After years in the classroom and a lifelong interest in politics, Katy Cecil has decided it’s time to dip her toe in the political arena.
The Hodgenville resident and LaRue County High School teacher recently announced her candidacy to run as a Democrat for state representative of the 24th District, which serves LaRue, Green and Marion counties.
Cecil said she decided to run for the seat, currently held by Rep. Brandon Reed of Hodgenville, because she cares for people and thought they deserved better.
“I’ve always been aware of political issues,” Cecil said. “I follow politics. I take politics very seriously. I take government very seriously. Much like teaching, it is something that requires lots of thought and compassion and caring for your fellow man. I think we need more legislators that have that attitude.”
As a teacher, some of her platform is focused on education and teachers.
“It’s just so frustrating to many of us that we don’t have a voice in the government,” she said. “They don’t seem to have a concern for the struggles some of us face. We’ve been villainized.”
Cecil, 52, who held other jobs before finishing her degree in 2000 to become a teacher, said she found a real passion in the career and wants legislators who will fight for teachers’ rights, which she believes hasn’t been the case in recent years.
“I don’t like being lied to,” she said. “That has happened to me more times than I care to admit under some of our current (legislative) leadership.”
Referring to what has been called the “sewer bill,” where legislators attached an amendment to Senate Bill 151 in the closing days of the 2018 session, Cecil called the middle of the night passage “an incredible slap in our faces.” The bill originally dealt with sewer system regulations, but the amendment proposed changes to the Kentucky Teacher Retirement System.
“We had been made promises that those things were not going to be voted on or for,” she said. “Then it happened and it was appalling.”
Cecil also cited concern with the recent special session and the votes on mask mandates for schools and other pandemic-related education legislation.
“They were asked to come to Frankfort for a very specific purpose and they came there with their own agenda,” she said. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic and you want to make it harder for us to do our jobs and you want to make it easier for us to get sick. … It’s disheartening.”
Cecil insists she is not a one-issue candidate.
“I have very passionate views about many things,” she said. “This is what I would say about myself, I care about all people. I think all people deserve to have a government that works for them to help make their lives better, to help remove barriers, and to lift people up.
She believes many issues of interest to a majority of Kentuckians, including the legalization of marijuana and expanded casino gambling, aren’t seeing the floor because of political special interests.
“There are lots of things that our legislature is trying to do that is not best for the people in our state and I want to do things to help people,” she said.
Politicians should address the problems that could help people, such as the failure of the unemployment system and raising the minimum wage, Cecil said.
“Those are things that would have an immediate impact on the lives of our citizens, and we’re not doing it,” she said. “We’re not even talking about it.”
Cecil, who has lived in Hodgenville for a majority of her life, is married with two daughters.
“I just want to work for the people,” she said. “I think the biggest message is I care and I really do. Anyone that knows me knows that is 100% sincere and I care about everyone, even the ones that disagree with me. I want to make all their lives better.”
Gina Clear can be reached at 270-505-1418 or gclear@thenewsenterprise.com.
