>> We thought after he survived 2020, it was all going to be sunny outside and in the problems.

But unfortunately, it's actually been a harder year.

>> Secretary of state Michael Adams on why it's proving tough to be a county clerk.

>> It was a difficult time because no matter what decision you made, you're going to get banged.

Is the mayor.

>> Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer talks about the ups and downs of his time as mayor as the city prepares to elect new leadership.

Plus, an expert says vaping is getting more dangerous production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Wednesday, October, the 19th, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for spending some of your Wednesday night with us.

>> The 2022 general election is less than 3 weeks away.

Kentucky secretary of state says his office is ready despite numerous setbacks.

Secretary Michael Adams says threats and baseless allegations of voter fraud have driven many election officials to quit.

>> In 2020, which was a hellacious you here for the election community.

For me, the state Board of elections, the county clerks as brutal as a year.

That was when we lost to county clerks.

It said I just can't do this anymore and basically walked off the job.

This year.

We've lost 9 and then this account, the ones that didn't run for re-election this year, it's up to about 23.

If you count all of them, I'm just in the ones that walked off.

The job is 9, 9 in 2022, we thought after we survived 2020, it was all going to be sunny outside and and the problems.

But unfortunately, it's actually been a harder year, certainly on the morale of our clerk's compared to 2020, which is unfortunate.

>> Right.

And May's County clerks, of course, they're overseeing elections if they actually might be on the ballot.

So is there any concern about malfeasance on their part?

Is that a part of what's fueling some of the conspiracy theories?

>> No, nothing is based on any sort of ethical allegation or anything of that nature and all the people that have brought lawsuits against us or made allegations against us or not.

People that ran for Clark are supporters of the candidate for Clark who lost this really been none of that.

This is largely directed from outside our state, the so-called Pillow Guy is been a big part of this.

He's got a website with wording that people can borrow to send missives to our offices.

He did a video and called for his minions to quote The Bard us and unfortunately they have.

And that's been a big factor in the poor morale of our clerk.

So I don't remember his name actually, but I can see his face, the pillow guy.

This is my pillow.

Mike Lindell, Mike Lindell, correct?

So and he is a Trump supporter.

>> And so talk to us about little bit the kind of attacks that he's been lobbying.

>> Well, he's got a partner in a state legislator They work pretty closely and basically what he does is he makes sort of reckless allegations with no basis, in fact, and and directs people who are watching as his U 2 program to to act on those staying we've got a lot of requests that just are total job rich.

They don't make any sense at all and will call the Kasich will say what are you asking for those that I don't know.

But Mike Lindell told me to send you this.

In another instance, we have a legislator who's made requests of all 120 of the clerks and timed it right for when they were preparing for the general election.

And they've spent weeks producing voluminous records for her and she hasn't even picked him up.

So it looks like the intent is to disrupt our process.

Not actually look for anything.

>> I know there's an county race that involves the current House speaker and that was a contested by that challenger.

So tell us where that stands.

>> So we were sued 6 times by people that are in for various offices in the primaries.

Congress statehouse, states, Senate demanding recounts 5 of the 6 people lost by very wide margins.

2030, 40, even 60 points.

Some of those we were able to get dismissed.

Some of those were not able to get dismissed.

And we want to head into the recounts.

So we've done to so far one in northern Kentucky, one in central Kentucky and both times the recount proved it that the machines worked correctly that they accurately counted the votes.

>> You can see my full interview with Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams on connections Sunday at noon Eastern 11:00AM central right here on KET.

Now, don't forget October 25th is the deadline to request an absentee ballot from the online portal in-person absentee voting runs from October.

26 of the 28.

Then again, October 31st through November.

Second, it early voting is November 3rd through the 5th.

You can vote early on those dates for any reason.

Election day, of course, is November 8 with polls open from 06:00AM to 06:00PM.

Monday.

The Louisville chapter of the NAACP came out against amendments.

One and 2.

Both will be on the Kentucky ballot November 8 amendment one allows the Senate president and speaker of the House to call the Kentucky General Assembly and a special session right now.

I'm with the governor.

Has that power in its resolution?

The NAACP called the amendment, quote, a power grab by a party with a super majority whose actions and track records have not always reflected the sentiments of the majority of Kentucky hands.

Amendment to add language to the state constitution saying there is no right to abortion on that.

The NAACP says it quote, works daily for equal justice under the law and sees this quote as a step in the further erosion of basic civil rights.

The NAACP also says it's worried about what might come next, including the return of, quote, separate but equal laws similar to what existed during the era of school.

Segregation.

