July 2014 - balancing the scales

Change Service Requested

scales

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth P.O. Box 1450 London, Ky. 40743

BALANCING THE

VOLUME 33 NUMBER 5 JULY 22, 2014

pg. 5

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID LEXINGTON, KY. PERMIT NO. 513

VISION Smoketown canvasses neighborhood to identify strengths and opportunities

Chair’s farewell : Sue Tallichet reflects on her time............................................3

Proposed 2014-15 KFTC Platform for Membership Annual Meeting...10

Stanley Sturgill, Bennie Massey named Appalachian Heroes....................19

SOAR process has potential to transform, if handled right.............................. 4

Federal appeals court upholds EPA conductivity guidance to protect Appalachian waters from mountaintop removal...........................................16

Kentuckians want candidates who support fair taxes......................... 21

2 | Balancing the Scales

is a statewide grassroots social justice orga­­ ni­zation working for a new balance of power and a just society. KFTC uses direct-action organizing to accomplish the following goals: • foster democratic values • change unjust institutions • empower individuals • overcome racism and other discrimination • communicate a message of what’s possible • build the organization • help people participate • win issues that affect the common welfare • have fun KFTC membership dues are $15 to $50 per year, based on ability to pay. No one is denied membership because of inability to pay. Membership is open to anyone who is committed to equality, democracy and nonviolent change.

KFTC STEERING COMMITTEE Sue Tallichet, chair Dana Beasley Brown, vice chair Megan Naseman, secretary-treasurer Carl Shoupe, at-large member Steve Boyce, immediate past chair

Chapter Representatives

Homer White, Scott County Christian Torp, Central Kentucky Lisa Montgomery, Rowan County Ben Baker, Northern Kentucky Shekinah Lavalle, Jefferson County Alan Smith, Southern Kentucky Rutland Melton, Harlan County Katie Pirotina, Perry County Meta Mendel-Reyes, Madison County Elizabeth Sanders, Letcher County Nina McCoy, Big Sandy Lee Ann Paynter, Wilderness Trace Leslie McBride, Shelby County Alternates: Rosanne Fitts Klarer, Scott County; Greg Capillo, Central Kentucky; John Hennen, Rowan County; Rick Traud, Northern Kentucky; Nan Goheen, Jefferson County; Travis Lane and Jeanie Smith, Southern Kentucky; Clair Stines, Harlan County; Russell Oliver, Perry County; Steve Wilkins, Madison County; Josh May, Letcher County; Virginia Madison, Big Sandy; Leah Bayens, Wilderness Trace; Joanna Mackens, Shelby County.

Balancing the Scales is published by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and mailed third class from Lexington, Kentucky. Reader contri­butions and letters to the editor should be sent to 250 Southland Drive Suite #4, Lexington, Ky, 40503 or tim@kftc.org. Subscriptions are $20/yr.

Table of Contents

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Executive Committee Corner Chair’s farewell : Sue Tallichet reflects on her time...........................................................................................3

Member Commentary SOAR process has potential to transform, if handled right.......................................................................... 4 Ky. leaders’ coal obsession pushing young to relocate.................................................................................. 4

Local Updates VISION Smoketown project identifies strengths and opportunities..........................................................5 Shelby chapter celebrates hard work, looks ahead..........................................................................................5 Why our voices matter: a workshop on writing as activism........................................................................ 6 Chapter organizing instrumental in Danville passing fairness ordinance................................................7 Madison County members inspired by work of other local groups.......................................................... 8 Central Kentucky chapter makes progress on housing trust fund............................................................ 9

Annual Meeting Proposed 2014-15 KFTC Platform..........................................................................................................................10 KFTC Executive Committee and Kentucky Coalition board nominations............................................. 13

Canary Project Update EPA’s Clean Power Plan: an opportunity meeting resistance.....................................................................14 Members push for improvements to general permit for coal..................................................................... 15 Federal appeals court upholds EPA conductivity guidance to protect Appalachian waters from mountaintop removal......................................................................................................................................16 Outsey serves as Appalachian Transition Fellow.............................................................................................16 KFTC will be pilot site with Climate Justice Alliance..................................................................................... 17

New Energy and Transition Update Eastern Kentucky Social Club binds Lynch community, keeps it alive.................................................... 18 Stanley Sturgill, Bennie Massey named Appalachian Heroes.....................................................................19

Economic Justice Jefferson County members talk tax reform with mayor ............................................................................20 Kentuckians want candidates who support fair taxes................................................................................... 21 Welcome new staff:.................................................................................................................................................... 24 KFTC Merch Store: kftc.org/store......................................................................................................................... 24 Calendar.........................................................................................................................................................................24

Name: Address: City, State Zip: Phone: Email: I want to make my donation to the following organization (check one): ____ KFTC (not tax-deductible) ____ Kentucky Coalition (tax-deductible) Bank Withdrawal/Credit Card Payment Authorization: I authorize KFTC/KY Coalition to debit my account or charge my credit card in accordance with the information provided.

I understand that this authority will remain in effect until cancelled or changed by reasonable notification to KFTC/ KY Coalition.

Who asked you to join KFTC?

Suggested membership dues are $15-$50 annually. ____ One-time Gift: Amount $_____________ ____ Sustaining Giver:

I will contribute $_________ (check one):

__ Monthly __ Quarterly __ Annually Authorized Signature:_______________________ Date: ____________________________________ Circle one: M astercard Visa American Express Discover Card #: __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ Expiration date: ___ ___ / ___ ___ Cardholder’s name (as it appears on the card): ________________________________________ Date: ____________________________________ For bank drafts, return this form with a voided check from the account you wish to have the withdrawal made.

Make checks payable to KFTC or the Kentucky Coalition and mail to: KFTC • P.O. Box 1450 • London, Ky. 40743-1450.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 3

Executive committee corner

Chair’s farewell: Sue Tallichet reflects on her time

It was my first KFTC meeting ever. As we moved through the chapter’s agenda, I thought to myself that I would never come to fully understand all the issues, such as the third Rowan County interchange or logging in the Daniel Boone National Forest and Laurel Creek. I felt a little lost and certainly overwhelmed because there was so much going on and so much to learn.

Chapter member Doug Doerrfeld calmed my fears, and so I took the plunge by becoming chapter publicity coordinator, but only because of the support of this welcoming group of obviously dedicated people in Rowan County. Those chapter members who were more knowledgeable patiently explained what I needed to know.

That was the KFTC way.

From there it was an easy slide to attending Land Reform Committee meetings and becoming a Canary Leader. Despite my understanding of Appalachian history, again there was much to know about the nexus of state and federal regulations and the state agencies’ ever so frustrating excuses that amounted to no enforcement at all.

I learned from the people affected the most, like Rick Handshoe, Jeff and Sharman Chapman-Crane, and Erica and Rully Urias. All those injustices were happening to me, too, now. So we strategized and took action in the KFTC way.

Again, with my chapter members behind me, counting on me, I was moved forward to represent Rowan County on the statewide KFTC Steering Committee and then on the Executive Committee. It made me nervous to be so appreciated, my opinions valued. Meetings were physically tiring but emotionally and spiritually energizing.

Here I became even more a part of the inner workings of the most remarkable and enduring grassroots group ever. Here I began to fully understand how mem-

bers and staff develop leaders in the KFTC way.

Then it was litigation. Stacks of disregarded Discharge Monitoring Reports representing yet another injury and insult to coal-impacted citizens and their communities led to historic results and landmark decisions, finally in our favor. With leaders like Ted Withrow and Mary Love and our teams of allies, we persisted and prevailed. It reminded me of the broad form deed victory in 1988 and how we had acted, once again, in the KFTC way.

Then, two years ago, I had the great honor to become your chair. I am humbled to take my place in the company of past chairs, such as Doug Doerrfeld, Janet Tucker, K. A. Owens and Steve Boyce.

I think of the early days and the struggles for justice in eastern Kentucky and our early leaders like Patty Wallace, Daymon Morgan, and Ray Tucker.

I think of the present and the struggles for clean air and water, felons’ right to vote, for fairness, for fair taxation, for all the transitions, namely a new economy, new energy and new power.

I want to thank all the staff and all the members who teach, train, lobby, write, call, shout, protest and thereby show their love for truth, justice and peace. This is in keeping with the KFTC way.

Those years have passed quickly since I walked into my first chapter meeting. I have learned that if one of us is hurting, we are all hurting. If one of us has a question, we all need to inquire. I have learned to have faith in the goodness of others.

And so, I will close by saying that in some ways it is hard to pass the torch that lights our way every day closer to all those things for which we stand. But it will be much easier knowing that our leaders will carry on in the KFTC way.

Social media corner www.KFTC.org/facebook to find chapter Facebook pages, visit: www.kftc.org/links www.flickr.com/photos/KFTCphotos @KFTC @NKY_KFTC @ScottCoKFTC @MadCo_KFTC @EKY_KFTC

@JCKFTC @WT_KFTC @SoKyKFTC @VotingRightsKY @CanaryProject

KFTC OFFICES AND STAFF MAIN OFFICE Morgan Brown, Robin Daugherty, and Burt Lauderdale P.O. Box 1450 | London, Kentucky 40743 606-878-2161 | Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org

FIELD OFFICES Louisville Elizabeth Adami, Jessica George, Jerry Hardt, JoAnna House, Alicia Hurle, and Carissa Lenfert 735 Lampton St. #202 Louisville, Ky 40203 502-589-3188 Whitesburg Tanya Turner and Sara Pennington P.O. Box 463 Whitesburg, Ky 41858 606-632-0051 Central Kentucky Tim Buckingham, Jessica Hays Lucas, Beth Howard, Enchanta Jackson, Erik Hungerbuhler, and Heather Roe Mahoney 250 Plaza Drive, Suite 4 Lexington, Ky 40503 859-276-0563

Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein 640 Main Street Covington, Ky 41005 859-380-6103 Floyd County Jessie Skaggs 154 North Lake Drive Prestonsburg, Ky 41653 606-263-4982 Bowling Green Denney Breeding 270-779-6483 Berea Lisa Abbott, Beth Bissmeyer, Amy Hogg, and Kevin Pentz 140 Mini Mall Drive Berea, Ky 40403 859-756-4027

e-mail any staff member at firstname@kftc.org except for Jessica Hays Lucas, use jessicabreen@kftc.org; Beth Howard, use BethHoward@kftc.org; and Beth Bissmeyer, use BethBissmeyer@kftc.org Cover: KFTC members participated in the Vision Smoketown canvas project.

4 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Member commentary

SOAR process has potential to transform, if handled right

By Ray Tucker

Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) began for me over a year ago with the Appalachia’s Bright Future Conference in Harlan, hosted by KFTC and attended by 200 people interested in developing a shared vision for a just transition in the mountains.

SOAR was adopted as a statesponsored initiative last December with a summit in Pikeville. The initiative is prompted by the latest round of job loss in coal and related industries.

Members of KFTC have seen the writing on the wall for many years and seek to create positive change for our communities through SOAR or any avenue of democratic change available. From Appalachia’s Bright Future to KFTC’s New Energy and Transition or Economic Justice work, KFTC is active in bringing positive change to Kentucky.

In the language of the book Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, job losses and economic transition in east-

ern Kentucky represent a juncture, and at this juncture our response could be to continue with extractive institutions that have fought over and control people and resources of Appalachia for a hundred years. Or we can attempt to build an inclusive democracy.

For 33 years, KFTC has worked toward inclusive democracy. We are participating in SOAR to move our commonwealth toward democracy and away from the extractive economy built on exploitation of people and our homeplace. We are not naive to the possibility that those in leadership created SOAR purely as a means of holding power and continuing current practices during times when people are visibly upset with current economic conditions and seem on the verge of action.

SOAR is an opportunity for transformative change.

However, there are those who desire to keep social order exactly as it is and will work to affirm the status quo.

I recently participated in a broadband workgroup session of SOAR at the Rural Development Center in Somerset. A mix of government, university, health care and telecom representatives make up the workgroup. I was the only person in the room with farmer as my title.

As announced last December, appropriations have been secured to install fiber optic cable through many counties in

the region. The discussion focused on the fiber network and how it will affect the specific “stakeholders,” and my interest seemed to diverge from others in the room. While they talked of how the network will affect the business community, I visualized the student in a family who can’t afford to pay a monthly internet bill, or an elderly person who needs someone to make sure they are taking their meds, or a recovering addict who needs health services and medications delivered at the appropriate times. None of these “customers” have the ability to pay for broadband services, yet providing service can pay huge dividends to our communities.

I want the SOAR broadband recommendations to include the needs of these folks who are at or beyond the end of the line. It was as if I was speaking a different language than the business opportunity this project seems designed to serve.

SOAR has an opportunity to transform our region through education and health services. Access to the internet is essential for success, not only for business development, but to create the kind of place our youth want to live and everyone can meet their needs through all stages of life.

This op-ed also appeared in the July 21 issue of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Ky. leaders’ coal obsession pushing young to relocate

By Tyler Offerman While recently in Letcher County, I spoke with a young man who described the economic realities of living in Central Appalachia. He told me he had to choose between “going into the coal mines and destroying the land I love, going into military service and being forced to leave my family, or illegally selling prescription drugs.”

Nearly a week earlier, I had spoken with a student from duPont Manual High School in Louisville who had decided he would leave Kentucky to go to college because he wanted to study software engineering for renewable energy infrastructure.

He said renewable energy was the fastest-growing energy industry, and he thought Kentucky would continue to fall behind as the rest of the nation and the world developed cleaner and safer energy technologies.

These stories spotlight the fact that while our young people are being forced into choosing between unimaginably depressing situations or leaving, our political leaders are doubling down on absolutely ignoring the needs of our future leaders and pretending our state doesn’t have a serious energy economy problem.

Since the Environmental Protection Agency released draft carbon-pollution standards (something young people overwhelmingly support), Kentucky’s political leaders have lined up to denounce them.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Senate Majority Leader Robert Stivers were in rare agreement when they jointly called the standards a “dumb-ass policy,” even though the policy reflects what the Kentucky Energy and

Environment Cabinet had requested from the EPA. Secretary of State Alison Grimes and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell have come out in support of uninhibited fossilfuel expansion. Both Senate candidates lack a vision to change our energy economy.

