KFTC Blog

I was proud to join other Kentuckians in Frankfort on April 13 with my KFTC sweatshirt on. The huge crowd was what democracy looks like – even if the legislature was unworthy of it.

We all went to Frankfort to let our governor and legislators know that Kentuckians deserve better from our General Assembly.

This was one of the most damaging legislative sessions we’ve seen in years. Our elected leaders:

raised taxes on 95 percent of Kentuckians – not to raise new revenue for state investments, but to fund a tax cut for the wealthy and corporations. passed a budget with significant cuts to education (including zero funding for textbooks and other school programs) and most other services across the board. passed House Bill 169, which will increase incarceration of young people of color, and cost an additional $19 million a year that we could invest in community supports for preventing gang violence.

Thursday afternoon hundreds gathered at Northern Kentucky University to speak out for more revenue, and to ask legislators to honor the commitments we have made to students across Kentucky.

The crowd began to gather before noon. Members of the broader community included KFTC, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, and the Northern Kentucky Justice and Peace Committe. However, the majority in attendance were students and faculty who were most likely to be impacted by the new state budget. Many came with signs illustrating issues impacting the NKU community. From rising costs of tuition, a tax structure that hurts lower and middle income Kentuckians, and what the impact of further cuts could mean to universities across the state.

Every year KFTC's local chapters hold a chapter annual business meeting. All KFTC members in the chapter are invited and encouraged to participate to elect new local leadership, nominate themselves and others to statewide committees, set local priorties and goals, and make suggestions for KFTC's statewide platform. These meetings are fundamental pieces of KFTC's democratic and grassroots process. We hope to see you at your local chapter annual meeting. Full list below!

Northern Kentucky members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth showed up to support ongoing work around immigrant rights in northern Kentucky.