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WELCOME!
I would like to introduce myself, explain why I have decided to get involved in politics, address the issues that I feel are important to our county, and provide a forum for voters to provide valuable feedback and ideas. As children growing up in Lewis County, neither my wife nor I ever realized how attached to this area we were or how lucky we were to be raised here. Almost as soon as we left Kentucky to pursue our dreams, we began missing the wonderful people, the freedom, and the hills we left behind. We made a vow, that whether we succeeded or failed in our worldly pursuits, we would return to Lewis County to raise our family. Seven years ago we made the jump back to Lewis County, and began farming the land on Montgomery Creek where my wife grew up. We found the people and the land even nicer than we had remembered. For several years, we were happy to stay up our holler; farming, logging, building a house, playing bluegrass, and raising our children. The craziness we left in the city seemed far behind us. But as our federal and state governments wasted more money and eroded our constitutional rights, I realized our local government was catching the same disease. The last straw for me was the local millage tax proposal… I decided to get involved. As an outsider to the political establishment in this county, I have personally spent hundreds of hours on successful efforts to stop two new taxes and to lower two existing taxes. The value of the time I've spent keeping taxes low in this county far exceeds any personal savings that I will ever receive from the lower taxes. But I didn't do it for personal gain; I did it because I thought it was the right thing for our county. Where were the other Republican candidates when our current County Judge Executive was trying to raise and pass these taxes? I have consistently opposed zoning laws and stifling building codes in our county. Well intentioned efforts to enact unnecessary regulations threaten to erode our personal property rights in this county. Simply put, the government does not deserve anymore of our hard earned money, and we don't need the government to tell us what to do with our personal property and our personal lives. What we need are more good paying jobs. I started a company while in college and within 6 years, created over 70 full time jobs where the median yearly salary exceded $60,000. What's more, my company exported goods and software to over twenty countries. I understand how jobs are created, what criteria venture capitalists use when choosing where to invest, what it takes to compete with overseas companies, and what CEOs are looking for when locating a company. I am running for this position, not for the salary, but because I love our community and I feel that I can make a positive contribution. Friends, neighbors, and concerned citizens have urged me to seek this office because they feel that I can provide experience and leadership that our county has been lacking. They are also concerned that the other Republican candidates in this race are all part of the current political establishment. If you're as concerned as I am about the future of our county; If you believe that higher taxes and more regulation will NOT provide a better future; If you want someone with real business experience; If you're tired of candidates who say anything to get elected and then do something else when in office; If you appreciate what I've done at the fiscal court meetings for the past two and a half years; If you want someone who is not seeking this job for the money... then please vote for me. I will not let you down.  |
TAXES
I will never vote for a tax increase. Please ask each of the other candidates if they will take the same pledge not to raise your taxes. You might also ask them if they've ever voted to raise your taxes while they were in office. Be very suspicious if they avoid the questions or fail to look you in the eye. Feel free to ask me about their record if they won't answer you. INTERNET AND CELL PHONE COVERAGE I will promote better broadband internet and cell phone coverage. No matter how many industrial parks and roads we build, until we join the "information age", it will be an uphill battle attracting companies (and empowering startups) in this county. Cell phones are essentially toys here, and yes our county government bears some responsibility for this situation. They extended cell-site licenses indefinitely to phone companies, when in fact, they should have put time limits on the licenses. Now that the phone companies have locked up the sites forever, they have less incentive to complete the towers. We have a similar situation with Windstream and DSL (high speed internet). With a modest investment in infrastructure, they could easily extend internet broadband further into the county, but with no governmental oversight, they're happy to sit on a government granted monopoly and take only the "easy" customers. THE JAIL DILEMMA I will adress the jail budget problem. It is a seldom discussed topic, but like an elephant standing in a room, it can't be ignored much longer. The truth is that our county jail (originally built on the premise of generating profit by housing State inmates) loses a lot of money every single year. What's worse, the extra money to keep the jail