And then there is the June 23 op-ed by former U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis. Davis basically concluded that: •

The U.S. should not be a leader in addressing carbon pollution because other industrial countries, such as China, aren’t doing anything.

•

Kentucky should not focus on developing renewable energy and investing in energy efficiency because it would cost too much.

•

Only radical environmental activists believe we should regulate carbon pollution.

Upon closer examination, Davis’ arguments do not pass the reality-check test.

•

The Pew Charitable Trust reports that China is the global leader in renewable energy investments (almost $20 billion more than the U.S. in 2013). The day after the EPA unveiled America’s carbon-pollution limits, a Chinese official talked about China introducing a carbon cap of its own, likely starting in 2016.

•

A 2012 study by Synapse Energy Economics stated that the introduction of legislation in Kentucky that would require utilities to invest more in energy efficiency and renewable energy over 10 years would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 15 percent; reduce average electric

bills by 8 to 10 percent; and achieve net increases of 28,000 jobs and $1.5 billion in gross state product.

•

A recent Washington Post-ABC News survey found that 70 percent of Americans want the federal government to limit climate-change pollution from power plants, including 57 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of independents and 79 percent of Democrats.

The poll asked voters if they would support carbon limits even if electricity costs rise, and 51 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of independents and 71 percent of Democrats said yes.

So I say to Davis and all the current elected officials, young Kentuckians need leadership, not politics. It seems like the people we have elected to Frankfort and Washington are standing around pointing fingers as our families and friends are dying from cancer and respiratory disease while being forced to tell their siblings they can’t drink out of the well, swim in the streams or even grow crops on our polluted lands.

All this drives young entrepreneurs and other businesses away. Will we have to look into our children’s eyes and confess that we had the opportunity, but lacked the courage? That we had the technology, but lacked the vision?

For all our sakes, I sure hope not.

Tyler J. Offerman is the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition’s renewable energy and policy organizer. This op-ed originally ran in the Lexington Herald-Leader on July 14.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 5

LOCAL UPDATES

VISION Smoketown project identifies strengths and opportunities

By Elijah McKenzie Change abounds in the city of Louisville. As bike lanes begin to appear on familiar neighborhood streets, arrangements are being made to bring a Walmart Supercenter into the city’s West End. While construction crews work to assemble a new bridge crossing the Ohio River, there are confirmed plans to build a 600-room hotel, an upscale grocery store and a 200unit apartment complex downtown.

Questions of economic development have brought these projects into the spotlight, compelling Louisvillians to ask the often-overlooked question: How are these changes going to affect the residents who already live here?

One of the organizations that have taken up that mantle is the Jefferson County chapter of KFTC, putting into practice the belief that communities thrive when the voices of ordinary people are heard and respected in our democracy.

Having relocated their office to Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood in 2013, members of the Jefferson County chapter collectively decided to launch a community-wide canvassing project, designed to gather general input from area residents.

When the project was first conceived, KFTC members had drafted a survey that was roughly ten pages long and included questions about housing, transportation, safety and economic growth. With the help of Center for Neighborhoods, the survey was whittled down to a two-page document. However, it still managed to retain all the questions that were in the original draft, but was re-created in a way that would help initiate a meaningful dialogue with Smoketown neighbors while introducing them to the various issues surrounding economic development.

Now, with canvassing efforts in full swing, KFTC has established focused objectives for the project: 1) To better connect Smoketown residents with their elected officials and local community organizations.

2) To help interested residents reinvigorate the currently inactive Smoketown neighborhood association.

3) To create a comprehensive report of the Smoketown area that identifies both the strengths and opportunities of the neighborhood.

In true KFTC style, project volunteers have also used the door-to-door canvassing to register people to vote – just in time for the general election in November.

By the end of the Smoketown canvassing project – which has taken on the moniker of VISION Smoketown – KFTC expects to use not only the quantitative data from the survey responses but the qualitative information as well, including interviews, photos and testimonials – all of which have been broadcast on the VISION Smoketown Twitter account. The chapter is partnering with Kertis Creative to create a VISION Smoketown report that will be shared with Smoketown residents, city officials, and community organizations.

Approximately 80 surveys have been completed, and the VISION Smoketown team will continue canvassing Smoke-

Jefferson County chapter members take a break from an afternoon of canvassing in Smoketown.

town until the end of August. Capping off the project will be a neighborhood-wide block party dubbed the Smoketown Getdown, open to Smoketown residents, KFTC members, and the general community. The Smoketown Getdown will take place on Friday, September 19 from 4 to 10 p.m. and

will feature food, music, dancing, and a beer garden.

The next VISION Smoketown canvass date will be July 31 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Anyone interested in canvassing with the VISION Smoketown team can contact Jefferson County chapter organizer Alicia Hurle at alicia@kftc.org.

Shelby chapter celebrates hard work, looks ahead

By Shane Ashford Music, food and new faces highlighted the second annual chapter meeting of the Shelby County KFTC chapter on June 19. More than 30 members and friends attended, including at least 10 who are new to chapter meetings.

Almost half of the chapter’s 67 members were present to review the KFTC platform and celebrate work accomplished over the past year, as well as discuss work to come. The scene was energetic and welcoming at the Stratton Community Center in Shelbyville, where a delicious spread was bracketed by homemade pies. The pies fueled much conversation and inspiration for the group’s upcoming pie auction in September.

Throughout the evening, members shared and celebrated the many accomplishments of the chapter over the past year. Members applauded efforts made to oppose the

now-on-hold Bluegrass Pipeline, their work to establish a fairness ordinance in Shelbyville, lobbying for voting rights, direct education of the public on the Affordable Care Act, and the group’s successful fundraising efforts.

The chapter has decided to repeat last November’s Chili Night fundraiser, which was a great success. Other upcoming fundraising events for the chapter include the pie auction in September and a trivia night in February.

Future efforts for the chapter will be focused on continuing to push for fairness, educating the public on fracking and the Bluegrass Pipeline situation, continuing to lobby for voting rights and building membership.

The Shelby County chapter meets the third Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Stratton Community Center, 215 W Washington Street, Shelbyville. For more information contact Carissa Lenfert at Carissa@kftc.org or 502-208-1696.

6 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

LOCAL UPDATES

Why our voices matter: a workshop on writing as activism

By Marianne Worthington For the second year in a row, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning sponsored “Our Voices Matter: Writing as Activism.” And for the second year in a row, several willing writers gave up most of a Saturday to practice writing as a form of empowerment, social change, and community building.

We welcomed experienced and novice writers who wanted to tell their own stories or the untold stories of others, develop personal responses to injustice, submit letters to the editor, or just practice writing with an eye toward making changes in our lives and communities.

Among the participants this year were editors, teachers, social workers, ministers, students, and cultural organizers.

Perhaps the most exciting part of this workshop, for me, was being reminded once more of the many smart, diverse voices that make up our commonwealth.

As a teacher trained in communication and cultural studies, I’ve tried to adopt a worldview of persuasive communication first articulated by communication scholars

Sonja K. Foss and Cindy L. Griffin in 1995: “Invitational Rhetoric,” a style of discourse that is rooted in equal opportunity for self expression, immanent value, and safety. As they put it, invitational rhetoric “constitutes an invitation to the audience” to enter the speaker/writer’s world and “to generate understanding among individuals with different perspectives.” (See a synopsis of “Invitational Rhetoric” at http:// www.sonjafoss.com/html/Foss63.pdf.)

Anyone who has spent even five minutes with a television newscast, or worse, on social media or in the comments section of any online publication, realizes that very few people attempt to practice this type of perspective.

We don’t debate anymore. We scream at each other.

We don’t value each other’s opinions. We work to eviscerate those opinions as quickly as we can get our knives unsheathed. And certainly, we seldom value safety.

Writer and professor Roberto Cintli Rodriguez recently pointed out that “the shocking and unexpected new locations for hate crime scenes in the 21st century appear to be the editorial pages of the nation’s leading newspapers, where

WRITING AS ACTIVISM: HERE ARE TWO SAMPLES CREATED DURING THE WORKSHOP

“GOD, PLEASE HELP JESUS” Many cities across America, including Lexington, are trying to control the issues of homelessness through criminalization of loitering, feeding, panhandling, sleeping in public places, etc. Very recently, “NO LOITERING” signs have appeared in Phoenix Park, in the center of our downtown – isn’t that the purpose of a park?

All across the US, beautiful bronze sculptures by a Canadian artist named Timothy Schmalz (www.sculpturesbytps. com) are appearing in public places of a “Homeless Jesus.” One being a man completely covered with a blanket on a park bench, with only his nail-scarred feet exposed; another of a man kneeling with his nail-scarred hands panhandling for a handout. What if one of these sculptures appeared in Phoenix Park? Not even Jesus could hang out there with his long hair, scraggly beard, ragged clothes and bare feet – “no loitering here, gotta move on.” If Jesus were to return in person today to preach, teach or rant against the current government and religious figures, someone would likely call the police or even put a 72-hour mental competency hold on him at Eastern State Hospital. Even though Phoenix Park is a “freespeech” space, you mustn’t talk too loudly or too bawdy or “you gotta go.” God forbid that you would feed the hungry in the park (even though it’s acceptable to feed the pigeons) – “not here—even if you are Jesus.”

What has happened to our human compassion? Have we lost our own humanity? Is this how we should treat Jesus or any other human being? God, please help Jesus – and help us all.

—Billie Mallory, MSW Prompt: Behind every scar is a story. Most of us have a scar somewhere on our body that conjures up a memory.

Choose a scar and write about how that scar came to be.

The bottoms of my feet are flayed; planes of skin torn away in pathological thoroughness. My mother has flayed my feet, not with her own hands, has cast me as executor of this languid trauma.

Early evenings, with the psychedelic rush of MTV in the background, I could lie at the foot of our sagging couch and count the minutes out to the timing of Mother’s elegantly long, pink nails [perfectly cultivated for the task] click, click, clicking, across her feet, ankles, toes and shins.

I can mark the passage of girlhood through puberty, the long, quiet night of adolescence, shock still in awe of the brilliant flashes of dawn, womanhood, motherhood, manifest in my mother’s anxious, destructive hands.

That metronomic click, more familiar to me than her laughter, underlies every memory of home until one evening, a cold and festive visit home from college I notice a change in the tempo of her worrisome grooming. I glance into my lap and realize that Mother is asleep. My eyes follow the tangle of limbs to the end of the couch and where my own elegantly long, red nails [perfectly cultivated for the task] hoe lines of grief across the balls of my feet.

—Alexandria Sehon

calls to violence have become routine.”

So on a Saturday, we came together to read and discuss selected personal essays and editorials, literary journalism and opinion columns, memoir, poetry, and satire. We talked about how we can use our own experiences to craft arguments and points of discussion, how we can include—rather than exclude—readers, and literary techniques that foster engagement rather than alienation. And when the time came to share what we were able to write during a short morning, once again, I was astounded by the results.

We fall into complacency so often, thinking we can’t possibly do anything about changing a problem or solving a dilemma. But I’m convinced we can. So often the written word can help to shape and shift us, particularly when the writing is intended as an invitation rather than as propaganda or a vehicle for dogma.

Writers can give public resonance to issues which can bring about change, particularly when we work hard to reach our conclusions through dialogue and a responsibility and commitment to the reader.

When was your last gift to KFTC? Look at the cover of Balancing the Scales. Under your name we have listed your last gift date and amount!

Consider making a donation and renewing your dues. Suggested dues are $15-$50 Annually. Or sign up to become a Sustaining Giver!

Why invest in KFTC? Your donation to KFTC supports the important work we do to build a stronger democracy, including supporting constituents in talking to their legislators, monitoring activity in Frankfort, and giving members opportunities to take action on important bills. You also support our work to register and educate voters about where candidates stand on the issues we all care about.

Contributions to KFTC are not tax-deductible.

Make your check payable to the Kentucky Coalition if you wish your contribution to be tax-deductible.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 7

LOCAL UPDATES

Chapter organizing instrumental in Danville passing fairness ordinance On June 9, Danville became the seventh city in Kentucky to pass a local fairness ordinance. It was a long road that members of the Wilderness Trace KFTC chapter started walking back in 2012, shortly after the chapter formed.

Leading the way were local KFTC members Jane Brantley and Eric Mount. Well before their work on fairness in Danville, both Brantley and Mount worked in various ways for LGBT equality, from urging legislators to oppose the same-sex marriage amendment in 2004 (this amendment was recently ruled unconstitutional) to supporting their churches moving forward for LGBT equality.

In 2012 they felt moved to work for a fairness ordinance in Danville.

“I became aware that cities in Kentucky were beginning to examine passage of local fairness ordinances,” said Brantley. “When the small town of Vicco in eastern Kentucky passed its ordinance, I thought, ‘Why not Danville?

After all, we’re supposed to be the City of Firsts. We need to get busy.’”

At a KFTC meeting in the fall of 2012, Brantley and Mount decided to work together on passing a fairness ordinance in Danville. That conversation set them off on a long, winding path that brought many others into the work.

Local organizing included a wide range of pieces, from conversations with the Fairness Coalition to researching existing ordinances in Kentucky, gaining the support of local allies like Citizens Concerned for Human Relations (CCHR) and the Boyle County Human Rights Commission, countless meetings with local city and county officials, discussing strategy at Wilderness Trace KFTC chapter meetings, writing letters to the editor, talking to their neighbors, and speaking at city commission meetings.

It wasn’t until early 2014 that the Danville City Commission had an ordinance in its hands to consider.

The commissioners held two workshops to discuss the ordinance and gather input from the public. While a vocal minority spread misinformation with sometimes hateful language throughout town, KFTC members and allies were out in force at both workshops to make strong arguments for LGBT equality in their community.

Local organizing continued, and KFTC members spoke at each city commission meeting when fairness was discussed. Brantley and Mount, along with local ally Tim Culhan, worked together to dig deep into the ordinance language to see how it could be improved to best serve everyone in the community.

They had frequent meetings with the city manager and city commissioners to discuss revisions, and their persistence paid off as a number of their suggestions were eventually adopted into ordinance language.

Local KFTC and community members worked tirelessly to support the best possible ordinance for Danville.