State legislators could allow local governments to change the way they tax you.

Today, legislators discussed a proposal to amend the state's constitution and allow counties and towns to find different ways to collect taxes.

Our Casey Parker Bell was there and how has more on how it would work?

>> Our focus has been and continues to be transitioning away from our current system of over-reliance on income base taxes and replacing them with a consumption by stacks to better align our tax code with peer states that we compete against.

But in order for local governments to diversify income based tax system.

>> Voters will have to approve a constitutional amendment.

The proposed constitutional amendment passed the state House last year as House Bill.

4.75. with overwhelming support.

But it didn't get a vote by the Senate.

Oakland Representative Michael Meredith explained how things could change if the amendment was approved by voters.

>> The the amendment itself just removes the obstacle of other types.

And let me be very clear when I say this other types of taxes beyond the current and broadens the types of taxation that could be available to consumption or other types of taxes.

Meredith propose pairing the constitutional amendment with another measure that would prohibit local governments from establishing new taxes.

>> Before the Legislature approves them last year.

That was House Bill 4.76.

And it would leave control of what types of Texas local governments can levy to the General Assembly.

Both the representative Jason, the miss, says he supports the bill but ask questions about whether it would raise taxes for individuals.

How are we going to make sure that we don't just allow add-ons to taxes?

None of us want that.

>> Our goal here is to grow the pie.

To be more competitive so that all of our communities, cities and counties can compete.

To be more economically driven in their decisions that they make.

Now, I will tell you this will not be all that easy when we get to a statutory framework, Meredith says it would take years before a new framework is created change how local governments tax.

>> But that left a Louisville Democrat, Josi Raymond questioning whether local governments will be left with additional money after the adjustments.

>> The city wouldn't.

Necessarily be restricted in.

Raising additional revenue.

Or would they be because they would they would use.

>> The local option flexibility.

>> 2 makeup, something they lost from the state.

The con, the concept that we have that in some way, we would have to move to be less reliant.

On the occupational tax.

So you would have to you have to pay.

You have to use an offset in some regards for Kentucky edition.

I'm Casey Parker Bell.

>> Thank you, Casey.

Lawmakers in both chambers have to OK a constitutional amendment by a 3 fifths vote.

Then it moves on to voters to ratify constitutional amendments, going only appear on ballots in even numbered.

Years of voters wouldn't be able to vote on this until 2024.

Money is headed to Kentucky.

3 ways more than 10 million dollars is headed to 11 Kentucky projects from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

24 million dollars is headed to the region from the abandoned mine land, economic revitalize revitalization program that will fund a variety of projects that will mean 200 jobs and training from 300 more people and the federal government will give grants worth 480 million dollars to ascend elements.

A maker of electric vehicle batteries coming to Christian County.

As a truck that drives itself safer than a truck with a person at the wheel.

The autonomous Vehicle Industry Association says yes, some of its representatives spoke to the interim Joint Committee on Transportation and Frankfort this week, advocates for self-driving vehicles want Kentucky to make it easier for driverless delivery vehicles to operate here.

In 2021, the >> U.S. Department of Transportation.

Said that 43,000 nearly 43,000 fatalities occurred on U.S. roads.

This was I believe, an 11% increase from 2020 and a 16 year high.

I think we've become accustomed to these numbers and forgotten that it doesn't have to be this way.

In contrast, EVs.

Have a human vehicle and them and they do not drive down because they don't text while driving and they don't fall asleep at the wheel.

These are all major contributors to crashes on our roads today.

As you can see a majority of states really do express Lee authorize the ability of 80's to deploy without a human driver on A more limited number of states.

Author has the ability to test.

And then as you can see, Kentucky is silent on the operation but given its and Khalid, I do think there's a big opportunity for Kentuckyian 80's in the state to bridge geographic gaps.

Deadly crashes are up in Kentucky.

The Office of Highway Safety Reports 806 vehicle related deaths in 2021.

>> Up 10% from 2019.

An educator speaking before lawmakers on anti-vaping efforts in schools said student vaping has become more dangerous and more difficult to detect Brian Melton, an instructor with the Pendleton County School District.

Tell the interim Joint Committee on education that teachers and staff are struggling to detect vaping in schools because devices are being designed to look like everyday items like USB drives, cell phone cases, even hoodies strings.

He said detecting and stopping vaping in schools is taking on a new urgency because of an alarming trend.

Students getting a hold of vaping devices laced with drugs like fentanyl or heroin.

>> These kids are getting these devices from friends and acquaintances, people they think they can trust and they don't know what is actually in dagger to the actual device.