solvent (typically over $100,000 per year) is siphoned from the county road fund. Our situation is not unique, as there are other counties in the same situation, but I look forward to working with the new jailer, the state, and the court system to explore ways to stem the flow of red ink at the jail. If we can solve even a part of the jail budget problem, there will be more money available to maintain our county roads. INDUSTRY AND JOBS I will actively recruit more industry and jobs and I will strongly support local businesses. I believe our national economy is at least two years away from a recovery. It could be much longer, if our federal government continues to prop up a failed system and retain the managers and the thinking that got us in this situation. In spite of this, I believe there are opportunities for Lewis County's economy to improve while the rest of the country is mired and churning. As big companies fail, small companies will emerge and grow to fill the market. This turn-over presents an opportunity for us to attract some of the new players to our area. In fact, a small fraction of the managers and founders of these younger companies are already weary of the lifestyle that comes with living in the city. I think if we present it properly, we can attract these talented leaders to our area by using our rural lifestyle as a positive motivator. Ironically, being left behind for so many years has also left Lewis County unspoiled and "green". If elected, I will look for small companies with corporate cultures that are compatible with Lewis County and Lewis Countians. I don't think it is wise to promote Lewis County's "cheap labor" as our number one selling point - with that sales pitch, the best we can hope for is "cheap pay." We must support local businesses and local entrepreneurs as well. According to US census data, Lewis Countians only spend 25% of their money on retail sales within the county. This is one half of the state and national average. What does it mean? Simply put, we leave the county to spend most of our money, because fewer and fewer businesses exist in Lewis County. And it's a viscious cycle. We must try to reverse this trend. This is why I fought so vigorously against the proposed occupational tax last year... it would only have served to push business and consumers out of the county. I can't guarantee that electing me will magically cause jobs to appear in our county, but I will guarantee that I will leave no stone unturned in the search. ZONING AND BUILDING CODES I am opposed to rural zoning and stifling building codes. Zoning laws and building codes are inappropriate for the rural nature of Lewis County. If we were to adopt building codes: no one could legally use "unstamped" local lumber for building, everything from the dimensions of stairs to the coating on windows would be regulated, and permits and fees would be required to build something as simple as a deck or a deer blind. This new level of red tape would require new taxes to support, as well as bureaucrats to administer it. Zoning in rural areas is equally bad for many reasons. What a person does with his or her land is nobody's business, so long as it does not negatively affect other people. Consider the implications of having your property zoned "agricultural," only to then have it taken by the government (under eminent domain clause) to build a road or a government building. The government would only have to pay the "agricultural value" of your property. Also consider that you would not be permitted to run any kind of business not associated with farming. These prohibited businesses would include: day care, personal saw mill, retail sales of anything not grown on your property, farm equipment sales, etc. Those who say that zoning will help create jobs are either misinformed or are trying to misinform. When I lived in New Hampshire, I watched a grocery store, a gas station, and an indoor gun range denied permission to establish businesses in a "mixed use" zone. But the same group of busybodies (the zoning board) that stopped those businesses was ineffective at stopping an adult video store from moving into an area of the community already zoned for "business." So those that would give up their property rights to a zoning board in the hopes of protecting our community, are mistaken as well. FARMING I will strongly support farmers in Lewis County. I left a city life seven years ago to return to Lewis County and live on the farm that my wife grew up on. In the past seven years, I've pulled calves, run fence, cleared ground, ploughed fields, baled hay, and all of the other chores that go along with running a cow-calf operation. I can truly appreciate how hard the work is, and I have nothing but admiration for those who can still make money by farming. Raising healthy food is about the most honest profession I think anyone could undertake. It might also be the worst paying. I like to say that if farming were profitable, Lewis County would be full of decent paying jobs. The reality is that farming fails to provide a living wage for almost all farmers in Lewis County. Many of the variables are beyond our control (e.g. the industrialization of poultry, pork, and dairy production, laws that keep small farmers from selling beef to the supermarket, the importation and consumption of cheap overseas farm products, etc.). But