Harlan Co. Chapter Meeting

We have an exciting meeting planned for tonight, complete with pizza and a special guest from Lexington! Enchanta Jackson recently joined our staff as Voter Empowerment Organizer and is happy to visit us in Cumberland tonight as we develop a good local ‘Get Out the Vote' plan heading into the Primary Election. After hitting the polls next Tuesday, May 20^th, we then have five months to communicate our vision with voters, potential voters, and candidates in our communities between now and November 4^th. There even happens to be an opportunity coming up this week! 

A Democratic candidate challenging Mitch McConnell for U.S. Senate, Alison Lundergan Grimes, recently announced a ten-day bus tour leading into the Primary Election. She will be at the Harlan Center this Wednesday, May 14^th at 12 noon. One of KFTC's primary Voter Empowerment and communications goals for 2014 is to re-shape the public and political conversation about eastern Kentucky into a conversation about a just transition, instead of the political argument about who's a bigger friend of coal.  

The debate about coal and our future could have an important impact in more than a few elections across the state this fall. This bus tour offers a good opportunity for us to lift up our "Bright Future" message to the general public, and the Grimes campaign, as we will continue to do throughout the summer and fall. Without opposing or supporting her campaign, we can demonstrate a better idea, a more promising conversation, and the wisdom of a bright future strategy. A statewide strategy call about the fifty county bus tour will take place tonight (Monday) at 8 pm.  However, we can build our own local strategy at the chapter meeting, which may help to inform the statewide strategy as well.

As KFTC members and allies continue to work toward the bright future we want and deserve in Harlan County, we have tangible projects to lift up. These are projects that connect people and improve our communities, like energy efficiency in Benham & Lynch, local food and craft markets in Harlan & Cumberland, community theatre across the county, and plenty more.  We’ve got lots to talk about tonight in Cumberland and really hope you can make it to the conversation.