Gov. Matt Bevin refuted statements in a new TV ad being run by his Democratic opponent Attorney General Andy Beshear during a campaign press conference.
In the television commercial that began running on Monday, Beshear says budget cuts Bevin supported could devastate rural schools, saying millions of dollars in transportation and insurance costs as well as textbooks would be taken away as part of ongoing attacks on public education.
At the Governor’s Mansion, Bevin responded by saying, “There has never in history been any administration that has fully funded the pensions until this one. I’m the only governor to ever put forth a budget in which we even meet the bare minimum ARC, let alone more than the Actuarially Required Contribution.”
He said that also applied to Kentucky Lottery proceeds earmarked for education.
“We’ve had a lottery in this state for 30 years. It was passed because the people of Kentucky were told it was for the funding of education,” Bevin said. “That has never happened in its entirety until this administration. Every single administration before this one, including the previous one that took somewhere around $80 million out of that and spent it on other things. This is the first administration that put 100 percent of the lottery funds into education.”
Bevin touted his accomplishments as well, involving SEEK funding, “which is the funding of education in the K-12 classroom, is higher than it has ever been in the history of Kentucky. Not just in absolute dollars, but in per pupil spending. Higher per pupil than ever in history. Higher than under the previous governor, higher than any governor before that.”
Bevin said the timing of his press conference was appropriate, “Given that the lies and distortion has ratcheted up. It’s being done as a distraction from the corruption, the rampant corruption that has existed for a long time in the Beshear family specifically, but frankly, in some of those they surround themselves with.”
“This family is corrupt, they’re crooked and corrupt,” he said. “Go back and look at the amount of collusion that existed between the Economic Development Cabinet under the previous governor and his son as a private attorney. Look at how many times people who wanted to do business with the state were told they needed to hire Andy Beshear to be his lawyer.”
The Beshear/Coleman Campaign Manager Eric Hyers responded to Bevin’s statements.
“Matt Bevin can’t run and hide from the disastrous record of bullying teachers, tearing down public education and trying to illegally cut pensions,” said Hyers. “Instead of holding wild and unhinged press conferences, this governor should explain why he spent last month insulting, investigating and threatening to fire teachers.”
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