A big obstacle came in early May when Sunrise Children’s

Services threatened to sue the city if the fairness ordinance was passed and leave town if their suit failed. (Because Sunrise is not owned or controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention, merely affiliated, they would not have been exempt from the ordinance under its original language).

Many took issue with Sunrise’s threat, with one reason being that they receive a majority of their funding from the government and should not be afforded the opportunity to discriminate while receiving taxpayer funding.

On May 27, when the KFTC members de-brief after the Danville City Commission meeting on June 9. The comordinance was due to pass mission voted 4-1 to pass a local LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance. with a second reading, an amendment was added that exempted “faith-based” service Wilderness Trace KFTC, Danvillians for Fairness – and providers. It became clear that this amended version was a variety of religious and non-religious, Centre College added to appease Sunrise and avoid a lawsuit. The new affiliated and non-Centre affiliated, young and older advoversion received a first reading that evening, but members cates.” never gave up on passing the stronger ordinance they felt Lee Ann Paynter, who spoke at numerous commission meetings, acknowledged that it was disheartening to Danville deserves.

For the next two weeks, their efforts ramped up as they see how elected officials seemed to act partly out of fear, contacted city commissioners, talked with community but she said the experience of working on fairness was also members, made phone calls and wrote letters in an effort to encouraging.

“We have come together as a group to raise the voices convince the commission to pass the previous ordinance.

At the June 9 meeting, a slew of KFTC members gave of equality and fight for the rights of our fellow citizens,” powerful testimony before the commission, urging them to said Paynter. “We have met others in our community with not kowtow to threats and instead act in the best interest of whom we can build a future for social justice. We have raised awareness about the issue of civil rights and LGBT everyone in the community.

After hours of discussion and a failed last-ditch effort equality in our town. And we do have a fairness ordinance

by Commissioner Atkins to revert to the previous ordi- in Danville, which offers rights to community members, nance, the Danville City Commission passed the amended all of whom deserve to have the same opportunities and fairness ordinance with the “faith-based” exemption 4-1, protections as everyone else.” with the mayor being the lone dissenting vote. With that, Cay Shawler, another local KFTC member who spoke Danville became the seventh city in the state to adopt a lo- at several commission meetings, said, “I realize I am only one part and that is a comfort. It was so important to have cal fairness ordinance.

While members were disappointed that the strongest good colleagues and friends in this effort. Surround yourself possible ordinance did not pass, they still celebrated their with support. I am always inspired by doing the ‘right thing’ accomplishment and the large role they played in passing for people and enlarging the view of caring for each other.” an ordinance that has significant protections for LGBT Though the road to fairness had its ups and downs, it people from discrimination in employment, housing and also brought real joy, camaraderie and growth as Wilderness Trace KFTC members worked together with compublic accommodations.

This year-and-a-half campaign provided a lot to cel- munity allies for justice for the LGBT community. Lessons ebrate. Among the positive outcomes, Mount includes “the learned and relationships formed on this road will stay emergence of a concerted, committed persistent fairness with KFTC members as they continue working for social constituency including several organizations – CCHR, justice in their communities.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: AUGUST 22-24, GENERAL BUTLER STATE PARK

8 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

LOCAL UPDATES

Madison County members inspired by work of other local groups Members in Madison County used their annual chapter meeting on June 23 to not only reflect on the past year and take care of necessary business, but also to build community and feel inspired by learning about the important work other organizations are doing in their community.

The meeting kicked off with about 30 members sharing a favorite moment or campaign they’ve worked on with KFTC over the past year. People shared a wide range of highlights, including lobbying in Frankfort for House Bill 70, marching to the capitol on I Love Mountains Day, enjoying the pie auction fundraiser, participating in local fairness efforts in Berea, and more.

Several members who had never been to a chapter meeting before expressed gratitude for KFTC’s Voter Guide, which helped them make an informed vote during the May primary. For his favorite moment of the past year, Dave Porter said, “I like paying my dues because I know the money is going toward good work.”

Then members heard from a panel of special guests from local community organizations, all working for a better Kentucky.

Mae Suramek shared information about the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center (BRCC), which works to end sexual violence and provide crisis intervention, therapy, advocacy and education in 17 central Kentucky counties. She shared startling statistics, among them that almost 50 percent of

Kentucky women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime.

Suramek related BRCC’s work to social justice and thanked the chapter for giving her the space to share. “This is a good start to partnering,” said Suramek. “The more we talk about this, the better chance we have at eradicating sexual violence.”

Kendel Arthur talked about Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Madison County. Through CASA, volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes.

In describing how policy changes could benefit CASA’s work, Arthur shared that Kentucky is one of only 10 states that don’t fully fund CASA programs, and of those 10, Kentucky is just one of three that does not give any money to CASA. Arthur said CASA has tried to meet with Madison County representatives in Frankfort to discuss funding, with no luck, and that lobbying is just one way KFTC members can support CASA’s work.

Judy Flavell of Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties shared how her work is deeply personal, as she has first-hand experience living in inadequate housing, having lived as a child in a house insulated with newspaper and heated by kerosene. Flavell shared that Habitat has helped more than 100 families in need in Madison and Clark counties build an affordable home and stressed the importance of volunteers to Habitat’s work.

She also connected affordable housing to KFTC’s work.

“Any time you encourage voter empowerment, you also support the work of Habitat,” Flavell said. “Any time you support responsible use of energy, you support affordable housing. Thank you for the work you do – it really goes hand in hand with affordable housing.”

Martin Richards of the Community Farm Alliance told members about CFA’s work to create good public policy and lift up models and programs that support family-scale agriculture and make healthy food accessible. Richards described CFA as KFTC’s little sister because it also uses grassroots democratic processes to carry out its mission.

He shared recent accomplishments, including CFA’s role in getting the Letcher County Farmers’ Market designated a USDA Summer Feeding site, making it the first in the state. Through this program, farm-to-table meals will be provided free of charge to children during summer break.

The panel rounded off with Carrie Brunk of Clear Creek Creative, which does a range of organizing and facilitating and seeks to create and produce art about social change. Recently, Clear Creek has worked with artists, musicians and community members in creating Midsummer’s Eve: Land, Water, Food, Story, a performance that explores our stories and changing connection to land, water, and food in Kentucky.

“Most of the work we do is about taking serious issues and bringing a compassionate, creative, fun element to it,” said Brunk. “This work is hard, so we need to have fun, too.”

After the meeting, members and guests stuck around to continue the conversation. Madison County member Megan Naseman said she enjoyed hearing from other groups doing important work in our community and about ways KFTC members can support their work.

“It was good to see faces we don’t get to see every month, enjoy a darn tasty potluck, and reflect on our favorite parts of Madison County KFTC’s work in the last year,” said Naseman.

KFTC “Green” Shirt Fit in or stand out.

It all depends on who you surround yourself with.

This has been our most popular shirt for years.

American Apparel green shirt with yellow ink.

Unisex: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL Female: S, M, L, XL, $14, includes shipping www.kftc.org/store

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 9

LOCAL UPDATES

Central Kentucky chapter makes progress on housing trust fund

Lexington is one step closer to getting a dedicated funding source for an affordable housing trust fund.

On July 1, the stakeholders group appointed by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council recommended that the council put $2 million from the general fund into an affordable housing trust fund each year. The council is also working to hire a manager to direct the Affordable Housing Program.

This is a huge step forward for the Central Kentucky KFTC Chapter and allies who have been working toward a dedicated funding source.

While the recommendation is not the exact secure, designated funding source that was originally proposed, it’s still a huge step forward in getting to that goal. According to Planning Commissioner Derek Paulsen, the $2 million in annual funding could help support the creation of 75 units

a year toward the deficit of 400 affordable units that Lexington is losing each year.

Central Kentucky members in attendance at the July 1 council work session spoke in support of the recommendation.

KFTC member Janet Tucker was quoted in the Lexington Herald-Leader: “We have an affordable housing crisis in our city. People are making very, very tough choices between food and medicine, between rent and utilities.”

“We met sweet elderly women without air conditioning who had to choose between essentials and mortgage payments. We met single moms paying $500 for rent and $250 for electricity on two minimum wage jobs, who longed to see their kids. We met a ‘retired’ woman who is a hairdresser and works all the time to pay her bills.

“We met a wonderful woman who has lived in the neighborhood for 55 years and just longs to know her often transient neighbors. No one stays put long enough because they can’t afford the rent. Behind every story was resilience, brilliance, and beauty. To porch sit is to see the face of God.” Tanya Torp, Fayette County Chapter members are working hard to see that the council adopts the recommendation when it returns from its break in mid-August. The chapter is organizing a community breakfast and affordable housing tour for Saturday, August 16 at Justice House, the home of Christian and Tanya Torp, located at 552 Elm Tree Lane in Lexington. The breakfast will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with testimony and discussion about the need for affordable housing. A walking tour of the neighborhood will take place right after breakfast. All are welcome to attend.

In preparation for the breakfast, members have been canvassing in the East End of Lexington to register voters and gather testimonies to share with council members, as well as find community members who are willing to open their homes to the council and share how they are personally impacted by the lack of affordable housing. The canvassing project has been transformative and successful so far.

Chapter member Tanya Torp has spearheaded the canvassing project. In reflecting on her day spent canvassing, Torp said, “We spent the day in the supposedly ‘dangerous’ East End speaking to neighbors and friends about affordable housing, hearing stories of slum landlords who allow their tenants to live in squalor while they languish in their beds of wealth.

“We met sweet elderly women without air conditioning who had to choose between essentials and mortgage payments. We met single moms paying $500 for rent and $250 for electricity on two minimum wage jobs, who longed to see their kids. We met a ‘retired’ woman who is a hairdresser and works all the time to pay her bills.

“We met a wonderful woman who has lived in the neighborhood for 55 years and just longs to know her often transient neighbors. No one stays put long enough because they can’t afford the rent. Behind every story was resilience, brilliance, and beauty. To porch sit is to see the face of God.” To join the Central Kentucky KFTC Chapter on its next canvassing dates, contact Beth Howard, CKY Chapter Organizer, at bethhoward@kftc.org or 859-276-0563. The chapter will canvass again on Sunday, July 27 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday, July 30 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Justice House, 552 Elm Tree Lane, Lexington.

10 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Proposed 2014-15 KFTC Platform

For consideration by the KFTC membership at the August 24 annual business meeting.

Suggested changes/additions are in BOLD CAPS. Deletions in strikethrough.

Preamble Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a statewide, grassroots, citizens organization working for a new balance of power and a just society.

As we work together we build our strength, individually and as a group, and find solutions to real life problems. We use direct action to challenge – and change – unfair political, economic and social systems. Our membership is open to all people who are committed to equality, democracy and nonviolent change. KFTC’s goals of organizing are: (1) fostering democratic values, (2) changing unjust institutions, (3) empowering people and communities, (4) helping people participate, (5) overcoming racism and other discrimination, (6) communicating a message of what is possible, (7) building organizations, (8) winning issues that affect the common welfare, and (9) having fun.

We are working to create a society which focuses on supporting the human rights of all people. We are a social justice organization. We believe that all people must be treated with respect and dignity regardless of ability, age, gender, national origin, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other defining characteristic.

We are working to build New Power – new economic, energy, and political power – in Kentucky and the nation. New Power consists of a new economy, a diverse homegrown economy good for all people, an economy that is just and sustains workers, communities, and the environment. New Power includes new energy that is clean, renewable, affordable, and generates jobs for our workers. New Power means a new democracy that includes, respects, and represents everyone. *-*--*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*We understand that the global climate is changing as a result of human activity. The changes already underway have profound effects on our weather, our water, our food, our economy, world politics, and the natural environment. And we understand, if not checked, climate change will have a catastrophic impact on the entire globe.

Specifically: ● As Kentuckians, we are committed to working here at home and with communities across the nation and around the world to prevent catastrophic climate change by working for a

just transition. ● We believe that a just transition is one that celebrates our cultures and invests in communities and workers who currently depend on the old economy.

Since clean air, water and land are every Kentuckian’s right, KFTC will work to protect and preserve a clean environment and to protect health and bio-diversity by working for stronger regulations and better enforcement. Specifically: ● We oppose the use of the mountaintop removal method of surface coal mining and valley fills that bury perennial, intermittent and ephemeral streams. ● We will work for a sustainable forestry products industry [non-timber and wood products] for Kentucky that relies on ecologically sound forest management and the use of Best Management Practices on public and private lands. ● We will work to preserve and protect publicly owned lands and their natural resources. ● We oppose on every front the rollback of the authority and funding for agencies and services that protect the environment and the

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

●

●

● ●

●

●

●

●

●

● ●

●

●

rights of surface owners.

We will fight to protect Kentucky’s precious water resources including ensuring safe, accessible and affordable water for all Kentuckians.

We demand reasonable regulation of oil and gas drilling including protection and replacement of water and reclamation of damaged land.

We oppose fracking and fracturing drilling technology until such time it is proven safe.

We oppose the construction of new pipelines, or the repurposing of existing pipelines, to carry oil, fracked gas or its by-products, tar sands oil or any toxic substances because of the proven vulnerability of pipelines to leaks and explosions that can adversely affect residents.

We demand full enforcement of laws and regulations related to the mining, transportation and burning of coal in order to protect water resources, prevent blasting damage, and require the reclamation of land and permitting of secondary roads used for hauling coal.

We oppose the use of dangerous coal sludge impoundments and call for the development of emergency action plans for communities living near impoundments.

We oppose the environmental and economic destruction of industrial farming and its threat to clean air, clean water, rural communities, and small family farmers.

We oppose importation of all solid, hazardous and special wastes including those related to fracturing. We promote local control over land-use decisions involving landfills, incinerators, and related facilities.

Recognizing the high costs and deadly effects of uranium mining, processing, and waste disposal, we oppose the expansion of nuclear power.

We will work to protect air quality to ensure the health and safety of Kentuckians.

WE SUPPORT LOCAL AND STATEWIDE POLICIES TO ENSURE SMOKE-FREE WORKPLACES. (Note: This plank was moved from another section; it is not new.)

We will support reducing the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides, the right of the public to know the nature of pesticides and herbicides applied, and the right of a local government to have more stringent control of pesticide and herbicide use.

