Harper Interview: "We are Kentuckians first."

I had the pleasure this afternoon of a conversation with Republican gubernatorial candidate Billy Harper at the start of his "Race for Kentucky" tour. He had just been given a fine send-off by the folks in Paducah at about 11am CST and called me shortly thereafter.

First things first: Western Kentucky needs more cellular phone coverage! If there's one thing to said right off the bat, it's that Billy Harper is a patient man. We were disconnected three times during our 30-minute conversation. Not once after any of those three times did he sound irritated or grumble about it. I like people who can take the good with the bad. For example, "I can talk from anywhere without being anchored by a phone line (good); however, I will likely get disconnected a number of times as my signal changes cell towers (bad)." I truly have the patience of the Irish so it's always nice to have a more patient and calming influence on the other end! ;o)

Billy Harper has a lovely family, an exciting hobby, and a successful career. Why in the world would he want to enter the lion's den that is politics in Kentucky? Naturally, I asked him. His decision was based primarily on his love for this state -- "Kentucky is a beautiful state with fine people" -- and a list of things that need to be done to improve the quality of life here for all Kentuckians. When he saw polling numbers that indicated that Governor Fletcher would be defeated in his re-election bid regardless of his opponent in a general election, that was enough for Mr. Harper to throw his resources, his time, and his energy into a campaign.

So, what does he think of his opponents in the Republican primary? "I know them both [Ernie Fletcher and Anne Northup] and they are fine people." Mr. Harper is not a negative person in the least -- I doubt we'll be seeing any personal attacks coming from his campaign. When asked why he is in a race against such fine people, his answer is simple: "I just happen to think we can do better."

As someone who's met and worked as a volunteer on the campaigns of both Ernie Fletcher and Anne Northup, I agree: they are, indeed, fine people. I'm sure they both want what's best for Kentucky. The question then becomes which person is best equipped with the skills and the leadership to do what's best for Kentucky?

I have been concerned that, as a political neophyte, Billy Harper may be hamstrung by the political wranglings in Frankfort. I asked him how he thought he'd deal with that. After all, there are an awful lot of Kentucky politicians who seem to prefer talking around the issues over getting down to work on them. He had this to say: "There are a lot of good people in Frankfort who simply want to do what's right for this state. Whatever else we may be, we are Kentuckians first."

His intention is to provide real leadership and vision for the political body in Frankfort so that issues important to all Kentuckians can take first priority over political in-fighting. I chuckled. Call me a cynic. I simply believe that Billy Harper is going to have one tough row to hoe on that score. I think he knows that there will always be someone (or a group of someones) in Frankfort waiting for him to slip up so they can throw the first of the six feet of dirt under which his political career would be buried. However, he is onto something with regard to the right type of leadership. With the right vision and the right leadership, it seems entirely possible that political unity could be found long enough to get some hard work done, some work that is meaningful to the people of Kentucky. After all, that's why we elect public servants, isn't it? Wouldn't we all prefer to have the entire ship of state rowing in the same direction for a change?

With regard to "rowing in the same direction," I asked about his driving desire for education reform and how he thought he would work with the teachers' union on that. I imagine that the union will be a huge speedbump on the road to progress in the world of education in Kentucky. I find this to be particularly problematic for Conservatives -- we seem to be the worst nightmare of the union establishment because we believe individual effort and achievement are the best approach to promoting a better way of life for all.

It is my opinion that unions have become more of an obstacle to progress and innovation in this country than a beneficial contributor. It seems to me that individuals who might otherwise rise to the top as contributors, innovators, and models of success suffer under the yoke of the socialistic union structure. The union itself seems to take on its own agenda and, often times, that agenda is opposite that of individuals who are "doers." But, hey, this piece isn't about me, it's about Billy Harper, isn't it?

Mr. Harper surprised me with the simplicity of the solution to working with unions on any type of reform. In retrospect, given his extensive experience working with unions in his own business, I should have expected him to know what it takes to work successfully with them. He believes that, because a union is composed of individuals, those individuals must be onboard with the vision and engaged in the reform effort; they must be invited to the table, asked for practical input, and given a stake in the outcome. While a union, as a single entity with its own agenda, may not agree with one or two steps in a plan, they often agree with the overarching vision of the goal that the members hope to reach.

I thought there might have been a personal story behind his zeal for education; however, the story of how Billy Harper became engaged in education reform is no Hallmark Hall of Fame movie plot. The plain fact is that he ran into a lack of educated workers in the mid-1970s when he started his first business. He was seeing what other businesses outside this state would see when thinking about locating here. He was struggling with a workforce that needed a stronger grounding in the sciences and better communication skills. It was this that sparked his activism in the arena of education reform in Kentucky.

Today, his work with middle schoolers in Western Kentucky has begun to pay off in the form of lower absentee rates. He takes his race team and race car to the middle schools to talk about how kids can make it to the "finish line." He talks about focusing on the future and how education is an important part of that. Today, Harper has a 20-year-old on his race team who was once one of those middle schoolers. Is there any better example of success than that?

There is so much more to write about my conversation with Billy Harper that I will break this into two different posts. Tomorrow night in the last part of this post, I'll cover our conversation on Kentucky's AMT and the role of state government.