We had a student, a student of mine use the device, fell violently ill. Come find out.

It was a THC device.

Is heavily laced with THC.

I have pretty good experience with this.

But this technology is changing so fast.

I remember having conferences with parents and the like it's just.

Vapor.

No, it's not.

And that was a predominant response from parents.

There's there's a big education piece that would need to go in lockstep with weny any type increasing consequence, which I support.

I know the school district I work for has been struggling with this.

I'm a big believer in local control, but I think at this point in order to get a handle on this, we do need to be a little bit more intentional from a statewide level and kind of start kind of ratchet up the consequences.

>> Melton said Kentucky schools need a uniform policy on vaping and drug-laced vaping products and punishment for violators.

He also told lawmakers there needs to be more focus on educating students and parents about the dangers of vaping.

Tomorrow, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton will deliver his final state of the Judiciary address before the General Assembly's Joint Judiciary Committee.

Justice Mitting is not seeking reelection and will leave the bench on January.

First 2023, a man has been chief justice for 14 years.

He is the second longest serving chief justice since the creation of the modern court system.

In 1975. you can see justice mitting speech on KET Legislative Channel at KET Dot Org.

♪ Time now for our routine Wednesday jacket and with public radio journalist Alan Barton, who's the managing editor of Kentucky, Public Radio and Ohio Valley Resource.

Good to see your island.

>> It's E t Renee.

>> So a couple things we want to talk about.

The amendments on the ballot this November, worried it seems like we're hearing more about constitutional amendment number one over legislative sessions but constitutional amendment number 2 on abortions.

That's really got a lot of playing a lot of interest.

>> Yeah, a lot of interest.

A lot of money involved in So we've been kind of get fundraising updates over the last few the the folks opposed to this amendment.

So this would be on abortion rights advocates.

I have just the anti-abortion advocates hand over fist in raised a little over 3 million dollars at this point that we just got like an another quarterly update of this.

But there's and door knocking happening on both sides of this.

This, of course, happens after you know, after voted down a similar amendments or proposal over the so into or abortion rights activists are hoping for similar results.

Here is big differences that this proposed amendment is worded a little more vaguely of but we will wait and see on November 8.

>> What kind of ads are we seeing on television radio elsewhere about this issue?

>> Yeah.

So there's one ad from of anti-abortion groups encouraging voters to to support the it included some of, you know, kind of questionable phraseology and saying that this protects Kentucky from having late term abortions, which is, you know, it it.

That's a a loaded in complicated phrases.

Really abortions.

Don't take very late in pregnancy generally, but also in Kentucky where abortion is already been regulated.

A very of the here leader had some statistics as of poking of the more than 18,000 abortions.

A reported in Kentucky since 2017, only 13 were at or beyond 12, the 22nd week of pregnancy.

And remember, Roe v Wade really codified the right to abortion up to just about the 26 week of pregnancy.

So we're talking about, you know, really the portions that had been allowed in Kentucky of were all almost entirely very abortions.

Rylan, as you know.

>> Constitutional amendment number one is 740 something words long, right?

And it's a long ballot this year with all that on judicial races, county races, school board races, legislative races in congressional federal races that people may just vote.

No, because it's so long ballot or just say there's too many words.

I don't understand what I'm voting for.

I'm voting no or by the time they get a constitutional amendment.

Number 2 on abortion.

They've just given up and and may not vote at all.

>> I've heard the same thing from a lot of political watchers.

I mean that that amendment one, which you gives the legislature more power and allows them to call themselves into session.

It's just comically long but and I've heard from a lot of political watchers saying the same thing that voters are just going to turn out, turned off by how long it is.

And of course, that's a requirement at this released, you know, most legislators and secretary of state think that you have to include the entire proposed language because of the Marsy's Law ruling from a couple years ago which struck down that proposed amendment because the language is too vague.

The voters wouldn't have gotten a good idea of what that the proposal was even saying.

It would do.

Yeah.

>> So we'll have to see how how voters behave and how they respond to those questions.

So also, let's talk Senator Rand Paul and Democratic challenger Charles Booker.

They've they're on the road pretty heavy right now with just less than 3 weeks to go before Election Day.

So tell us about the Activities Inn.

Is it changing the dynamics?

An interest in in this race at all?

>> Now we're finally getting to this point where there there's kind of driving around the state and getting their message out.

So it it is different.

It's like the first time we have these dueling messages happening in, you know, across our, you know, a real wide swath of the state.

I think Booker had a purple.

He's trying to 100 stops over the next 20 days of poll.