We promote source reduction, recycling, strong procurement policies for recycled products and a bottle bill.

Balancing the Scales | 11

● We will oppose environmental racism and classism, or the practice of locating polluting industries and waste facilities near lowincome and minority communities, and in neighborhoods where people are least able to fight back. ● We support strengthening present timber theft laws in Kentucky to protect forests and private property rights. ● We support protection of biodiversity, including endangered species.

We will fight to protect surface owners from the abuses by extractive industries. Specifically: ● We demand that the broad form deed amendment be fully enforced by all levels of government. ● We support a change in property laws so that a minority owner of an undivided interest cannot allow the sale, leasing or mining of land or minerals against the wishes of the majority of owners. ● We demand that oil and gas operators have permission of surface owners before they drill. ● We support the property rights of all landowners and will work to ensure these rights are exercised responsibly and equitably so as not to unfairly compromise the interests of the public, the environment or surrounding property owners.

We will work to empower voters and expand authentic, democratic participation that makes government open, honest, and responsive to the needs of the people. Specifically: ● We will fight to protect the local control of solid waste management and siting, and support strong host agreements before permits are issued by the state. ● We will work to strengthen and enforce ethics codes for elected and appointed officials. ● We support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution making it clear that corporations are not people and money is not speech. Furthermore, we will work to eliminate the connections between money in political campaigns and governments that are non-responsive to the people. ● We support campaign spending limits and public financing of elections to reduce the amount spent on elections and the power of big money contributors. ● We will work to make state and local econom-

● ● ● ● ●

●

ic development authorities accountable to the people.

We demand easy access and an end to the bureaucratic procedures necessary to obtain open records in Kentucky.

We support equitable access to state funds for roads and public transit.

We support local communities’ cooperation on common issues.

We oppose closed-door meetings and decision making not open to the public.

We support restoring voting rights to former felons. We support programs that promote the positive re-entry of former felons into our communities.

WE OPPOSE ANY AND ALL MEANS OF VOTER SUPPRESSION AND SUPPORT POLICIES THAT FACILITATE FULL DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION.

We will fight to create a just economy that sustains communities, families and individuals, promotes health and protects resources for the future. Specifically: ● We will work with all interested parties, including recipients, to develop a welfare system that benefits the community as a whole, provides a safety net, helps people move forward and treats people fairly and with dignity. ● We will work for an economic development process that is open, sustainable, supportive of local economies, and sees that companies receiving public money for job creation provide training, safe working conditions, health benefits and a living wage and transition away from a fossil fuel extraction industry.

KFTC does not support prison expansion as a means of economic development. ● We support public policies and utility programs that minimize utility customer shutoffs due to inability to pay and we will work to eliminate customer shutoffs during extreme weather conditions and medical emergencies.

We support energy conservation programs, the implementation of percentage of income payment plans and fair access to utility services including local gas hookups. ● We support policies aimed at significantly increasing the development of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and clean renewable energy sources in Kentucky, ultimately leading toward climate neutrality. ● We seek energy policies that promote the development of community-scale, locally owned

12 | Balancing the Scales

● ● ●

●

● ● ● ● ●

●

●

renewable energy sources, create local jobs, and help low-wealth households, enterprises, and communities to access energy efficiency measures and clean energy solutions.

We support funding effective and efficient community services through an equitable, fair, and progressive tax structure.

We support the continued fair taxation of unmined minerals.

We support the collection of coal severance taxes on every ton of coal mined and demand an increasing return of severance tax funds to promote sustainable economic development in coalfield counties; we further support at least one-percent of coal severance taxes collected be put in a permanent trust fund that will be used by and for the communities where the coal was extracted for the purpose of creating a more diverse and sustainable economy; we call for an increase in the severance tax rate and the creation of a community-based process to determine how funds are spent.

We call for a system of high quality public education, including pre-school through higher education that is accessible and affordable for all Kentuckians.

We support policies that are in favor of reducing the economic burden of higher education.

We object to the dominance of corporate interests in the decision-making, values and priorities of our public universities.

We support economic reform through the use and support of sustainable agriculture.

We support affordable access to nutritious and healthful foods for all people.

WE ADVOCATE FOR QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE, INCLUDING PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES FOR ALL KENTUCKIANS, AND AFFIRM OUR SUPPORT FOR A SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. (Note: This plank is slightly re-worded from one currently in the platform.)

We support a comprehensive approach – and investments – that recognize good health is determined by a wide range of social and economic factors such as education, social welfare, housing, income, and environmental conditions, as well as traditional health factors.

We support the right to a living wage THAT PROVIDES ADEQUATE INCOME FOR HOUSING, HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION AND BASIC NECESSITIES.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

● We oppose wage discrimination based on gender, race, ability, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, or any other defining characteristic. ● We oppose exploitation of labor and unjust international trade programs and demand an end to the use and sale of sweatshop-made products. ● We call for a new system for the transportation of coal that makes possible better pay for truckers, shared company accountability for safety violations and road damage, safe roads and safe mining communities, and reduced weight limits for coal trucks. ● We support the right of workers to organize and the right to collective bargaining. ● We support quality, affordable, accessible housing and demand just housing policies that protect the rights of renters to be treated fairly. ● We demand enactment and enforcement of occupational health and safety laws that protect all workers in Kentucky, especially workers in occupations that continue to suffer high rates of preventable work-related death, disability, and illness such as coal miners, coal truckers, and other coal industry workers. ● We support fair and equitable lending practices. ● We support adequate, affordable, and energy efficient public transportation on a statewide basis, and we demand infrastructure planning that supports alternative modes of public transportation such as biking and walking. ● We support fair and equitable access to information AND COMMUNICATIONS systems for all people. ● We support policies that enable people to live safely and well in their homes and provide good alternatives to nursing home care. ● WE SUPPORT POLICIES THAT FOSTER THE GROWTH OF ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIES, INCLUDING WORKER-OWNED COOPERATIVES. ● WE SUPPORT POLICIES THAT PROMOTE SUBSTANTIAL PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE FROM THE WORKPLACE, THAT ARE FLEXIBLE REGARDLESS OF RACE, CLASS, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AGE OR ANY OTHER DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC. WE ALSO SUPPORT ACCESS TO SAFE, AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE THAT VALUES FAMILIES IN THE WORKPLACE.

We will fight to create a fair and just society that respects human and civil rights, uplifts all people to their potential, and values the participation of everyone. Specifically: ● We support affirmative action programs that guarantee equal rights for all people. ● We oppose all forms of racism and work to eliminate it from our society and from within our organization. ● We condemn and oppose oppression and harassment INCLUDING THE DENIAL OF THE RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS of all people by public or private individuals or institutions based on ability, age, gender, gender identity, GENDER EXPRESSION, FAMILIAL STATUS, national origin, citizenship, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, CURRENT OR FORMER INCARCERATION STATUS, or any other defining characteristic. ● We will work toward a more fair justice system not mired in discrimination based on ability, age, gender, national origin, citizenship, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, or any other defining characteristic. ● We support the right of residents who are undocumented to be treated with the respect and dignity that all human beings are entitled to. We also support open pathways to citizenship for PEOPLE youth who are undocumented. ● We oppose the inappropriate use of police powers to address problems, the expansion and privatization of the prison system, and the use of excessive force by police. We do support full funding of public defenders in order to ensure the diligent and competent representation by these public servants. ● We support a transition from our current punitive justice system to a more restorative system that honors the inherent dignity of all individuals, INCLUDING PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH ILLNESSES SUCH AS ADDICTION. ● We support the abolition of the death penalty. ● With farmers, horse owners, pet owners and a diverse array of wildlife, Kentucky is a state that values animals and their contributions to our lives, our economy, and our well-being. It is also a state with some of the weakest laws and enforcement related to animal cruelty.

We support sensible local and state initiatives that would prevent the abuse of animals.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 13

Steering Committee nominates an experienced, diverse group KFTC Executive Committee and Kentucky Coalition board to be selected at annual meeting The KFTC Steering Committee has nominated a talented and diverse set of community leaders to serve as statewide officer in the coming year. These nominations will be presented and voted upon by the full membership at KFTC’s annual business meeting on August 24th.

The proposed slate includes Dana Beasley Brown as chairperson, Carl Shoupe as vice-chair, Elizabeth Sanders as secretary-treasurer, and Tanya Torp as at-large representative.

Sue Tallichet will move into the position of immediate past chairperson.

These nominees are based on the recommendation of the Leadership Development Committee, which carefully considered all nominations offered by chapters and individuals. The Leadership Development Committee is charged with recommending a diverse slate of qualified candidates, taking into account desired traits as well as characteristics including gender, age, race, income, educational backgrounds, place of residence, level of involvement in the local chapter and statewide organization, and issue interests.

To serve on the Executive Committee, a person must be a current member of KFTC, may not be an employee or immediate family member of an employee of KFTC or the Kentucky Coalition, and may not serve more than two consecutive one-year terms in the same position. Below is some information about the nominees: Chairperson: Dana Beasley Brown was one of the driving forces behind the formation of the Southern Kentucky KFTC Chapter. She serves on KFTC’s Steering Committee as vice-chair and the Economic Justice Committee, and is deeply involved in local efforts to improve the quality and affordability of housing in her community. Dana has spoken before several legislative committees and has been a guest on the KET program Kentucky Tonight about the need for fair tax reforms.

Vice-Chairperson: Carl Shoupe is a long-time member from Harlan County who has served several years on the KFTC Steering Committee. He is a former miner, mine worker organizer and Vietnam veteran. He was a major part of the planning for the Appalachia’s Bright Future conference and is actively involved in organizing projects to follow up on the ideas and momentum from that event.

Secretary-Treasurer: Elizabeth Sanders lives in Whitesburg and is active in the Letcher County chapter. She has served on KFTC’s Steering Committee for the past three years. Elizabeth also serves on KFTC’s New Energy and Transition Committee. Elizabeth works at Appalshop’s community run radio station, WMMT-FM. She has been an important part of the Stay Together Appalachian Youth project and the Central Appalachian Prisoner Support Network.

At-Large: Tanya Torp is an active member of the Central Kentucky KFTC Chapter as well as the broader community in Lexington.

She also serves on KFTC’s Leadership Development Committee. Tanya started her own organization, Be Bold, which empowers young women and girls. She and her husband have opened their home, called Justice House, as a space for members of the community to come together for fellowship, support, social justice activism, and learning.

Kentucky Coalition Board members During the August 24 Annual Business Meeting, KFTC members will also have the opportunity to vote on three members nominated to serve on the board of the Kentucky Coalition. Kentucky Coalition is a taxexempt affiliate organization to KFTC that supports leadership development, research and public education about important policy issues, and civic participation.

The coalition’s board is comprised of the five statewide officers of KFTC, plus an additional three individuals who are elected by KFTC’s membership. The Steering Committee has nominated the following individuals to serve next year on the KC board: Mary Love: Mary is a long-time member from Jefferson County who represented her chapter for several years on the KFTC Steering Committee. She formerly served as a Presbyterian minister. She is co-chair of the Land Reform Committee and an active member of numerous other KFTC committees, including Leadership Development, Litigation, and New Energy and Transition.

ACTION:

Immediate Past Chairperson: Sue Tallichet is an active member of the Rowan County chapter and KFTC Land Reform Committee and Litigation Team. She has served for a number of years on KFTC’s Steering Committee, and will be the past chair.

She is a frequent spokesperson about mountaintop removal mining and its impacts on land, water and people. She is also the author of a book called Daughters of the Mountain: Women Coal Miners in Central Appalachia.

Megan Naseman: Megan lives in Berea. As a college student, she was captivated by KFTC while working with Bev May to protect her hollow in Floyd County.

After graduating from Berea College, Megan thought she might be bound for the west coast; but at the end of one year in Seattle, she heard this Bluegrass State calling her back to what is now her home.

She has represented the Madison County chapter on KFTC’s Steering Committee and recently served on the Executive Committee as Secretary-Treasurer.

Stanley Sturgill: Stanley lives in Lynch and is active in the Harlan KFTC chapter. He serves on the Land Reform Committee and often represents KFTC on issues related to mining, mine safety and water protection. Stanley was among the group of KFTC members arrested for refusing to leave Congressman Hal Rogers’ office. He has spoken at I Love Mountains Day, sat in the Governor’s office for 3 days in 2011, and hosted Governor Beshear when he later visited the community of Lynch to hear citizens’ concerns about proposed mines.

ARE YOU READY TO BUILD A HEALTHY DEMOCRACY IN KENTUCKY?

KFTC’s voter empowerment work is rooted in our vision of a day when the voices of ordinary people are heard and respected in our democracy.

The 2014 election is the perfect opportunity to do that. Throughout the election season, KFTC will be working to build New Power in our communities by growing our base of leaders, engaging new and unlikely voters, and bringing our issues and values into public discussion and campaigns. We think that this work will change what is possible in Kentucky.

And there is room! The last time Kentucky had a mid-term election was in 2010. In that election, less than half of the people who were registered to vote actually voted. We can do better. Further, it’s up to KFTC to do it. Rarely do campaigns work to expand the electorate,

to register and turn out people who are not yet participating. But it’s only through doing that work of empowering and growing new voters across the state that we make our democracy healthier and stronger.

The good news is that we can do this, and you can help! And your friends can help!

It’s simple: bring three friends to three KFTC voter empowerment events over the next three months.

Three friends, three events, three months.

Call your local organizer to jump in and learn about some upcoming events. You can also find a tool kit on KFTC’s website to help you get going, at www.kftc.org/ toolkit, with voter registration signs, tips for tabling, and some good processes for handling the calls.

14 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

CANARY PROJECT UPDATE

EPA’s Clean Power Plan: an opportunity meeting resistance In June the Obama administration released the firstever standards for controlling carbon pollution from existing power plants.

The guidelines for existing power plants are meant to reduce by 2030 overall carbon dioxide pollution from the U.S. power sector by 30 percent from 2005 levels.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assigned each state different reduction targets based on an assessment of the current energy mix and cost-effective opportunities to reduce carbon pollution. Many states that have already made strides to diversify their energy generation and invest in energy efficiency were asked to reach even higher, while coal-dependent states like Kentucky that have done comparatively little were asked to meet the smallest targets.

