Candidates for Frankfort City Commissioners vie for a seat on the Commission in a nonpartisan race. Thus, they do not declare which political party with which they are registered, Democrat or Republican.
Candidate Kyle Thompson is seeking one of the 4 open seats on the Board of Commissioners. Click here for more information about Thompson's background and campaign issues. Click this link for more information about the role of the Board of Commissioners and other candidates.
Together Frankfort sent questionnaires to all candidates for Frankfort City Commission. Voters can select up to four (4) of the six (6) candidates on the ballot. Of the city commission candidates on the ballot, Candidates Dawn Hale, Kelly May (i), Kyle Thompson, and Katrisha Waldridge (i) responded. Candidates J.C. Karsner and Leesa Unger (i) did not.
*(i) indicates an incumbent candidate, i.e. someone who already holds the office and is running for re-election.
What Did Candidate Kyle Thompson Tell Us?
How did the candidates reply to the questions? Together Frankfort asked questions concerning the six (6) issue areas below:
1. Quality of life (including both economic and environmental issues, planning & zoning, and Tax Increment Financing)
2. Voting
3. Gun Violence
4. Campaign Contributions
5. Healthcare and
6. Housing
Questions from Together Frankfort are in purple text; candidates' response are in black.
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~~~~~ Quality of Life for All Citizens ~~~~~
Together Frankfort: What proposals would you make to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Frankfort and Franklin County? What proposals would you make to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Frankfort and Franklin County?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: First and foremost, I would shine a spotlight on the areas of our community that are utterly failing. The first that come to mind are:
~ Education (we rank in the bottom 25% of all benchmark areas and only 33% of 8th graders in the public school system are at a proficient level for writing, and only 17% of male students are at the proficient level for writing; only 45.4% of high school students in our local school system are proficient in reading. Less than 58% of our high school graduates in Frankfort are ‘transition ready’ for either a career or postsecondary education);
~ Crime: Only 8% of all cities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky have a higher crime rate than Frankfort per capita. Only 3 cities have a higher violent crime rate per capita. Each night there are only six (6) city police officers on duty covering over fifteen (15) square miles, if all officers are present, and of those six (6), usually only four (4) are on the road.
~ [Drugs] We also have the highest drug overdose death rate per capita in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which currently ranks 2nd in the country for state drug overdose deaths per capita. These drugs are brought in by Mexican Drug Cartels and bringing their own laboratory manufactured drugs such as methamphetamine into the country, as well as fentanyl made in China and smuggled across our open borders to Frankfort.
We can never begin to address quality of life if we are not willing to openly and honestly discuss the data and facts that show many of our citizens are living in a violent, dangerous, and deadly community. Most of our leaders and long-established families would rather bury their heads in the proverbial sand than address these issues and protect our most vulnerable and our youth.
Together Frankfort: Describe your vision for sustainable economic growth in Franklin County.
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Addressing our safety, crime, and wellbeing factors, while also fostering our current relationships with our largest employers and addressing their needs. Once we have established that Frankfort is a safe and good place to raise a family, only then can we begin to go after new and unique employers for new jobs.
Together Frankfort: What could our community do to address climate change?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Be good stewards of the natural resources we have in this community. Do not force green energy or cost prohibitive climate change reactionary policies that end up doing more to harm our most vulnerable citizens financially. Create a regional recycling center in a public/private partnership that will be beneficial to our citizens and the communities surrounding Frankfort.
Together Frankfort: What are your priorities for Planning and Zoning?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Merge the Planning and Zoning Departments of the City and County into one (1) office. Draft and enact one (1) planning and zoning codes for all citizens that live within both the city and county.
Together Frankfort: In what circumstances would you support using Tax Increment Financing (TIF)?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Only when NEW tourism or business export dollars are potentially realized with such a tool.
~~~~~ Voting ~~~~~
Only 33% of eligible Franklin County voters participated in the last election and that was considered a good turnout. What do you think can be done to increase voter turnout and engagement?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Have the individuals and powers that be that have controlled this community for the last forty (40) plus years to not be re-elected to simply do nothing for the citizens while padding their pockets, legacies, and egos. Have new, experienced, and educated citizens run for office from all walks of life that can actually get work done to better the citizenry and our population by making tough decisions and pushing for positive change, regardless of who may be offended or hurt by not getting their particular way or name on a building or park.