I believe there are still opportunities to improve the profitability of farming in Lewis County. I will support efforts of farmers to market their products directly to consumers, I will support efforts to establish agri-tourism, and I will back efforts to establish farmers' cooperatives or other means for selling produce and meat without jumping through the hurdles that the big companies have placed in the way. ROADS I will maintain our road system in the most efficient manner possible. Favoritism will not play any part in the prioritization of road projects in our county. I will work with the county road supervisor and magistrates to ensure that all road projects will be ranked according to urgency and public need. I will not authorize the county grader to be used on personal property or driveways. I will work with the magistrates, the county road supervisor, and the state to make sure that state funded road projects address our needs. I will take a comprehensive look at all dead-end gravel roads in the county that serve only one property owner, and inquire if that property owner wishes to take back ownership of that portion of the road (driveway). I am not of the opinion that transforming every gravel road in Lewis County to black top is a fiscally responsible goal. GRANTS I will compete aggressively for all state and federal funding (grants) available. I detest the high level deficit spending that our federal government has undertaken recently. However, the decision to spend the money is beyond our immediate control. In the mean time, it is the responsibility of the county government to aggressively pursue all federal and state dollars available in the form of grants or direct funding. Furthermore, because this federal money represents money borrowed from our children, it is our duty to spend this money only on capital projects that will have a long lasting contribution to the county. As the founder and CEO of my previous company, I personally sought out, wrote, received and administered two research grants from the US military. As County Judge Executive, I will make sure that we apply for every useful grant for which our county might be eligible. STATE AND FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS I will attempt to steer state and federal support in our county to the most useful projects. I do not hold the attitude that just because "It's state money" or "It's federal money," that it is valueless, uncontrollable, and inexhaustible. I will work with the originators of these funds (granting agencies, representatives, senators) to make sure they go to useful projects within our county. ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY I will insist on better ethics and transparency in our county government. I will not turn a blind eye to inappropriate behavior (or conflicts of interest) or attempt to sweep it under the rug. Furthermore, all minutes of county meetings will be made available publicly through the internet. |
EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
Started a company from scratch. Created 70 full time high wage jobs. Recruited and relocated talent nationally. Raised private capital from investment bankers and venture capitalists. Negotiated license agreements. Awarded 22 US Patents. Manufactured and exported several million dollars of Made-In-USA product and software annually. Wrote and administered federal grants from the U.S. military. Company was featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Inc. 500, and Fortune magazine.
Served as chairman of the board of a California startup that invented medical endoscopes. Helped raise investment capital and negotiate license agreements. Company was successfully sold to a larger medical devices company.
Preside over the board of the recently founded Center for Appalachian Philanthropy.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Completed the Kentucky Master Cattleman and Master Logger programs. Logged and sawed my ice storm trees after 2003. Built several miles of fence and manage 40 head of Angus x Wagyu cattle on our farm. Built my own house with local materials, powered solely with solar electric panels.
Attended most of the Fiscal court meetings for the past 2 years, as a private citizen serving as a watchdog. Led successful efforts to defeat the millage tax proposal and the occupational tax proposal. Also as a private citizen, worked with the state and local library board to get our library tax rate lowered for the first time in recorded history (while maintaining local library revenue), and I recently stopped a 13% increase in the Extension tax rate (they increased it 4%).
Son of Roger and Gayle Massie of Vanceburg, KY. Grandson of the late Thomas Gayle Denham (proprietor of the locker plant and author of Gayle's Gripes) and Elizabeth (Love) Denham of Vanceburg. Married to Rhonda Howard of Garrison, KY for 16 years. Four children. Grew up in Lewis County. Lived in New England for 12 years, moved back to Lewis County in 2002. Reside on Montgomery Creek.
Appeared on two episodes of The Learning Channel's "Junk Yard Wars", Public Broadcasting System's "Scientific American Frontiers", Australian Broadcasting Channel's "Quantum", and ESPN's coverage of the "Sunrayce, a cross country solar car race."
Hobbies: collecting/shooting class III firearms and learning bluegrass on the banjo.