The proposed standards allow states to reduce their power plant emissions through a variety of strategies, including expanding energy efficiency programs and renewable energy generation, switching to natural gas or other energy sources that pollute less, or establishing emissions-trading programs.

And rather than apply targets to individual power plants, the standards ask states to develop plans to reduce average carbon pollution across their entire utility fleet.

The bar for improvement is relatively low for Kentucky, which has the third smallest target required by the EPA for any state.

Kentucky’s electric utilities would need to achieve an overall carbon emissions rate of 1,763 pounds of CO2 per megawatt hour of electricity produced by 2030. That represents an 18 percent reduction from the state’s rate of carbon pollution per megawatt hour in 2012.

The proposed rule provides Kentucky with an opportunity to begin changing the way it generates, uses and pays for electricity – and to create thousands of new jobs in the process.

A study commissioned by the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) in 2012 found that Kentucky could generate 28,000 net new jobs and lower average utility bills by 8-10 percent by gradually increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy over ten years. Such advances in clean energy could also reduce rates of asthma, other chronic diseases, and premature death in many communities where coal is mined and burned today.

To make the most of this opportunity will require a shift in thinking. As others have noted, Kentucky is the Saudia Arabia of wasted energy. Our homes use 30 percent more electricity than the national average; our industrial sector is one of the most energy intensive in the country; and our schools and public buildings are burdened by inefficient design, lighting, and heating and cooling systems.

Efforts to make homes and businesses energy efficient are a cost-effective way to reduce Kentucky’s carbon emissions, create jobs and generate energy savings.

However, Kentucky’s legislative leaders have created a roadblock to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Last fall Governor Steve Beshear and Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Len Peters wrote to the EPA asking for flexibility in reducing carbon pollution from Kentucky’s power sector.

Nine months later, the EPA delivered a plan that offered

nearly everything the governor had asked for.

But in the meantime, Kentucky lawmakers passed a law blocking the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet from using the flexible approach allowed by the EPA to comply with the new rules.

That action obstructs and delays rather than figures out how to make the most of this opportunity to generate clean energy jobs and energy savings for Kentuckians. Unless HB 388 is repealed, Kentucky’s ratepayers, workers, utilities and businesses will continue to lose out as most other states set out to build the next clean energy economy without Kentucky.

Ultimately, the U.S. EPA will impose a carbon reduction plan for Kentucky if state officials aren’t willing or able to propose a plan to comply with the Clean Power Plan. But any federal action will likely be answered with lawsuits from Kentucky politicians and the coal industry, and result in further, needless delay.

“Our state decision makers’ dig-in-their-heels position on the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan has left me with feelings of bewilderment, dismay and exasperation,” said

Steve Wilkins, who serves on KFTC’s New Energy and Transition strategy team.

“How could they not see that the overabundance of natural gas and cheaper western coal are the real death knells to eastern Kentucky coal? How could they dismiss a solution like the Clean Energy Opportunity Act that would create good jobs in those struggling coal communities at the same time that it would minimize electricity cost increases, improve the health of our loved ones – and get us most of the way toward what the EPA is asking of Kentucky?

“How could they ignore the warnings of their own Len Peters [Secretary of the Energy & Environment Cabinet] that if Kentucky legislators did not put forward a viable Clean Power Plan, the EPA would take charge and create one for us?”

Wilkins compared lawmakers’ stances to the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

“I just hope and pray that a critical mass of our decision makers work through the stages quickly – before we lose even more of our young people who want to stay in eastern Kentucky, yet need a future there to move toward.”

ACTION:

KFTC members have an opportunity to comment on the proposed Clean Power Plan during the public comment COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED period, which continues through October 16, 2014.

Written comments should be emailed by October 16 CLEAN POWER PLAN to A-and-R-Docket@epa.gov or mailed to Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), mailcode 28221T, Attention Docket ID: OAR-2013-0602, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20460.

Make sure to put “Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602” in the subject line of an email message.

KFTC has developed a resource to help members prepare written comments on the Clean Power Plan. That document can be found on KFTC’s website at: www.kftc.org/EPAregs. Key talking points include: 1) Kentuckians want what all people want for their communities: good jobs, clean air and water, opportunity for our kids, and healthy and thriving places to live, work and raise our families.

2) Kentucky should seize this moment to create good new jobs by cleaning up harmful pollution and moving to cleaner and sustainable forms of energy.

3) The EPA’s clean power initiative is urgently needed.

4) As proposed, the EPA’s clean power plant rules are inadequate and must be strengthened in the following ways: • • • • • •

A just economic transition for coal workers and communities must be a central part of any strategy to address climate pollution.

The EPA’s targets for reducing carbon dioxide pollution by 2030 are too low and do not do enough to reduce our risk from climate change.

The EPA significantly underestimates the potential for energy efficiency.

The EPA dangerously underestimates the climate and health consequences of switching from coal to gas.

The EPA rule must be federally enforceable and enforced.

The rule does not do enough to protect the health of front-line communities, those most affected by the consequences of pollution.

In addition to accepting written comments, the EPA will hold four public hearings on the Clean Power Plan the week of July 28 in Atlanta, Denver, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. A delegation of KFTC members will attend the hearings in Atlanta and Denver.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 15

CANARY PROJECT UPDATE

Members push for improvements to general permit for coal Members of KFTC and several ally groups are hoping state officials make needed improvements to the draft General Permit for Coal Mining before a final version is issued, expected to be sometime in the next month or so.

The General Permit sets standards for water pollutant discharges from the mining and processing of coal. Once adopted by the state and approved by the U.S. EPA it will govern discharges for the next five years.

At a public hearing in June, KFTC members asked state officials to care about the quality of the water where they live, and recognize its importance for social and economic activity.

Several of those who spoke asked that the general permit not even be used. They said that requiring companies to get individual permits instead would provide better protection for streams and the people who live along them.

“General permits are basically a carte blanche,” said George Aros, a KFTC member from Frankfort.

“We don’t need a general permit; we need specific permits for specific mines,” said KFTC member Susan Williams of Lexington.

“The concept of a general permit … is flawed,” said Lane Boldman with the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. “It fails to address very specific differences [in stream conditions].”

Eric Chance, a water quality specialist with Appalachian Voices, also opposed the use of the general permit. “The general permit fails to account for variability in streams and effluent coming from mines.”

KFTC member Zaida Balendez explained that individual permits give affected residents more say about pollution in their communities. “The individual citizens of each watershed should be allowed to comment on what is happening in their watershed. To not have this progress in our own state is ridiculous.”

And Elaine Tanner from the Mill Creek community in Letcher County said the general permit has been misapplied in the past, and that has contributed to the poisoned water experienced by about 100 families in her community.

“In 12 years I’ve yet to find out why they can determine that a general permit is acceptable instead of an individual permit,” she said, adding that sometimes regulatory agencies don’t agree or contradict themselves about which is needed.

Although the proposed general permit is an improvement over the current one in terms of monitoring individual discharges, it does not address the cumulative impact of mining pollution on streams. As a result, already degraded streams can get even worse, and good quality streams can become polluted.

“We would like to see its applicability narrowed – exclude discharges into any impaired streams, whether or not there is a TMDL for that stream, especially since there are not any TMDLs for pollutants related to coal mining,” said Chance.

TMDLs are Total Maximum Daily Limits, a “calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still safely meet water quality standards,” according to the U.S. EPA. The general permit

sets limits only for individual discharges, regardless of the condition of the receiving stream.

Chance also noted that conductivity is “one of the leading causes of stream impairment. The streams would be better protected if there were a numeric limit on conductivity.”

So even if all individual polluters are meeting the limits of their general permits, the quality of a waterway can still get worse.

Another concern expressed by several speakers was the dropping of an exclusion against general permit discharges within five miles upstream of a public water intake. That exclusion is what has meant A&G coal company has needed an individual permit – subject to more scrutiny by the community and U.S. EPA – for its plans to mine in the watershed with the drinking water source for the towns of Benham and Lynch in Harlan County.

A&G is owned by James Justice, a mega-donor to campaigns and committees of Gov. Steve Beshear and the Democratic Party.

State officials said the exclusion regarding public water intakes in the general permit is not needed because the prohibition exists in other statutes. But that is not satisfactory to several who spoke.

“We’ve got some of the best water right now that’s ever been bottled in Kentucky,” said Lynch resident and KFTC member Stanley Sturgill. “Why a state would want to lower the rules … it saddens me. I don’t understand it. If it [the exclusion] was in there and you took it out and it’s a regulation, put it back. Once we lose our water, we are just absolutely devastated.”

“Go ahead and put it back in,” added KFTC member Mary Love, a request echoed by several others.

Two industry representatives complained about a new WET testing requirement and the “massive expenditures” that will be required by the coal industry “merely to identify that their discharges represent no threat,” said Lloyd Cress of the Kentucky Coal Association (who also blamed the economic decline of eastern Kentucky on the U.S. EPA).

WET (Whole Effluent Toxicity) tests measure the polluted water’s effects on specific test organisms’ (plants, vertebrates and invertebrates) ability to survive, grow and reproduce.

Ama Bentley, president of Appalachian States Analytical laboratory in Pikeville, said there are not enough labs in Kentucky qualified to do WET testing for the estimated 5,500 coal mining discharges. She also expressed concern about the data access (slow download times) and the challenge of transitioning to this new testing system.

Judy Petersen with the Kentucky Waterways Alliance said that WET tests are important and needed.

“The WET tests and the biological tests are supposed to get to the specific conductance issue,” she said. “Only 6 percent of the water in eastern Kentucky fully supports aquatic life. Specific conductance is why these streams don’t support aquatic life. I want Kentucky to protect our rivers and streams and the health of the people who live there.”

Specific conductance, or conductivity, is a measure of the chemicals dissolved in water and provides a gen-

Samples of well water from Mill Creek in Letcher County show the extend of pollution residents must deal with in their drinking water source.

eral indication of the level of pollution. The U.S. EPA has recommended that stream conductivity be limited to 500 micro-Siemens (μS/cm), a level at which most native aquatic life cannot exist. But state officials did not include a conductivity limit in the draft general permit since many streams below coal mines already fail to meet that standard.

“WET testing is critical for identifying places that could affect public health,” added Deborah Payne, the health coordinator for the Kentucky Environmental Foundation.

Aros noted that the quality of water has real impacts for the people who are forced to live in polluted areas. “On the block in Louisa where we lived had four families suffering from cancer,” he said of his former neighborhood. “Water is the basis for life. The purity of it is the responsibility of everyone.”

Tarence Ray of the Kentucky Headwaters project in Letcher County noted the “direct links between economic development and water quality. From an economist’s standpoint it is difficult to attract activity to waters that are polluted or have dead wildlife.”

KFTC member Williams also addressed this concern.

“If we want to have an economic boom in eastern Kentucky and western Kentucky, you’ve got to improve waterways,” she said, giving examples of how clean water affects tourism and other economic opportunities.

Others speaking included Jimmy Hall of Mill Creek, Alex DeSha with the Sierra Club, and Tyler Offerman of the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition.

“Young people in this state are very concerned about the quality of water [and] the blatant weakening of water protections,” Offerman said. “We see this draft general permit for what it is, which is an attack on the few protections for water we have … We ask the cabinet for strong protections.”

16 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

CANARY PROJECT UPDATE

Federal appeals court upholds EPA conductivity guidance to protect Appalachian waters from mountaintop removal A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a coalition of citizen groups in upholding an Obama administration policy to scrutinize pollution from severe mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia.

On July 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against the National Mining Association, the State of West Virginia, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and other coal industry groups who brought the case against the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“This federal court decision is a victory for the clean water that is essential to southeastern Kentucky’s bright future,” said KFTC member Doug Doerrfeld.

The EPA issued this water quality guidance in July 2011 to assist in meeting longstanding requirements of the Clean Water Act with regard to pollution from mountaintop removal coal mines in Appalachia.

The EPA based the guidance on two major peerreviewed scientific studies showing that pollution from mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia is likely to degrade water quality in violation of federal Clean Water Act standards. One of those studies (Pond 2008) found that nine of every 10 streams downstream from mountaintop removal mining were impaired. Another study found elevated levels of highly toxic selenium in streams downstream from mountaintop removal mining sites.

The guidance established in-stream limits for conductivity, a general measure of the presence of pollutants in the water. These standards improved the agency’s oversight and enforcement and gave state regulatory agencies sciencebacked standards for their own permitting processes.

However, Kentucky officials rejected those standards, and the Beshear administration even joined the National Mining Association in publicly bashing the EPA and became a party to the lawsuit challenging the guidance.

“By refusing to use the EPA Guidance on Conductivity and by being a party to the suit against the enforcement of the Clean Water Act, Kentucky officials have made it perfectly clear that allowing the pollution to continue is more important to them than protecting the health of Kentuckians and our communities,” said Doerrfeld. “This runs counter to other efforts, such as the governor’s SOAR initiative, to create a better future for the region.”

In another document challenged in this case, the EPA and Corps of Engineers jointly recognized the need to coordinate their independent reviews of the worst-of-the-worst pending permit applications – those which raised substantial environmental concerns – before deciding what action each agency would take on the permits.

The court held that the EPA and the Corps of Engineers are fully authorized to protect communities from mountaintop removal mining in this way and held that the guidance is not a currently reviewable action.

More than a dozen peer-reviewed scientific studies link mountaintop removal coal mining with significantly increased risk of cancer, heart, lung, and kidney disease, birth defects, and premature death, even after adjusting for other risk factors. One study shows that residents of counties with surface coal mining are 63 percent more likely to experience certain birth defects. Another finds that cancer cases are clustered in areas with the most coal mining.

KFTC joined Coal River Mountain Watch (WV), Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (VA), Sierra Club, and Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (TN) to intervene in the lawsuit to support the conductivity guidance and the EPA-Corps interagency review of the worst-of-the-worst permit applications. This coalition was represented by Earthjustice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates.

MEMBER PROFILE: OUTSEY SERVES AS APPALACHIAN TRANSITION FELLOW

Earlier this year, KFTC and allies Christian Outreach with Appalachian People (COAP) and the city of Benham in Harlan County were selected as a host community for an Appalachian Transition Fellowship organized by the Highlander Research and Education Center.

