Now, as you just saw, a new face is joining Kentucky House or Kentucky Democrats in the state House.

Gary Clemons won a special election in December to represent parts of South Louisville as its state senator.

Clemons is a local union president who says he's ready to represent working class people in Frankfort.

Our June Lefler has a profile of the only freshman member of the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly that graduated high school.

College wasn't for me.

I joined the Army, you know, the reserves.

I did a little bit of G.I.

Bill.

It just wasn't for me.

I want to go to work, and I've done it my whole life.

Clemons has proudly worked at a factory producing tires and other goods, and in 1996, I started a synthetic rubber company in rubber town.

30 years ago this year.

What's sounds crazy now has been 30 years thought of getting them more involved in union.

I was a steward for nine years, and then some of the older people came to me as like, it's time to move up the ladder.

Clemons is now the longest serving union president at his plant.

They joined the union on September 11th, 1954, so it's been around a long, long time.

He also serves as the local president, representing 700 workers at other companies, including the one that makes the Louisville Slugger.

So from bourbon, copper, chemical, aluminum, you name it, we have it.

No steel.

Zero steel.

As a steel worker, Clemons is ready to fight for the people of his district like he has for his workers.

They want to.

They want to go to work.

They want to work safe.

They want a decent wage.

And they want to be able to retire with dignity and have health insurance.

And that has everybody in my district wants the same thing because my district is working people.

And as well.

That's why I'm glad of the union working class person to be able to be the voice for them in Frankfort.

Clemmons brings negotiating experience to Frankfort.

He sat across from corporate lawyers to demand worker benefits.

Companies don't give you anything.

They want to act like they do, but they don't.

We bargain on those issues.

He's done so even in dire times.

He's seen industries move out and union participation slow.

He became president just as right to work took effect in Kentucky, which allowed workers to opt out of paying union dues.

The company went out for real hard.

At that time.

They thought that's when they were going to divide us and they did not.

I'm still proud to say, here we are, almost ten years later, and I'm still 100% in my plan.

Not one person has ever opted out.

Clemens is joining the minority party in Frankfort.

He says he's used to being the underdog.

I'm outnumbered every time I go into negotiations.

You know, I sit down and I negotiate with multimillion multi-billion dollar corporations.

We're outnumbered when we go to the table.

But somewhere like me, that I have to make sure when I go to the bargaining table and I'm negotiating the contract, I understand that the company has to be profitable.

The companies have to be successful because, well, if a company man says, well, there is no union, there is no members, there is no employees.

So that's where I'm hoping to be somebody different that I can actually work across the aisle.

I've already talked to a couple of people on the side, and there is some issues that I think we can work together on that you will support the Constitution.

Like his campaign slogan said from the shop floor to the Senate floor.

Clements was sworn in today to serve a four year term as a freshman Kentucky state senator.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Jim Leffler.

Thank you so much.

June Clements replaces Democrat David Yates, who stepped down last year to become the county clerk in Jefferson County.