What Did Candidate Kelly Dycus 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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Candidate Kelly Dycus 

~~ Together Frankfort: 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?

Candidate Kelly Dycus: Jobs that pay a living wage and include health benefits, affordable housing, additional mental health supports and a mental health court are a few of the things that I believe would improve the quality of life for our citizens.

Together Frankfort: Describe your vision for sustainable economic growth in Franklin County.

Candidate Kelly Dycus:  We must first decide who we are and how we want to grow. We have leaned on state government and now must decide what we want for our community. I want to see sustainable growth, yet we must utilize our natural resources and not abuse them.

Together Frankfort: What could our community do to address climate change? 

Candidate Kelly Dycus: Eating locally grown food, using more solar power, cutting our carbon footprint by reusing rather than always buying new, planting trees and preserving green space, building green and insulating our current buildings and homes, and VOTING for candidates that use scientific data to make decisions about climate change as well as candidates that are willing to make this a funding priority are some of the ways in which we can address climate change

Together Frankfort: What are your priorities for Planning and Zoning?

Candidate Kelly Dycus:  The processes and guidelines should be simplified and should be understandable for an average person. This process should not take an attorney but currently often does.

Together Frankfort: In what circumstances would you support using Tax Increment Financing (TIF)?

Candidate Kelly Dycus:

Together Frankfort: 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 Kelly Dycus:  I believe that many people feel that their voices do not matter. We can do a better job of educating the community. Young people tell me that they feel disconnected and that no one cares what they think. We must involve our young people and help them to understand that decisions made now will effect them for years to come. 

 Together Frankfort: What is your opinion about election security in Franklin County?

Candidate Kelly Dycus: 

~~~~~ 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 Kelly Dycus: I believe that a few common sense changes could make a big difference. These include safe gun storage, limiting access by those that have proven to be a threat to themselves or others, and additional education and mental health supports.
If elected, I will continue to educate and advocate strongly for these changes.

Together Frankfort: Suicides account for 66% of all gun deaths in Kentucky. Do you have proposals that would reduce those deaths?  

Candidate Kelly Dycus:  As a mental health professional, I have advocated for more suicide education in our community at large and in our schools. Suicide rates by teens continue to rise. The gun safety measures discussed previously as well as honest conversation with our children rather than fear based conversation or avoidance is essential. We must also take every suicide threat seriously. 

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 Kelly Dycus: I would propose to spend “red flag” funds on additional mental health and substance use supports, education, a mental health court and additional infrastructure in civil court whereby school administrators, family members, and health professionals may petition the court to temporarily suspend use of firearms when someone is a clear danger to themselves or others. This is called an “extreme protection order”.

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~~~~~ Campaign Contributions ~~~~~

Together Frankfort: What is your position on Dark Money?

Candidate Kelly Dycus:  ​I do not support the use of money to influence elections without disclosing the identities of donors, referred to as “dark money”.

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Together Frankfort: Will you identify all contributors to your campaign, including those who contribute to political action committees that support you? 

Candidate Kelly Dycus: I believe in transparency. I will always disclose donors. I believe that all candidates should.

~~~ Health Care ~~~~~

Together Frankfort: What is your position on reproductive health care for women and Constitutional Amendment #2?

​Candidate Kelly Dycus:  My position on women’s reproductive healthcare is very simple. A woman must be able to make all decisions about her body and her healthcare.  I will vote NO on amendment 2.

Together Frankfort: What is your position on expanding mental health care in Franklin County?

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Candidate Kelly Dycus:  As a mental health provider, I have a unique view of how imperative it is to expand mental healthcare in Franklin County.  Unfortunately, there are too few providers because mental health providers are paid far less than physical health providers. This disparity will need to change before we have even close to enough mental health professionals to serve the immense need that we are facing.

My office receives, on average, 10 new calls per week from individuals looking for care. We have made a commitment to serve adolescent clients, children and those with trauma histories first and we accept Medicaid because we believe that every person should be able to access affordable, quality care. The dream is to have enough clinicians to serve everyone in need. 

~~~~~ Housing ~~~~~

Together Frankfort: 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 Kelly Dycus: 

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Thank you, Candidate Kelly Dycus, for responding to Together Frankfort's questionnaire.  For readers interested in discussing these issues further with Candidate Kelly Dycus, her contact information is provided below.

Kelly Dycus (D)
Candidate for Franklin County Magistrate District 3

Phone: 502.320.3873  
E-mail:  kellydycus@outlook.com
Candidate Facebook Page​

Candidate Kelly Dycus (D), running to represent Franklin County Magisterial District 3. Her opponent, Candidate Greg Grimes (R), did not respond to the survey. ​

Together Frankfort sent questionnaires to all candidates for Franklin County Fiscal Court magistrate position. 

Of the six magisterial districts, two are "contested" races, meaning that a candidate from both the Democratic & Republican parties are running.

Candidate Kelly Dycus (D) won the May 2022 primary for the Democratic candidate from Franklin County Magisterial District 3.  Her opponent in the General Election  in the General Election on November 8, Candidate Greg Grimes (R), did not respond to the questionnaire.​​