Joshua Outsey began work this summer as the Appalachian Transition Fellow, working in Harlan County on energy efficiency and cultural organizing.

Outsey was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the youngest son of three children. Being of a working class family, he always dreamed of working as an agent of change, correcting injustice and improving the quality of

life for others.

In 2004, he graduated from Berea Community High School, where he was awarded a scholarship for minority leadership. Shortly after, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee.

In 2009, Outsey became a co-founder of Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED). Community Shares, a Knoxville organization, selected him for the Seed of Change award in 2011.

Aside from being an activist and fighter for change, Outsey is an artist. He writes poetry and is a stage performer. He has written hip-hop songs with positive messages such as “Rap School” and “Time for a Change.” Both songs are inspirational and are a reflection of his life.

COMMUNITY WATER TESTING Water testing in streams in eastern Kentucky conducted by KFTC members through the Community Science and Public Health Project helps show how serious a problem conductivity is in areas where coal is mined.

Testing done last year in the Lotts Creek area of Knott County showed conductivity levels of 1820 and 1590 microsiemens (µS) in two streams below inactive mining operations and a sediment pond. In June of this year, those levels had risen to 2000 and 1730 µS, respectively.

Other water testing by KFTC members shows levels exceeding 1,200 µS to be common, with levels as high as 4,700 µS recorded.

Scientific studies have shown that aquatic life in Appalachian streams begins to be affected when conductivity levels exceed 300 µS, and that most native aquatic life cannot survive when levels surpass 500 µS. “Conductivity gives us the first sign that something may be wrong with our water. It is a great tool for people in Appalachia. It may not tell you what exactly is wrong, but it does tell you something is wrong and further testing is needed,” said Rick Handshoe, who regularly tested water around his Floyd County home and found consistently high conductivity levels.

But state officials refuse to adopt instreams conductivity limits, which would mean there could be no new discharges into those streams that already exceed safe levels (that’s many of the streams in eastern Kentucky). KFTC members and allies asked state officials to change this policy in issuing a new General Permit for Coal Mining (see related story in this issue).

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 17

Canary project update

KFTC will be pilot site with Climate Justice Alliance

NC3

KFTC has signed on to become a pilot site for the Climate Justice Alliance, a coalition of 40 organizations and networks working together to create a new analysis and a new “center of gravity” in the policy conversation about climate – informed by impacted communities.

During its annual retreat May 30-31 in Benham, the KFTC Steering Committee hosted a multi-state delegation of Climate Justice Alliance members for an exchange and discussion about shifting the political landscape to give impacted communities more of a voice.

Friends from CJA had been in Kentucky the few days prior as part of a Chorus Foundation grantee convening.

During that convening, they learned more about coal, energy and transition work in Kentucky and visited with folks leading transition work in Whitesburg, Benham and Lynch.

“I’ve been a great admirer from afar of KFTC,” said Miya Yoshitani of Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN). “I feel so lucky to have been part of the site visit … to be here with the people in the place.” She said she was impressed by the depth and strategic nature of KFTC and allies.

“Kentucky is a rich case study for us to glean inspiration, education and information,” said Cindy Wiesner of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance. “I’m excited to tell the story of Kentucky and the work that is happening here and connect that to the work with the people and place I come from.”

CJA formed to unite frontline communities, combine book smarts with street smarts, and aggregate power to collectively fight at a higher level.

“We may not know everything on the periodic table, but we know enough … We know what impacts our communities,” said Michael Leon Guerrero, national coordinator of CJA. CJA launched the Our Power Campaign last year at Black Mesa, Arizona, and KFTC members Elizabeth Sanders and Carey Grace attended the gathering of communities from around the country affected by coal extraction. CJA is holding two Our Power gatherings this summer in Detroit and Richmond, California, in preparation for a People’s Climate Summit in New York in September that’s expected to draw 250,000 people.

Like KFTC, groups within CJA are working for a just transition beyond their coal-dominant economy. They hope to develop local models of just transition that can be scaled up.

“Our groups have been forced to play within the cur-

rent political reality of what’s feasible, which we all know isn’t anywhere near what’s needed,” said Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan of Movement Generation. “We formed the Climate Justice Alliance because we realized we needed to get together around a just transition framework, around a shared vision and solutions that are truly needed.”

Guerrero gave an overview of the current landscape around climate change.

“The United Nations’ solution is something they call the ‘green economy.’ That’s their word for more-of-thesame,” Guerrero said. “The new trend around the world is commodification of carbon and clean air. Corporations can now buy up land in the global south, grow trees and get credits for continuing to burn fossil fuels in the industrial world. That is supposed to save us.”

As the climate crisis intensifies, so does the quest for fossil fuels, Guerrero said. “All the fuels that could be accessed easily have been exploited. So now we see an explosion of more extreme approaches, including natural gas fracking and the push for deep sea drilling and mining. Fossil fuel companies are lining up for rights to mine under the ice as the Arctic and Antarctic melt.”

Guerrero noted there are multiple strategies to take on these challenges. One set of strategies is being led by groups like CJA and other frontline communities around the world.

The CJA delegation described three ways for organizations to engage in the work: participate in working groups such as capacity and technology, bring in other organizations to build cross-sector coalitions, and help develop pilot sites to advance the model of a just transition.

“For us to be able to scale this up, we have to show that a just transition is possible,” Guerrero said.

These ideas resonated with KFTC Steering Committee members.

“We don’t have any more excuses,” said Rosanne Klarer of Scott County. “We have to have the political will.”

“It’s about building empowerment of the people,” said Nina McCoy of Martin County. “I have a place here.”

The alliance wants to expand to key regions where transition work is being done. Because of KFTC’s ongoing work on transition and its network of local partners, CJA asked KFTC to join as a pilot site.

“We’re building our power,” said Wiesner. “It’s being done in Appalachia, in the Navajo nation, in Detroit. Part of the strategy to win is to show places where we’ve demonstrated something different.”

The members and staff of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth extend our warmest and deepest gratitude for the impact the Network Center for Community Change has made in Louisville and beyond.

It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to the brick and mortar organization, but know that the power that was built there will no doubt continue making big changes in Louisville. We eagerly anticipate future collaborations with Louisville’s NC3 Power Members.

KFTC Steering Committee members asked what it means to be a pilot site – how it would affect funding, staff capacity and other factors.

CJA delegates explained that the vision is to create regional transition hubs and eventually lead a national legislative campaign for a just transition. Pilot organizations may be asked to send delegates to serve on the CJA steering committee.

Benefits for pilot sites include connecting with and learning from other organizations working for climate justice and gaining exposure for their work.

Yoshitani of APEN said her organization has not had to change its work to be a member of CJA. “CJA is helping me make my organizing work more effective.”

The KFTC Steering Committee voted to pursue the partnership with CJA and serve as a pilot site. Members prioritized learning more about: • who are allies in Kentucky for shaping the messages around climate change • using storytelling to talk about climate • ways to discuss climate issues in classrooms • pushing back against the jobs versus the environment frame • how climate change affects Kentucky.

18 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

NEW ENERGY AND TRANSITION UPDATE

Eastern Kentucky Social Club binds Lynch community, keeps it alive The building that was once the black high school in each other,” Massey said.

Lynch, Kentucky, now houses the Eastern Kentucky Social And once a year, members board a bus for the anClub. But the social club began far away from here, in nual EKSC reunion, which has been held each Labor Day Cleveland, Ohio, when a couple of eastern Kentucky boys weekend since 1970. This year the reunion is in Burbank, California, and members will spend a week. Both Melton were missing home.

For nearly 45 years, the Eastern Kentucky Social Club and Massey plan to attend. has provided a connection among Lynch residents and The reunion is held in a different city each year and thousands of African Americans from eastern Kentucky usually includes a gospel fest and a lot of reminiscing. who have migrated to other places. The story of the social “Really, it’s just getting together to talk about old times,” club is a prominent thread in the history and fabric of Melton says.

“You had a lot of people who had to leave here to get Lynch.

Lynch was established in 1917 in Harlan County jobs, but every year we come together and we get to see each

by U.S. Coal and Coke Company, which built schools, other,” says Massey, who joined the club in 1972. “That’s churches, hospitals and houses. At its peak in Lynch, U.S. what I like about it. Still get to see some of the older people Coal and Coke employed 4,000 people and owned 1,000 who used to live here and the young people coming on.” structures housing people of 38 ethnic backgrounds. By Melton, who joined the club in 1978, points to a pic1945, Lynch and the nearby coal town of Benham had a ture from 1984. “See that picture back there on the wall? combined population of nearly 10,000 people, according That was in Connecticut. That was over 3,000 people.” to the 2004 book African American Miners and Migrants: Reunions today don’t draw quite as many, but Melton The Eastern Kentucky Social Club by Thomas E. Wagner and and Massey expect 300 to 400 people for the Burbank reunion and more for next year’s reunion in Indianapolis.

Phillip J. Obermiller.

Today, Lynch has about 750 people and is still one In addition to being active in the Greater Mount Sinai of the most racially and ethnically diverse communities Baptist Church, the Mount Sinai Spirituals gospel group in eastern Kentucky. The town is listed on the National and the EKSC, Massey and Melton are members of KFTC, Register of Historic Places, and many of Lynch’s original have served on local boards and government, and have participated in Southeast Community and Technical College’s structures remain.

After mining’s peak in the 1940s, people began to leave Higher Ground theater performances, which are drawn Lynch to find work in cities to the north: Indianapolis, from oral histories about life in Appalachia.

Detroit, Cleveland. But for many, Lynch would always be The social club collaborated with KFTC to host the Appalachia’s Bright Future conference in Harlan County in home.

In 1969, two men were having a drink in a Cleveland 2013, and the two organizations will team up next year to bar and started talking about pulling together a reunion host a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the book Blacks of people they grew up with in Lynch. In 1970, the first in Appalachia, edited by Dr. Bill Turner, another Lynch native and member of the EKSC, and Edward J. Cabbell. reunion was held in Cleveland.

Over the decades, thousands of African Americans with Melton’s and Massey’s ancestors came to Lynch from ties to Lynch have been involved with the Eastern Kentucky Alabama and Mississippi, where a man named Limestone Social Club. Now the club has about a dozen chapters all recruited black families to work in the coal mines. Both over the country, from California to Milwaukee to Dayton. were born in Lynch, raised their families here, and both It recently reinstated the Texas chapter and gained a new worked in the mines. one in St. Louis. Members include people who grew up in They have stayed in their hometown and worked to keep it viable. Massey says he feels Lynch but also the next generation “blessed to be here,” and both men who have never lived in Lynch.

“Whatever we can mention people they grew up with A document called “The Most do to keep the heriwho would like to come back to Noteworthy Characteristics of Lynch if they could. the Eastern Kentucky Social Club tage here, that’s what “When they come home, they Cleveland Chapter” states that the we’re trying to do.” just feel like they’re at home,” Massey central objective of the EKSC has says. “They feel good. They walk the been to “stay together.”

Benny Massey streets. Everybody has a good time.”

Sitting in club headquarters at Massey was recently named an the old high school in Lynch, with banners of EKSC’s chapters and hundreds of reunion pic- Appalachian Hero by the Appalachian Community Fund tures on the walls, Rutland Melton and Bennie Massey talk for his work to protect his community from the impacts of surface mining and build a brighter future (see story in this about the social club.

In addition to serving as the physical headquarters issue). for the club, the Lynch chapter caters local events, opens Melton and Massey understand that building a bright its doors for reunions and meetings, and hosts the Lynch future in Lynch will take work and time. They want to renovate the spacious old high school and open the upstairs homecoming on Memorial Day weekend.

“That’s what I think really kept the chapter together, us rooms for community use. “It is a landmark here,” says working together as a community and staying in touch with Massey. “We’re trying to get people to invest in it so we can

Rutland Melton (left) and Bennie Massey shared stories about the role of the East Kentucky Social Club shortly after the Memorial Day Homecoming.

keep it.”

They’d like to see many of the old houses renovated so retirees can return to Lynch or people visiting for reunions can have a place to stay. They wonder if the pure waters of nearby Looney Creek might supply a water bottling plant.

And, most of all, they want young people to stay and keep their town and the EKSC alive.

Dr. Frank Callaway of Houston is a member of the Eastern Kentucky Social Club. He and some other eastern Kentucky natives in the Houston area formed a chapter there and hosted the Labor Day reunion in 1988. He was born in Benham and recently went back home for his 50th high school reunion.

Callaway compares the importance of the annual reunion to that of a family reunion – multiplied. “You get to see people that when you were little bitty – you get to see them once again. And our legacy, our heritage, our history, as it was in Africa, is orally passed down and we get to know what happened.”

Like Melton and Massey, Callaway speaks of the importance of the next generation. Most of the founders of the social club have passed on. “And so it’s been passed down generation to generation, and now a new generation is taking it on.”

Callaway, whose family had 15 children, left Benham at age 17 to attend Kentucky State University, joined the Air Force and eventually went on to earn a doctorate. Like many who grew up in Benham and Lynch, his home community is still dear to him, even though he has not lived here in decades. “The house that I was born in is still standing.”

But Callaway worries that mining in the area will compromise the community’s water supply and its future.

“Years from now this won’t be here.”

But if Melton, Massey and the Lynch chapter of the Eastern Kentucky Social Club have anything to say, young people will stay around because they have good jobs and opportunities for their families. And retired people will come back to Lynch because it’s a good place to live.

“Whatever we can do to keep the heritage here, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Massey says.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 19

NEW ENERGY AND TRANSITION UPDATE

Stanley Sturgill, Bennie Massey named Appalachian Heroes Two KFTC members have been honored for their commitment to their Appalachian heritage and their work to build healthy communities.

Stanley Sturgill and Bennie Massey of Harlan County were named Appalachian Heroes by the Appalachian Community Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and support to grassroots organizations working to overcome the underlying causes of poverty and injustice in Central Appalachia. The award is presented to an individual or organization who has made a substantial contribution to social justice in Central Appalachia on “our journey toward justice.”

