The evening of November 12 was a special one for the Rotary Club of Lexington, as over 200 Rotarians, visiting Rotarians, Rotaract members, and guests gathered at The Mane on Main to hear from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Beshear, who proudly noted that he grew up in Lexington, is currently serving his second term as the Commonwealth’s 63rd Governor, having first been elected to that position in 2019. A Democrat, he previously served as Kentucky’s Attorney General and is the son of former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.
As a Democrat with relatively high approval ratings in a state otherwise run by a Republican legislative super majority, Beshear has of late been elevated to a national profile, with some talk of a potential run for the presidency. In his remarks, however, he was laser-focused on what he referred to as “our new Kentucky home” where “stereotypes are left in the past and we welcome everyone to our pride of place, and where we will never again be seen as a fly-over state, but rather an incredible destination.”
Addressing the political divisions we face in America, Beshears believes that partisanship is largely pressed upon us by outside forces and that Kentuckians, when they wake up each day they are not thinking about politics, but rather about their jobs, schools, roads, and public safety. By seeking common ground and applying common sense to folks’ daily issues, he believes we can come together and produce positive results.
The Governor then turned to Kentucky’s economy. He began with the results of a recent Moody’s study, which looked at each state as a separate economy. Their conclusion: that half of all states are in recession and one-third are flat, while Kentucky is still growing at one of the fastest rates in the country. To further illustrate that, Beshear noted that over the last five and one-half years, the Commonwealth seen private sector investment of more than $43 billion, a number far exceeding any previous period. He humorously that the number two spot was held by his father! Take that, dad!
Quality job creation was also cited as evidence of our economic vitality. His administration has announced the creation of 63,300 new jobs having the best three-year average for wages the Commonwealth has ever seen.
While Beshear largely stayed away from specific political issues, his position on tariffs was made extremely clear, as he described the current policies as the “worst policies in his life.” while also noting that his view is shared at least to some extent by Kentucky’s two Republican senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. In particular, he noted that current situation on tariffs creates headwinds for Kentucky and Fayette as they and repeat the record export results of the past two years. He also referenced concerns over the impact of recent federal legislation on our rural hospitals.
Before generously opening up for questions, Governor Beshear identified what he sees as a priority for the next legislative session: pre-kindergarten for all four-year olds. He sees some bipartisan support for that and noted it would help in adding to our workforce.
– John Wharton