Sunday, April 15, 2012

Gary Moore versus Thomas Massie is no contest

Two well-funded campaigns in Kentucky's Fourth district Republican congressional primary provide interestingly contrasting management approaches of two men in their jobs as County Judge Executives.

At issue is the constant effort to take full advantage of federal grants and what the official's actions say about his political philosophy and how he might perform in Congress.

Recently, both Lewis County Judge Executive Thomas Massie and Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore sought grants for public parks projects. Both were successful at attracting federal funds.

That is where the similarities end and the differences are striking. Massie's state grant called for a match with local funds. Massie has pulled $100,000 out of his own county's operating funds to complete a trails project. Moore's federal grant also necessitated a $100,000 match, but he raised the money locally through a non-profit organization, costing his county taxpayers nothing to buy more than 80 acres for public land.

Moore appears to be running well out in front of a crowded GOP primary field, but he isn't talking about this key difference between himself and Massie. Moore has been criss-crossing the district talking to local audiences about how the federal government can help address their needs in Congress without making our nation's fiscal situation worse. Meanwhile, Massie attacks Moore for his long -- and, frankly, laudable -- tenure as chief executive of what has become the most dynamic county in Kentucky. Massie has cause for concern. Despite attempting to run a national campaign using a variation of the tea party model, Massie has raised only $150,000, much of which has come in the form of donations he can't use in the primary election. Moore has raised more than $250,000 and will be able to spend all of it, if he has to, to win on May 22.

Another Massie attack highlights yet another fiscally conservative maneuver by Moore to assist his constituents. In 2008, a Boone County Parks Tax proposal answered the wishes of county activists who wanted more local parks and a local property tax increase to fund them. Judge Moore responded to the request by suggesting the lowering of local health, library and extension district taxes to completely cancel out the increase. Massie charges in his attacks that this clearly revenue neutral move somehow constituted a tax increase.

Gary Moore's record on economic development and fiscal responsibility in bustling Boone County, Kentucky is clearly as beneficial to his constituents as it is frustrating to his political opponents. 

1 comment:

  1. Gary Moore is totally unaware of what fiscal responsibility is. He happened to run uncontested for two terms when Boone County had a mas influx of Republicans move into the county with companies seeking an airport close by. This was the conversion from Domocrat to Republican dominated. If Gary Moore was a conservative, you would not have spent tax payer monery on a dommed library and insisted a park tax should be implemented when there was and is so much tax money laying in the library fund. Moore admitted to this when he intended to take some out for the park tax exchange.... Un Educated conservative maybe, and not a very smart one.

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