running TV ads Monday to reach out to voters. The top Republican fundraiser, James Comer of Tompkinsville, said he's going to concentrate largely on telephone calls, radio ads on conservative stations and mailers targeting the most likely GOP voters, those who went to the polls in each of the last four primaries.
Wilson, a former Montgomery County judge-executive, faces Bob Farmer of Louisville, Stewart Gritton of Lawrenceburg, John Lackey of Richmond and David Lynn Williams of Glasgow. Comer, a veteran state lawmaker, faces Rob Rothenburger of Shelbyville, the incumbent judge-executive in Shelby County.
Farmer, a marketing professional from Louisville, and Williams, a perennial candidate from Glasgow, share the last names of two better-known Kentucky politicians — Republican gubernatorial tag team Richie Farmer and David Lewis Williams who also will be the primary ballot. Without campaigning, David Lynn Williams won the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner four years ago, only to be beaten in the general election by Richie Farmer. Many political observers credited David Lynn Williams' primary victory to a case of mistaken identity.
Bob Farmer said the predicted low turnout means only Kentucky's most active and knowledgeable voters will be casting ballots, and that they will know who they're voting for.
In Kentucky, the agriculture commissioner oversees one of the state's largest agencies with a budget of nearly $30 million and nearly 300 employees with responsibilities that reach far beyond farms. Responsibilities include making sure gasoline pumps and grocery store scales are accurately calibrated and that amusement rides are safe.
The commissioner also is the chief spokesman for Kentucky farmers. "Farmers need to have a well-spoken, active and accessible commissioner of agriculture who can serve as a spokesman for the agricultural industry and defend our agricultural industry against burdensome regulations, as well as expand our markets for Kentucky farm products," Comer said.
Both Republicans and all five Democrats contend they fit that bill.
All but one of the candidates favor allowing Kentucky farmers to grow industrial hemp as an alternative crop, despite reservations from law enforcement that it could be used to camouflage illegal marijuana crops.
Lackey is the only candidate who has objected to industrial hemp as an alternative crop, saying it could complicate the jobs of police agencies that use pilots and spotters to search for marijuana fields from the air. "I'm very skeptical," Lackey said. "I don't think law enforcement people would have a chance at distinguishing hemp from marijuana. If you can't find marijuana in a cornfield, how could you find it in a hemp field?"
Comer and Rothenburger have suggested hemp could be a viable alternative to tobacco in Kentucky. A cousin to marijuana, hemp is used to make textiles, paper, lotion, cosmetics and other products. Though it contains only trace amounts of the mind-altering chemical tetrahydrocannabinol that makes marijuana intoxicating, it remains illegal in the U.S.
Most Kentucky politicians have traditionally considered industrial hemp politically radioactive because of fears that voters might somehow leap to the false conclusion that they're also pro-marijuana.
Kentucky has an ideal climate for hemp production and, during World War II, was a leading grower of the plant.
Five Democrats and two Republicans, all of whom have farming backgrounds, are vying for their parties' nominations in a May 17 primary that could draw participation from as few as 15 percent of the Kentucky's registered voters.
Leading Democratic fundraiser B.D. Wilson of Frankfort plans to begin running TV ads Monday to reach out to voters. The top Republican fundraiser, James Comer of Tompkinsville, said he's going to concentrate largely on telephone calls, radio ads on conservative stations and mailers targeting the most likely GOP voters, those who went to the polls in each of the last four primaries.
Wilson, a former Montgomery County judge-executive, faces Bob Farmer of Louisville, Stewart Gritton of Lawrenceburg, John Lackey of Richmond and David Lynn Williams of Glasgow. Comer, a veteran state lawmaker, faces Rob Rothenburger of Shelbyville, the incumbent judge-executive in Shelby County.
Farmer, a marketing professional from Louisville, and Williams, a perennial candidate from Glasgow, share the last names of two better-known Kentucky politicians — Republican gubernatorial tag team Richie Farmer and David Lewis Williams who also will be the primary ballot. Without campaigning, David Lynn Williams won the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner four years ago, only to be beaten in the general election by Richie Farmer. Many political observers credited David Lynn Williams' primary victory to a case of mistaken identity.
Bob Farmer said the predicted low turnout means only Kentucky's most active and knowledgeable voters will be casting ballots, and that they will know who they're voting for.
In Kentucky, the agriculture commissioner oversees one of the state's largest agencies with a budget of nearly $30 million and nearly 300 employees with responsibilities that reach far beyond farms. Responsibilities include making sure gasoline pumps and grocery store scales are accurately calibrated and that amusement rides are safe.
The commissioner also is the chief spokesman for Kentucky farmers. "Farmers need to have a well-spoken, active and accessible commissioner of agriculture who can serve as a spokesman for the agricultural industry and defend our agricultural industry against burdensome regulations, as well as expand our markets for Kentucky farm products," Comer said.
Both Republicans and all five Democrats contend they fit that bill.
All but one of the candidates favor allowing Kentucky farmers to grow industrial hemp as an alternative crop, despite reservations from law enforcement that it could be used to camouflage illegal marijuana crops.
Lackey is the only candidate who has objected to industrial hemp as an alternative crop, saying it could complicate the jobs of police agencies that use pilots and spotters to search for marijuana fields from the air. "I'm very skeptical," Lackey said. "I don't think law enforcement people would have a chance at distinguishing hemp from marijuana. If you can't find marijuana in a cornfield, how could you find it in a hemp field?"
Comer and Rothenburger have suggested hemp could be a viable alternative to tobacco in Kentucky. A cousin to marijuana, hemp is used to make textiles, paper, lotion, cosmetics and other products. Though it contains only trace amounts of the mind-altering chemical tetrahydrocannabinol that makes marijuana intoxicating, it remains illegal in the U.S.
Most Kentucky politicians have traditionally considered industrial hemp politically radioactive because of fears that voters might somehow leap to the false conclusion that they're also pro-marijuana.
Kentucky has an ideal climate for hemp production and, during World War II, was a leading grower of the plant.
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