Dear Friends and Supporters,
The ides of March have rolled in as the Kentucky Legislature rolls out of Frankfort accomplishing little to nothing. November 2011 cannot come too soon enough. Now’s the time for real change.
We’d like to extend a special thank you to Rex Fredrick and Joe’s 4th Street Deli for hosting a wonderful fundraiser. Big thanks to Solidago for providing musical entertainment.
We continue to collect signatures for our Petition to be placed on this November’s Ballot; we need to collect 5,000 signatures by August. You can go directly to our website and download a printable copy. Be sure to return forms to P.O. Box 1438,Lexington, KY 40588 http://www.gatewood.com/site/?Now%27s_the_Time... <http://www.gatewood.com/site/?Now%27s_the_Time...> . (Click on the link below the video). Thank you to all those who have returned your petitions.
Please direct your friends and family to sign up at our website http://www.gatewood.com <http://www.gatewood.com> so they can receive these updates too.
And for those Facebook fans please join our group page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=96154786018 <http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=96154786018> or find Gatewood or Dea and send them a friend request.
As a special favor to the campaign be sure to post our Facebook group page and campaign website on your Profile Pages. The more the merrier.
Be sure to sign up here http://www.gatewood.com/site/?Campaign_Items <http://www.gatewood.com/site/?Campaign_Items> to receive bumper stickers, brochures and even a T-shirt if you submit a completed petition form.
Thank you for your continued support – We hear you. Now’s the Time...
Gatewood Galbraith
Dea Riley
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Gatewood & Riley 2011 – Official Campaign Statement on Mountain Top Removal
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As we’ve traveled the beautiful Commonwealth of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky resounds in our conscious. The ever so talented, warm and brilliant people residing there have graciously received us. They have expressed their support for Independent leaders who can and will affect change; ones who will put an end to corruption purchased through campaign contributions and put forth their knowledgeable agenda. Eastern Kentucky is like no other place in the world; filled with a wealth of culture, music and history equaled only by breath taking vistas and vast natural resources. While literally billions of dollars of coal and other resources have been hauled out of Appalachia and sold to world markets, Eastern KY has remained ranked economically distressed since the onset of US economic rankings and growing worse. Eastern Kentucky is the Saudi Arabia of North America, yet unemployment is at an all time high. Eastern Kentucky is not only the poorest region in Kentucky, but also the poorest of the Appalachian regions making it the most impoverished area in all of North America. We recognize the disparity of these truths and clearly see the toll that fact has taken on the populous in whole.
It is from these facts, our enduring bond with the Eastern Kentucky people and our hope to preserve their way of life, without disturbance for all perpetuity, we feel it necessary to make clear our position on Mountain Top Removal.
Simply, we stand on the side of the Mountains.
This is not a condemnation of the Coal Industry and certainly not the gallant men and women working in the coal mines, but rather directed specifically to the practice of MTR. Any industry that causes this great a socioeconomic impact onto a specific region warrants stringent scrutiny on behalf of leadership as to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the people we are charged to serve. We enjoy the endorsement of the United Mine Workers of America and wish to express our commitment to their good work on behalf of our nation’s Coal Miners. We acknowledge the importance of Coal as an energy source, but we equally recognize the disproportionate value between minerals extracted via MTR and the lack of returned regional investment. Specifically, the practice of Mountain Top Removal has reduced valuable coal jobs, caused unsurpassed environmental damage and continues to stifle overall economic development efforts. MTR jeopardizes potential growth in the areas of tourism, recreation, health and wellness and resort development by deforming the natural aesthetic beauty that Kentucky is dependent on for future economic success. Worst of all, MTR has affected the health of the residents, made difficult their ability to live carefree lives, free of pollutants and disruption and has caused great expense to the taxpayers of Kentucky as they address the resulting environmental, social, health and economic woes – the overall expense to the public is so great it is an insurmountable task to appraise an accurate calculation. Yet, Kentucky taxpayers continue to subsidize an industry that spends tens of millions on public relations campaigns, sponsorship monies to name building and pay for concerts/rallies rather than investing into the economy or infrastructure of the very region MTR has abused.
We support expanded energy development including but not limited to bio, solar, wind, hydro and gas as we move deliberately forward towards renewable energy sources. Under our administration, Eastern Kentucky will become an integral part of the transition to clean energy. Kentucky has the opportunity to become a national role model in the area of energy development, sustainable living, health and wellness, recreation, non-motorized trail development, tourism and energy independence. During our administration we intend to plant the seeds that will grow towards a bright healthy future for our children. We hope to extend to those children the same view atop the Mountain we now enjoy free of vile alteration or faux reclamation.
We cannot undo the injustice and travesties of the past, but we can promise our dedication to a new future – an equitably balanced future that includes recognition and respect long overdue Kentucky’s pioneering people, their land, water and culture.
"Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do." — Wendell Berry
Gatewood Galbraith – Candidate for Governor - 859-433-3567
Dea Riley – Candidate for Lt. Governor - 502-395-3159
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In the News
Associated Press - FRANKFORT, Ky.: Galbraith comes out against mountaintop removalhttp://www.kentucky.com/2011/02/24/1647618/galbraith-comes-out-against-mountaintop.html#more
Kentucky Gubernatorial Forum Fri Jan 21 2011 <http://www.livestream.com/cjnews/video?clipId=pla_363aa038-960f-4b90-a979-cc9cb33b3d8d>
www.livestream.com <http://www.livestream.com>
The Fix - Three states (maybe four) to elect governors in 2011 <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/governors/three-states-maybe-four-to-ele.html> ___________________________________________________
Announcement
Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley are pleased to welcome Ralph Long to the Gatewood & Riley 2011 campaign. Mr. Long a retired employee of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and political blogger will be the campaign manager for Gatewood & Riley 2011.
Ralph Long was the Chief Information Officer and Principal Assistant to Kentucky Auditor Ed Hatchett. He has worked in a number of state and local campaigns and was himself a candidate for the Kentucky State House of Representatives.
His organizational skills along with his experience in state government and Kentucky make him a welcome addition to our team.
Mr. Long can be contacted at (859)797-3008 or Ralph@RalphLong.com
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| Dea Riley is who I want to be when I grow up! |
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