EDUCATION
Attended public school in Lewis County, K-12. Attended night school at Shawnee State University while in high school. Graduated Valedictorian Lewis County High School 1989. Attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with full scholarships from Eastman Kodak and the U.S. Air Force. National Merit Scholar. Awarded the $30,000 Lemelson award for most inventive student at MIT. Awarded the $10,000 prize for best business plan at MIT. Undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Economics (1993) Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering (1996).
Started a company from scratch. Created 70 full time high wage jobs. Recruited and relocated talent nationally. Raised private capital from investment bankers and venture capitalists. Negotiated license agreements. Awarded 22 US Patents. Manufactured and exported several million dollars of Made-In-USA product and software annually. Wrote and administered federal grants from the U.S. military. Company was featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Inc. 500, and Fortune magazine.
Served as chairman of the board of a California startup that invented medical endoscopes. Helped raise investment capital and negotiate license agreements. Company was successfully sold to a larger medical devices company.
Preside over the board of the recently founded Center for Appalachian Philanthropy.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Completed the Kentucky Master Cattleman and Master Logger programs. Logged and sawed my ice storm trees after 2003. Built several miles of fence and manage 40 head of Angus x Wagyu cattle on our farm. Built my own house with local materials, powered solely with solar electric panels.
Attended most of the Fiscal court meetings for the past 2 years, as a private citizen serving as a watchdog. Led successful efforts to defeat the millage tax proposal and the occupational tax proposal. Also as a private citizen, worked with the state and local library board to get our library tax rate lowered for the first time in recorded history (while maintaining local library revenue), and I recently stopped a 13% increase in the Extension tax rate (they increased it 4%).
Son of Roger and Gayle Massie of Vanceburg, KY. Grandson of the late Thomas Gayle Denham (proprietor of the locker plant and author of Gayle's Gripes) and Elizabeth (Love) Denham of Vanceburg. Married to Rhonda Howard of Garrison, KY for 16 years. Four children. Grew up in Lewis County. Lived in New England for 12 years, moved back to Lewis County in 2002. Reside on Montgomery Creek.
Appeared on two episodes of The Learning Channel's "Junk Yard Wars", Public Broadcasting System's "Scientific American Frontiers", Australian Broadcasting Channel's "Quantum", and ESPN's coverage of the "Sunrayce, a cross country solar car race."
Hobbies: collecting/shooting class III firearms and learning bluegrass on the banjo.
EDUCATION
Attended public school in Lewis County, K-12. Attended night school at Shawnee State University while in high school. Graduated Valedictorian Lewis County High School 1989. Attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with full scholarships from Eastman Kodak and the U.S. Air Force. National Merit Scholar. Awarded the $30,000 Lemelson award for most inventive student at MIT. Awarded the $10,000 prize for best business plan at MIT. Undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Economics (1993) Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering (1996).
Fortune Magazine
Inc. 500 Magazine
BusinessWeek
Articles about the company Rhonda and I started
SensAble Tech., Inc.
The company Rhonda and I started. We sold it all, but it (and the jobs) keep going.
TLC's JunkYard Wars
One of the TV shows I was on just before we moved up the holler a few years ago.
Massiehouse.blogspot.com
The self sufficient home we're building on Montgomery Creek. Solar Powered.
Traditional Roofing Mag.
An article I wrote about building a slate roof
bluegrasswagyu.com
A website for our farm. A different breed of cattle.
Lemelson $30K Inventor
MIT $10K Business Plan
MIT 2.70 Mech.E. Contest
MIT Awards for Inventing, Business, and Engineering
MIT Solar Car Team
A solar car I helped build
Garrison Ballfield Upgrade
Volunteers Organize
www.LewisCountyTalk.com
Coming soon. A discussion forum for Lewis County topics.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Thomas Massie
524 Willis Branch Road
Garrison, KY 41141
606-757-2332
massie@alum.mit.edu
Paid for by Thomas Massie
CONTACT THOMAS