Together Frankfort: What is your opinion about election security in Franklin County?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: I think County Clerk Jeff Hancock is personally dedicated to election integrity and has the best staff and plan to maintain our faith in our local election results.
~~~~~ Gun Violence ~~~~~
Together Frankfort: What specific measures do you believe could reduce gun violence in Kentucky and if elected, what would you do to make sure those measures are put in place?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Push for harsher penalties for gun crimes and allow for criminal culpability of a parent or guardian that allows any child or mentally ill person in their custody and care to come into the possession of a gun without protective measures in place to protect their fellow citizens from the same.
Together Frankfort: Suicides account for 66% of all gun deaths in Kentucky. Do you have proposals that would reduce those deaths?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Mental health courts in our local district court systems. More mental health counseling in our schools by providing at least one (1) mental health professional in every school elementary, middle, and high school. Not one (1) for all schools. One (1) in every single school in the community. Fund and offer free mental health clinics and a help line twenty-four (24) hours a day that is staffed by a paid mental health professional locally that can get a person of any age resources that they need for basic mental health assistance. Provide our veterans (of which 22 per day commit suicide in the U.S.) with technology and transportation assistance for mental health counseling and treatment at our nearest VA facilities.
Together Frankfort: The federal government has just passed legislation that would send money to Kentucky for gun violence prevention--specifically for enacting a red flag law or something similar. How would you propose to spend that money to prevent gun violence in our commonwealth?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: I do not agree with red flag laws. I pledge to uphold any law or constitutional provision. However, I will never support any law that potentially infringes on the Second Amendment and the ability of a person to protect themselves and/or their families, especially a law that can be used to permanently bar an American citizen from legally owning a gun due to a single incident that is a question of fact or an untruthful charge filed to gain an advantage in a legal proceeding.
~~~~~ Campaign Contributions ~~~~~
Together Frankfort: What is your position on Dark Money?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: I think both parties funnel entirely too much unaccounted-for money to candidates that do not allow for the voting citizens to know who politicians are beholden to. I also think that Dark Money prevents common citizens that are brilliant thinkers and diverse individuals to run successfully for political office. Instead of electing the best candidates, we are left electing the best funded person from an already rich or privileged background with no interest of benefiting anyone but themselves and their own personal bank accounts.
Will you identify all contributors to your campaign, including those who contribute to political action committees that support you?
~~~~ Health Care ~~~~
What is your position on reproductive health care for women and Constitutional Amendment #2?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: As an adopted child born to a teen mother in the mid-1970’s I am thankful every day to live this wonderful life I have been given. Because of her many many sacrifices, I have been able to raise three (3) children of my own, enjoy the love and care of two (2) of the most amazing parents in this world, and praise a God, daily, for the chance to have grace in the form of an unconditional love that passes all comprehension. As a practitioner of the law and a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, I do not believe that there was a right to an abortion enumerated or protected in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In fact, I believe that Justice Blackmun’s creative legal writing actually damaged Roe’s chances of eternally passing Constitutional challenge. Former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with my assessment and stated that a ruling protecting abortion rights would have been more durable if it had been based on the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Yet, Roe v. Wade was not. Therefore, I will always stand for the rights of the unborn, not as a man interfering in the decision making power of a woman over her body, but as a human, made in the image of my God that believes that all life, at any stage, is precious and should be protected.
What is your position on expanding mental health care in Franklin County?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: It should absolutely be expanded, and the city and county should jointly, along with the Administrative Office of the Courts immediately fund and begin a pilot Mental Health Court in Franklin District Court.
~~~~~ Housing ~~~~~
Would you, if elected, tackle our affordable housing crisis by supporting a city/county ordinance that adopts the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA) to define the rights of renting citizens and families and landlords, and follow the lead of other towns and cities by adopting regulations on Airbnb and other short-term rentals?
Candidate Kyle Thompson: Yes.
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Together Frankfort expresses our sincere appreciation to Candidate Kyle Thompson for responding to our survey. Readers interested in discussing any of his comments with Candidate Thompson further are urged to contact him directly. His contact information is as follows:
Kyle Thompson
Phone: 502.229.8889
E-mail: thompsonattorney@gmail.com
Candidate website
Candidate Facebook
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Kentucky's 2022 General Election
Franklin County, Kentucky