Why every voter in NKy should vote for Governor Fletcher

If you live in Northern Kentucky, or anywhere near it, forget the gambling issue, forget the Kentucky Central Ethics issue, forget the mountain out of a molehill merit baloney, Governor Fletcher should get your vote for one simple reason, he has earned it.

Not since Louie Nunn championed Northern Kentucky University has another governor done so much for our region as Governor Fletcher.

From roads, to University improvements, to working with our legislative caucus and supporting their projects, Governor Fletcher deserves the vote of every Northern Kentuckian republican, democrat and independent alike.

Many of Northern Kentucky's residents probably do not know that semi-serious talk loomed around these parts in the sixties and seventies that Northern Kentucky should withdraw from the Commonwealth and become a state of its own, like West Virginia. And when those talks came up, not surprisingly most of the rest of the people in the Commonwealth really didn't have too much of a problem with that. You see, they saw us then as very different from themselves.

"Sin city" (Newport) was out of step with the rest of Kentucky. Our region was known for gambling, prostitution, bars and an abundant catholic population. Our news and culture were tied closely with Cincinnati, seen by many Kentuckians as a "Northern" big city. We just didn't fit in with how most Kentuckians saw themselves.

Kentucky was predominately a dry, bible belt state with a southern rural culture. Northern Kentucky was treated, as they used to say, "like a red-headed step child".

Lexington was a small Midwestern town divided by class between the old money and everybody else. Louisville saw itself then, as it does now, as "the real" capitol of Kentucky where all of the money, power and culture is located. Producing about 20% of all votes statewide, Jefferson County saw no threat from any Northern Kentucky county in competition for attention from Frankfort.

But then Northern Kentucky got its act together and began thinking "regionally" rather than county by county. United by needs and gaining clout by banding together in Frankfort we felt that our voices needed to be heard. But they weren't. We were courted for our votes, we were taxed to fund projects elsewhere but we were ignored time and time again by governor after governor. It was no wonder then that semi-serious talk about becoming a separate state was bantered about.

But Governor Fletcher has not ignored us. He has been here, helped here and lifted us up to become an incredibly important part of the Kentucky economic engine like no governor before.

So given the choice between a governor who treats us like a favorite son and a Louisville lawyer who only swoops through for a snatch and grab fundraiser or two, the choice should be clear.

Signs should go up all around Northern Kentucky as a warning to his would be detractors:

"THIS IS FLETCHER COUNTRY, TRAVEL AT YOUR OWN RISK"

PLEASE NOTE: The opinions expressed in this post represent those of the writer ONLY. - EDITOR.