Both Sturgill and Massey live in Lynch and have been instrumental in efforts to protect their community from the impacts of coal mining and build a brighter future in the mountains. They are long-time members of the Harlan County chapter and have given their time and energy to other KFTC campaigns both inside and outside their region.

KFTC nominated Sturgill and Massey for the award in 2013.

Massey’s nomination read: Bennie served his Harlan County community as an underground coal miner for 30 years, specializing in mine safety. He is a long-time deacon of his church, founding member of the Mt. Sinai Spirituals men’s gospel choir, contributor/cast member of Higher Ground Community Theater, and volunteer to his local

Harlan County KFTC members Stanley Sturgill (left) and Bennie Massey (right) will be honored at a ceremony in Lynch on Friday, September 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. All KFTC members are welcome to attend.

fire department. Bennie is currently serving in his 18th term on the Lynch City Council, where he has recently worked to secure and protect clean water for multiple cities and energy efficiency upgrades for all Lynch city buildings. He has taken local issues to the state capitol, worked to reform unjust statewide laws and last year helped to host a regional gathering of over 200 people in Harlan County, Appalachia’s Bright Future. … Above all, Bennie is an organizer. He’s quick to point out that he is not alone in any of these efforts, and appreciates his many friends and colleagues who work together for the needs of their community.

Bennie brings people together.

“Nobody wants the whole community to move forward together as much as Bennie,” said Robert Gipe, director of the Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College’s Appalachian Center in Cumberland. “When we were in meetings about permits, challenging big coal power, he was

always so large-hearted because he could see it from every possible angle. He had been in all these shoes, working in the mines, coordinating mine safety, working to protect water on the city council, etc. You just felt good on his side.”

“I feel real good about this,” Massey said about the award. “I do my best to help the community. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what KFTC is all about. I’m happy to be able to put my two cents in here and there. From the young people to our elders, we’ve got a lot to do still, and I’m happy to be a part of it. We’ve got to take advantage of all our experiences and what we have here in the mountains. If we work together, we can build a place that people want to come home to and stick around.”

Sturgill and Massey will be honored at a ceremony in Lynch on Friday, September 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. All KFTC members are welcome to attend.

Power Up webinars, coming in September!

ACTION

The nomination described Sturgill this way: When we ask KFTC leaders to name other leaders who have inspired them, Stanley’s name comes up often. Although his health has been poor in recent years, Stanley is often at the forefront representing our coalfield communities and demanding the attention of our elected leaders. He is often willing to take the lead in difficult situations such as sleeping over in the governor’s office in 2011, getting arrested in Washington DC in 2012 for occupying Rep. Hal Rogers’ office, speaking publicly at rallies and hearings, writing op-eds for state and national publications, hosting the EPA and other agencies who visit eastern Kentucky and being frank with them about the problems our region faces, and working with his community in eastern Kentucky to oppose mining permits and protect the community’s water source.

“I think Stanley practices democracy probably more than anyone,” said Teri Blanton, a long-time KFTC member and leader. “He pays attention to what’s going on on the local level, the state level and the federal level. Democracy is not just when you go vote but keeping up with how they vote when you put them in office and calling them out when they don’t vote responsibly. I just think he’s a role model for us all about how you participate in democracy.”

“Honestly, the only thing I do is try to keep our Appalachian homes, mountains, and our precious drinking water safe,” said Sturgill after hearing of the award. “Safe for all around our little communities and safe for my family, my children’s families and all the future generations when I’m long gone. I feel I owe this to them. If I can save one mountain or keep one drinking water stream safe for others to drink from, then I will feel I’ve finally accomplished something.”

Do you want to weigh in on the big debates on Twitter, but can’t seem to find them? Or have you ever been at an event and nervously hoped that a reporter would ask you for your thoughts? You’re in luck.

KFTC is offering a series of Power Up webinars this fall, beginning in early September. They will support members in communicating about KFTC’s values, frame and vision for Kentucky, especially during the election season, when Kentucky is in the national spotlight, along with many of the

issues that impact KFTC members and their communities.

Topics will include reaching out to the media, creating social media buzz, connecting KFTC’s work to the news of the day, writing great letters to the editor and tips for on-camera interviews.

The first Power Up webinar, scheduled for September 8 at 8 p.m. EDT, will focus on using social media to engage folks in conversation and to create a buzz among journalists. Stay tuned to the KFTC blog and calendar for more information!

20 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

ECONOMIC JUSTICE UPDATE

Jefferson County members talk tax reform with mayor

By Linda Stettenbenz

We discussed policy solutions, including the Kentucky Forward Plan, which would make the state income tax pro A small group of Jefferson County chapter members met gressive, modernize the sales tax, close a loophole in the estate with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer in June to find common tax, and enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). ground about the need for city revenue.

We showed how Kentucky Forward would make our The meeting came about as a result of an encounter in state tax structure more fair and adequate and enable more March between KFTC members and the mayor in Frankfort. revenue for cities and localities.

Members were in Frankfort for an economic justice A state EITC, for example, would put $23 million into lobby day to lift up the need for fair and adequate statewide the household budgets of 70,000 working families in Jeffertax reform. Mayor Fischer was there seeking support for his son County, which would surely boost the Louisville econolocal option sales tax initiative. my. I suggested that the mayor could help communicate the KFTC members decided to oppose the local option sales benefits of these policies to Louisvillians. tax, mostly because it takes more from the budgets of low- We also presented policy solutions that are in line with income people than from higher-income people. our principles and of particular interest to our city budget There has also been concern that revenue from it would that our members might be willing to work with the mayor not be sustainable or flexible enough to meet community on. needs. Despite our differences, we took the opportunity to As the mayor pointed out, most of Louisville’s revenue ask for the mayor’s support of our efforts for statewide tax comes from a mix of property and occupational taxes. We reform. discussed the possibility of removing a statewide cap on He told us that he had been supportive of these efforts in property tax increases, which has led to a 42 percent decline the past, and that he would continue to support them. I then in Jefferson County property tax revenues since 1978. wrote the mayor a letter asking for a meeting to see how we Kentucky ranks 45th among states for property tax revcould work together toward our common goals. enue. We suggested that the cap could be removed and that Mayor Fischer agreed to meet with us at our chapter of- the homestead exemption based on age and disability status fice for an hour, but then his schedule changed, and we got be replaced with an income-based “circuit-breaker” to help 45 minutes at his office. ensure fairness. This would be a fair and adequate source of Chapter member Becki Winchel gave a brief introduc- revenue to build the healthy communities we want. tion to our economic justice

We then brought up our work, and reminded him that interest in his 2012 suggestion “I encourage members in other cities he has been a member of to the Blue Ribbon Commisto consider a similar effort with your KFTC. She also explained sion to consider expanding the why we seek both fairness and occupational tax to include local officials ... we can’t know which adequacy in tax policy and dividends and rental income, way these things will bend ... maybe why we work together across rather than only wages. We we can bend it another way.” the state to win issues. asked for more information Linda Stettenbenz The mayor acknowledged about this proposal that would that he has been a member of be more in line with our prinKFTC and that we have sometimes agreed and sometimes ciples of fairness and that could provide funding to local disagreed with each other on issues. agencies that make our communities stronger.

We then talked about the important things that we and The procedure for enacting an expansion of the occupaother Louisvillians have at stake in the state budget. tional tax would – like the local option sales tax – require a Member Pam Newman said that as a budding entre- statewide constitutional amendment to expand local taxing preneur and as someone concerned about the disconnect power. But overall it seems less cumbersome to enact than the between boarded up homes and people without homes in her local option sales tax initiative. However, he seemed to have community, she wants to see more commitment to a caring abandoned the idea of occupational tax expansion in favor of and supportive economy in Louisville. the local option sales tax.

Local agencies that address these issues rely on state The mayor countered that while he is generally supportfunding. I talked about barriers to opportunity that my ive of the policies we suggested, he wasn’t sure there was poneighbors and I have experienced, including rising tuition litical will in Frankfort to accomplish them and didn’t want costs and unfunded financial aid for students, along with cuts to wait 20 years for them to happen. to childcare for working families that are due to cuts in state He pointed out that his is the first local administration funding. to push Frankfort for revenue, but we also know that mayors We pointed out that these problems are made worse by in other states are taking leadership roles to hold their legislaunfairness in our state and local tax structures – people just tures accountable. We challenged him to consider using some over the poverty line pay about 10 cents of their income in of the vigor and energy he has brought to the local option combined state and local taxes for every nickel that those sales tax discussion to lift up good policies that are more fair with the highest incomes pay. These critical local issues can and more sustainable. only be resolved with better statewide tax policy.

Though we didn’t seem to get strong commitments from

the mayor to work for revenue that is more aligned with KFTC principles, we did get some information and ideas from him and his staff about ways we can consider working together with his office and state elected officials on economic justice issues around housing.

We also got a commitment to meet with his staff before the 2015 general assembly starts to see what opportunities there may be to work together during the session.

We hoped that the mayor would agree to be a stronger advocate for a more fair, adequate, sustainable tax policy. But I still see this as an exciting opportunity to work with him and his administration, and I think there may be other ways we haven’t yet discovered to make something really good happen from this effort to find common ground.

I encourage members in other cities to consider a similar effort with your local officials – Mayor Fischer has been actively engaging with many of them too, and we can’t know which way these things will bend. Let me tell you how some people are bending it, and maybe we can bend it another way.

There is a local economist named Paul Coomes who has convinced some people in Louisville that we send too much money to Frankfort and don’t get enough back – which seems like arbitrary divisiveness in an effort to push bad policies like the local option sales tax. Now Louisville is joining with other cities in the “Metropolitan Alliance for Growth” to garner support for a regressive, unsustainable tax, supposedly to yield more weight in Frankfort as opposed to rural areas.

KFTC is about bringing people in rural areas and people in cities to work together to lift us all up. So it seems like we should be aware of this effort to divide us, and perhaps wield that awareness like judo masters.

We know relationships take time, and productive ones take honesty, trust and respect. It was a first for us to engage the mayor in this way, and it remains an exciting challenge to build the relationship. We’re not all the way there, but I think our meeting is a step in the right direction to encourage the mayor and Louisvillians to consider their stake in the state budget, to see through divisive policies, and to understand the importance of both fairness and adequacy in state and local tax policy.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 21

ECONOMIC JUSTICE UPDATE

Kentuckians want candidates who support fair taxes A new Public Policy Polling survey found that tax fairness issues, especially issues that are central to the U.S. Senate race, are of particular concern to Kentuckians.

The survey released in June found that Kentucky voters overwhelmingly support a fairer tax system; they want to make sure that millionaires pay their fair share and do not get a lower tax rate than the middle class, and they want to close corporate tax loopholes.

These are issues that KFTC members have been lifting up for years – that Kentuckians want vibrant, healthy communities and world-class schools for our children. And to create this Kentucky, elected leaders have to stop offering tax loopholes to corporations and the wealthy, and start implementing a fair and just tax system.

“The poll numbers reflect pretty good support for the issues we think are important. I think we know this as well from talking with Kentuckians from around the state and all walks of life,” said Mimi Pickering, a KFTC member in Letcher County.

These results should help shape the conversations that are spotlighted leading up to the election. They also have implications for KFTC’s state tax reform campaign. Some of our elected leaders have insisted that tax fairness measures are a political risk.

This poll points to some policy solutions – ones that are congruent with the Kentucky Forward Plan, which KFTC members helped develop – that Kentuckians would be excited to support in the name of a better quality of life.

Among the issues that got the most support:

ity of all of us know that tax fairness would benefit all of us, in the form of healthy communities and good opportunities.

“So,” Stettenbenz asked, “why is it so hard to have tax fairness taken seriously by our political leaders?”

But these results mark progress, and Kentuckians have an opportunity to “get louder” right now and into the fall, as Garrard County member Fred Hood put it.

Here are some ways to use this poll to “get louder” about Kentucky’s support for tax fairness: √ These results, along with lots of other indicators of Kentuckians’ support for tax reform, will be included in conversations with elected leaders this fall, as members organize at-home meetings with state representatives. Join in by getting in touch with your local organizer or Jessica Hays Lucas at jessicabreen@kftc.org or 859-276-0563. √ Share these results with elected leaders outside of those meetings as well. They reference federal policy, so by all means share them with Kentucky senators and congresspeople. √ Polls can be good hooks for letters to the editor. Write a letter about why you support tax fairness, and what you’re looking for in a representative. √ Learn more about the poll by doing an internet search for “Americans for Tax Fairness” and “Kentucky Poll.” You can learn more about the federal bills mentioned here on the Economic Policy Institute’s website at epi.org, under “Budget and Tax” research area.

Kimberly Wolfe of Jefferson County was pivotal in creating KFTC’s early tax justice work. She attended the June rally for college affordability in Louisville and snapped this photo of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren proposed a bill to allow people with student loan debt to refinance their loans. The need to address student loan debt is especially urgent in Kentucky, where the cost of public higher education has risen by more than 200 percent in the last 15 years. Kentuckians carry $13.5 billion in student loan debt. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 359,000 Kentuckians would have been helped by this legislation, or 6 out of 10 borrowers. The bill was blocked in the U.S. Senate.

•

The largest percentage of issue support is for a candidate who wants to pass legislation in Congress to create jobs; 89% of voters are more likely to choose a candidate who mirrors that quality.

•

By an almost six-to-one margin, 80%-14%, voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who wants to close loopholes to make sure millionaires do not pay a lower tax rate than the middle class, including 87% of Democrats, 70% of Republicans and 80% of Independents.

U.S. reps voting against tax fairness for Kentuckians

•

78% of voters want a candidate who wants to end gridlock and partisanship in Washington, including 85% of Democrats, 70% of Republicans and 72% of Independents.

– The “tax extender” bill. This was the year for Congress to open the package of $85 billion in tax breaks (some good, many bad) to reauthorize some and nix others. The bill continued to carry tax breaks that groups like Citizens for Tax Justice decried. But ultimately, Senate Republicans blocked the bill because of a tax credit for renewable energy production. The bill will be taken up again after the November election.

•

76% of voters want a candidate who will make sure the rich and corporations pay their fair share in taxes. This is the case on both sides of the aisle – 88% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans, and 83% of Independents say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who takes such a stance.

– Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act was blocked by the Senate.

