Wednesday, October 14, 2020 Messenger-Inquirer
2020 ELECTION GUIDE
43
KENTUCKY STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 15TH DISTRICT Candidate profiles have been edited only for spelling, grammar and punctuation, and otherwise appear as submitted.
DATE OF BIRTH Nov. 8, 1976
ADDRESS 907 State Route 2107 Drakesboro, KY 42337 EDUCATION master’s degree in education, Indiana Wesleyan University; bachelor’s degree in learning and behavior disorders, Murray State University OCCUPATION Middle School Special Education Teacher of 18 years POLITICAL PARTY Democrat ELECTED OFFICES HELD None SPOUSE/PARTNER & CHILDREN Married to Shad Chappell, no children
CRYSTAL CHAPPELL What are three issues that would be your top priorities, if you were elected? My top priority is rebuilding our economy by creating good-paying jobs and providing relief for small businesses. I’ll also focus on making health care more affordable, including lowering prescription drug costs. Finally, as a teacher, I’m committed to funding our public schools. Are prefiled bills overseeing or limiting the governor’s emergency powers effectively usurping the governor’s role during states of emergency? What do you think the legislature’s role is during a state of emergency? The Kentucky Constitution grants the governor the right to take executive action in a state of emergency. I don’t support politically motivated attempts to prevent Governor Beshear from doing his job, which is to keep us safe in a pandemic that has killed 200,000 Americans. How would you rate the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic? I support Governor Beshear’s steps to promote public safety. While Kentucky has done a better job than many states in “flattening the curve,” it’s ultimately on all of us to prevent this virus from spreading. What would you do to improve delivery of services to people seeking unemployment assistance in the future? Our current unemployment system must improve its capacity to meet a massive and sudden rise in unemployment. These problems resulted from funding cuts that my opponent supported. When elected, I’ll support legislation to establish more in-person unemployment assistance centers and expand the agency’s capacity to deal with sudden downturns.
MELINDA GIBBONS PRUNTY What are three issues that would be your top priorities, if you were elected? Three top priorities if re-elected would be tightening parental consent laws for minors seeking an abortion; revising payday loan practices to prevent taking advantage of the borrower; and seeking insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of PANDAS/ PANS. Are prefiled bills overseeing or limiting the governor’s emergency powers effectively usurping the governor’s role during states of emergency? What do you think the legislature’s role is during a state of emergency? The prefiled bills would not usurp the governor’s role during states of emergency for the future; they would simply require any governor moving forward to call the legislature in to consult and share decision-making, which I believe is appropriate during a state of emergency within a specified time frame. How would you rate the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Initially, it was handled well and included COVID-19 relief passed by the legislature prior to the end of session. Over time, the state’s response has been exclusively from the executive branch. It has been oppressive for many, particularly small business owners, daycare centers, restaurants, etc. What would you do to improve delivery of services to people seeking unemployment assistance in the future? I would have more live call centers where Kentuckians could speak to a real person to assist in putting their information into the system, and more coordination with the Constituent Service Offices of both the legislative and executive branches.
DATE OF BIRTH Dec. 5, 1957 ADDRESS P.O. Box 411, Greenville, KY 42345 EDUCATION BHS in Physical Therapy, University of Kentucky (1979); MTS from St. Meinrad School of Theology (2010) OCCUPATION Retired POLITICAL PARTY Republican ELECTED OFFICES HELD 15th District State Representative (2017-present) SPOUSE/PARTNER & CHILDREN Spouse Marshall Edward Prunty; children Kaci Erin Prunty, Lindsay Prunty Searcy and Hillary Prunty Martin; eight grandchildren