Warren’s bill would have financed the restructuring of student loans to make them more affordable by raising taxes on the wealthiest. Together, Kentuckians carry $13.5 billion in student loan debt. The Department of Education estimates that 359,000 Kentuckians would have been helped by this legislation, or 6 out of 10 borrowers in the commonwealth.

•

By a two-to-one margin, 63% to 31%, voters rejected cutting taxes of the wealthy and corporations.

Linda Stettenbenz of Jefferson County points out that the poll builds the case for support across income levels.

“It’s not an issue of struggling people versus the wealthy, or lower middle versus upper middle. The majority of people want tax fairness, regardless of their income level. The major-

This summer, most members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation have cast votes that did not align with what Kentuckians want. Below are some key pieces of federal legislation:

– The Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2014 would prevent corporations from taking advantage of a loophole that would allow them to avoid U.S. taxes by partnering with a business in a low-tax county. Pfizer is a recent example of a corporation that has taken advantage of this loophole, and organizations across the country are calling for its passage to prevent a hemorrhaging of federal revenue. At press time, a vote had not been taken on this bill.

With the exception of Rep. John Yarmuth, who has repeatedly spoken out in support of tax fairness, the role of the Kentucky delegation has been to act in support of the loopholes, running counter to the best interests of Kentuckians and their constituents’ values.

22 | Balancing the Scales

KFTC 2014 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING FROM THE GRASSROOTS TO THE MOUNTAINTOP: EMPOWERING GRASSROOTS LEADERS

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

REGISTRATION Name: ___________________________________________ Age: ____ Name: ___________________________________________ Age: ____

REGISTRATION Name: ____________________________________________________ Name: ____________________________________________________ Name: ____________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ City, State, Zip: _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________ Email Address: ________________________ Space: To help us plan for meeting space, please tell us how much of the meeting you will be attending. (Mark All That Apply) __ Friday night __ Saturday morning __ Saturday afternoon __ Saturday Evening __ Sunday morning Which nights will you be staying with us? __ Friday night __ Saturday night Lodging Preference: KFTC expects to fill up all rooms and cabins at General Butler State Park. We will do our best to accommodate lodging requests, but in order to maximize the amount of overnight lodging slots, we cannot guarantee your lodging preference (cabin vs. lodge room) will be granted. But we will do our best. __ Guest room in the lodge __ Cabin (Cabins are located slightly farther from the conference center where the annual meeting will take place and would require a short drive between the two. Cabins have either one, two, or three bedrooms, with each cabin having only one bathroom and only one full-size bed in each bedroom.) __ Camping (KFTC will not be handling camping reservations. Primitive tent camping is available for $14 a night by just showing up at the campground, and no reservations are needed. If you would like RV and other campground reservations, you can make your reservation directly through ReserveAmerica.com. For questions about the campgrounds, call General Butler directly at 502-732-4384).

Name: ___________________________________________ Age: ____ Meals: KFTC is required to use the food service at General Butler for our event. We do our best to meet the dietary needs of all participants, but are limited by General Butler’s food service options and willingness to accommodate special requests.

Do you have any special dietary requests? (We will communicate with you ahead of time if your dietary restrictions can’t be honored so that you are able to bring your own food.) Specify: ___________________________________________________________ Meals you will be in attendance for: __ Saturday breakfast __ Saturday lunch __ Sunday breakfast __ Sunday lunch

__ Saturday dinner

Silent Auction: Please let us know if you are willing to help out by bringing items for the silent auction: __ Yes __ Yes Transportation: __ I am driving myself __ I can offer a ride

__ I need a ride

Is this your first time attending KFTC’s annual meeting? __ Yes __ No Cost: $80 per adult before July 25. $100 per adult after July 25. If you are reserving your own campsite or don’t need lodging, cost is $40 before July 25 and $60 after July 25.

KFTC covers a good portion of expenses for the annual meeting. We ask that participants pay a portion of the expense for your attendance, if you are able to. We want everyone who would like to participate to do so.

Please don’t let the suggested donation be a barrier to attending.

___________________________________________________________

How would you like to pay? __ I will pay online www.kftc.org/annual-meeting __ I will pay when I arrive at the meeting __ I will mail a check (address below) __ I cannot afford to pay, but I still wish to attend

Roommate preference (2 to 4 people will share a room). Please specify the names of individuals you would like to share a room with _______________

Please make a check or money order payable to KFTC and put “Annual Meeting registration” in the note field.

Mail to: KFTC, P.O. Box 1450, London, KY 40743

Other Preferences: Room equipped for physical disabilities? Please specify _______________

_______________________________________________________________ Will you need childcare?

If so, please list the names and ages of the children.

Payment can also be made upon arrival, but please register early so we know you are coming. Last year’s annual meeting sold out, and we are likely to sell out again this year. So please register early in order to ensure you get a spot.

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 23

KFTC 2014 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING FROM THE GRASSROOTS TO THE MOUNTAINTOP: EMPOWERING GRASSROOTS LEADERS Friday, August 22 4 p.m.

Registration Opens

7:30 p.m.

Guest Speaker: Poet Bianca Spriggs 9 p.m.

Evening Social Activity

Saturday, August 23 7:45 a.m.

Breakfast

9 a.m.

Welcome and Opening

9:30 a.m.

Plenary and Guest Speaker Join us for a high-energy morning focused on exploring what grassroots leadership development looks like in and beyond the Bluegrass State.

Keynote Speaker Vivian Huang, Campaign and Organizing Director at Asian Pacific Environmental Network, works to organize community members to advance an environmental, social, and economic justice agenda. Prior to working at APEN, Vivian spent seven years advocating for statewide policy, legislation, and budget funding for immigrants, communities of color, migrant farmworkers, and women. She was Director of Legislative Advocacy at Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality (the Sacramento office of Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and Asian Law Caucus) as well as Deputy Director of Policy at the California Primary Care Association (the statewide organization representing community health clinics).

Vivian also worked on federal policy as a Presidential Management Fellow.

10:45 a.m.

Break

11 a.m.

KFTC Plenary From the Grassroots to the Mountaintop: Empowering Grassroots Leaders (Panel) Hear from several leaders in different organizations in Kentucky speak to the importance of grassroots leadership, lessons and best practices for developing grassroots leaders, and how each of us can play leadership roles in our communities.

12:30 p.m.

Lunch

2 p.m.

Saturday afternoon workshops: • We Are Our Best Hope for Change: Effective Grassroots Leadership – This workshop will explore what it means to be a

grassroots leader in KFTC.

• Building the Muscles of Democracy! Recruitment, Canvassing, and Get Out The Vote – In this workshop we will discuss ways to begin building a New Power voting block in your community, including developing the necessary skills and strategies aimed at getting more people involved in the electoral process.

• Listen and Be Heard: Resolving Conflict Skillfully – How do you respond when conflicts arise? How effective are you in difficult conversations? Conflict resolution skills are important in life and leadership.

Join us for an interactive session about ways to improve our ability to listen, respond and provide leadership in difficult situations.

• Making Waves: The Power of Youth Organizing – Young people have played important roles in justice movements throughout history. Join us at this workshop to learn how young people are making change today and tools for engaging and supporting youth in your community.

• Building New Power: Organizing Across Lines of Difference – Our identities and life experiences are an important part of who we are and how we organize. Join us at this workshop to learn how to build power and organize across lines of difference in your community.

• Integrating Art and Culture in Community Organizing – Art and culture are an important part of our lives, and they can be important and powerful tools for change.

Join us at this workshop to learn tools for integrating art and culture in community organizing.

3:30 p.m.

Break • Take a break and relax at General Butler among friends. Swimming, hiking, tennis, and much more are available to have some fun.

• Self-Care is Radical, Too: A Self-Care Workshop for Activists – This optional workshop will create a space for participants to learn skills to enhance their selfcare practice and recognize that wellness is a vital part of activism. Basic yoga and meditation practice will be included.

7 p.m.

Dinner & Awards Ceremony

9:30 p.m.

Evening Social Activity

Sunday, August 24 7:45 a.m.

Breakfast

9 a.m.

Sunday Morning Workshops The Sunday morning workshops will help us find and practice ways to inform, inspire, and engage others around KFTC’s key issues and values.

Join the “Let’s Talk” workshop of your choice to empower more grassroots leaders through any of these issue lenses: • Racial Justice and White Privilege – We’ll talk about organizing white people through unveiling and dismantling white privilege.

• Working for Our New Economy – Learn about jobs, wealth inequality and strategies to address these issues and others that help build a new economy.

• A Just Transition in Appalachia – We’ll discuss ways to build a just transition in Appalachia that generates new jobs, new businesses, and new opportunities for the workers, families and young people in the region.

• Energy, Coal, and Climate Change – Practice communicating about the opportunity Kentucky has to create good new jobs and improve health, while also protecting our air, water and climate. We’ll discuss meaningful ways to move conversations beyond the polarizing and false debate about “jobs vs the environment” and the so-called “war on coal.” We’ll talk about what makes these conversations hard and share best practices for informed and constructive dialogue.

• Voting Rights and Growing a Healthy Democracy – Learn how to discuss the challenges facing a healthy democracy in Kentucky, from a lack of voting rights for former felons to stringent photo i.d. measures, and where Kentucky fits in the national landscape.

• Working Together for Fairness Across Kentucky – Learn strategies and tools for working in your community in support of anti-discrimination and LGBTQ awareness.

10:30 a.m.

Break

10:45 a.m.

Business meeting: Join us for this annual opportunity to vote on KFTC’s platform of issues, elected officers, and more.

12 p.m.

Adjourn

24 | Balancing the Scales

Welcome new staff

Louisville office busting at seems with talent KFTC welcomes JoAnna House and E’Beth Adami (pictured below left to right), the newest members of the Development Team. Both are located in Louisville, making the Louisville office three Development Team strong. When they aren’t busy working to build New Power in Kentucky, they both enjoy spending time outside. E’Beth is always up for a game of badminton and since JoAnna is new to Louisville (having lived in Lexington, Wilmore and Nicholasville) she said that she will do anything once.

What do you look forward to the most as a member of the development team?

JoAnna: “We know that money and membership are integral to any policy organization because those with whom we hope to work care about dollars and votes. In order for KFTC to be strong, our grassroots organizing and leadership must be strong. I look forward to working with members at KFTC to build our power. Specifically, I look forward to helping fundraising to be an organizing tool and not a stand alone, scary endeavor. I look forward to us learning together how to ask, and how to do it in ways that makes us stronger. I look forward to meeting KFTC members, hearing stories and discovering our collective power.

This is our voice, our democracy and our Kentucky. I look forward to supporting that.”

E’Beth: “At a moment when a lot of attention and money is being directed to our state, I know that KFTC’s long-term approach to organizing is going to empower individuals to affect positive change in Kentucky long after November and the terms of the candidates that come out on top in the election. Working for KFTC gives me the opportunity to meet real Kentucky leaders and hear their stories. Working in development, specifically, I get to support these individuals to take their collective voice and contributions to build power and show that we are invested in the future of our state. Of all the things that I will do as a Development Associate, I most look forward to those opportunities to work with and learn from KFTC’s members.”

www.kftc.org | July 22, 2014

CALENDAR OF EVENTS CHAPTER MEETINGS August 4 Wilderness Trace Chapter Meeting 7-8:30 p.m. at Inter-County Energy Community Room 1009 Hustonville Road, Danville Info: BethBissmeyer@kftc.org or call 859-314-2044 August 4 Harlan, Letcher and Perry County multi-chapter potluck 4 p.m. Lilley Cornett Woods. There will be an optional guided tour of the old growth forest at 4 p.m. Then we’ll start our potluck and meeting at 6 p.m. Main dishes and drinks will be provided so bring a dish to share and we’ll see you there! Everyone is welcome!

NOTE: This potluck will take place instead of the monthly chapter meeting.

Info: Tanya@kftc.org, Jessie@kftc.org, 606-632-0051, or 606-263-4982.

August 7 Scott County Chapter Meeting 7 p.m. at the Georgetown Public Library, 520 Hollyhock Lane Georgetown Info: Joe@kftc.org or call 859-380-6103 August 11 Jefferson County Chapter Meeting 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street in Louisville Info: Alicia@kftc.org or call 502-589-3188 August 11 Big Sandy Chapter Meeting

7-8:30 p.m. at the Jenny Wiley Lodge, 75 Theatre Court, Prestonsburg Info: Jessie@kftc.org or call 606-263-4982 August 19 Northern Kentucky Chapter Meeting 7 p.m., Roebling Point Books and Coffee, 306 Greenup Street, Covington Info: Joe@kftc.org or call 859-380-6103 August 21 Rowan County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m., St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 5th St., Morehead Info: Sara@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051 August 21 Central Kentucky Chapter Meeting 7 p.m. at the Northside Branch of Lexington Public Library, 1733 Russell Cave Road, Lexington Info: BethHoward@kftc.org or call 859-276-0563 August 21 Shelby County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m., Stratton Community Center, 215 W Washington Street, Shelbyville Info: Carissa@kftc.org or call 502-208-1696 August 25 Madison County Chapter Meeting 6:30 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian Center, 205 N. Main St., Berea Info: BethBissmeyer@kftc.org or call 859-314-2044

EVENTS

KFTC Merch Store: kftc.org/store

Totes, Shirts, Hats, Hoodies, and More!

September 12-14 ABF 2.0 Reconnect In April 2013 more than 250 people gathered in Harlan County to shape a conversation about the opportunities and challenges we face. To continue the conversation, this weekend event will begin Friday night with a celebration of community leaders in Lynch who have worked to protect the many assets we have. Saturday morning we’ll gather at the historic Benham Theater to kick off both Food & Energy and Arts & Culture tours across Pine Mountain to visit with and learn from the entrepreneurs, artists, organizers and communities beginning

to build our bright future. That evening we’ll break bread together at a Civil War homestead in the beautiful community of Carcassonne before attending the longest running square dance in the state (maybe even the country!) in a nearby one-room school turned community center. There will be lots of worship and hiking options on Sunday morning, before we part ways.

The meals, music, art and community solutions are not to be missed as we go ‘Back to the Bright Future’ together this September 1214 in Letcher and Harlan Counties.

Register today! www.kftc.org/abf