Doesn't release exactly where he's going to stop it.

He was in the mountains of eastern Kentucky yesterday.

So now we're that's the rubber hits the road campaigning part of before the election right?

>> Thank you, Robin Barton, we appreciate you will see you next Wednesday.

>> Thanks for 9 ICU.

♪ >> Next month's election will determine the next mayor of the city of Louisville.

Mayor Greg Fischer lead the city for 3 terms but because of term limits, he cannot run for re-election.

He sat down with our contributor Kelsey Starks to take a look back and look at the challenges.

Still ahead.

>> Well, you know, a lot has happened in the city of Louisville over the past 12 years.

Mayor Greg Fischer was elected as 50th mayor of the city back in 2010.

If you think about this, this is before the KFC Yum Center opened its doors before the new downtown in Easton Bridges.

Before we had a professional soccer team before this bourbon boom of tourism.

Mayor Greg Fischer is here with us to talk about all that has happened and what's still to come looking back on that where our city was in 2010 where our city is today in 2022, a lot has changed.

What are some of the biggest changes overall it from your perspective?

>> Well, it makes me smile when I think about it because of all the projects and all the initiatives, all of forward momentum and when you start of this like point, these are big things.

But if you hit him one day at a time, you can get a lot done.

So we've been through a real renaissance.

You've talked about the built environment and save downtown Dixie Highway.

The east end over 23 billion dollars of capital projects.

10 things that people said couldn't be done like the 2 Ohio River, Ohio River Bridges.

All right.

Thanks.

For instance, remaking of the convention center downtown, the Walking Bridge you joked about bourbon that's a big thing.

So we've had a renaissance in our whole hospitality.

>> Tourism sector, we really didn't have a year-round attraction before enough.

People come from all over the world.

And I think we're really just getting started in that.

We've had a renaissance in education, everyone of JCPS high school graduates right now has a tuition-free path to a post-secondary degree or credential.

So no longer can somebody say we can't afford to send our kids to college or to a trade school.

All of that's taken care of with the of all 502, a scholarship program.

So the city is really positioned in a strong way were talked about around the world much differently than what we were 12 years ago as a place that's moving and got a lot of momentum behind it.

So I'm really grateful for all the people have helped contribute to this.

>> all good changes.

We've been through some growing pains as What's been?

Over the over this 10 year?

Your biggest challenge will unquestionably a 2020.

>> The pandemic hit us in March.

And of course, none of us understood the kind of this severity of the impact of that on our country on the world.

And then here's local be handled it very well.

I thought one of the few cities in the country were our minority communities were not disproportionately impacted because we've been working on health equity for such a long time.

Our numbers of vaccinations were much higher than the national average.

Our deaths and infections were also lower.

So we handled that well as a community, but then boom, the protest of Twenty-twenty came along.

Unfortunately, our own Brianna Taylor, a little resident, was tragically killed in a botched police raid which led to protest on the on top of the George Floyd murder up in Minneapolis.

And so our country.

So a protest like we hadn't seen since the 1960's in over 2000 American cities.

So that was a very difficult period for the city.

Mainly you want to start with Brianna and her family right in the tragedy that befell them.

But then how are city responded to that?

Talking about reform and accountability improvement for our police department.

But it was a difficult time because no matter what decision you made, you're going to get banged is the mayor.

I literally would have 2 meetings back to back or somebody would come and say we need to defend the police department.

Next meeting would be you've got to crack down on those protesters.

All right.

You know, too, equally unrealistic and uninformed decisions.

But we came through it as a city stronger.

And I say the only way to honor the pain that that city had and that the families had that were affected is to improve as a city because ironically, one of the leading cities in the country on issues of racial equity.

So we didn't just start in 2020.

So we double down on that since then we're stronger as a city right now.

And that's the only way that we can make sure twenty-twenty never happens here anywhere.

>> That it was a difficult time.

It ended with a no confidence vote from Metro Council on your handling of the situation.

Like you said that you for coming being comply with it from both sides.

>> I'm looking back now.

Is there anything you would have done differently?

Hindsight is 2020.

>> Well, I really don't look that way.

I think what people are looking for somebody to blame things on the council action, for instance, was an example of that.

It's like, what are your ideas to make things better?

We see this in our society right now.

It's easy for people to sit back and be critical and well here mainly on the streets was, you know, Mayor, I don't agree with everything you did, but I don't know what I would have done differently.

We haven't seen anything like this in our country and our city in over 50 years.

So think about that in terms of pent-up emotion.

So, yes, it was difficult, but I'm glad that we had an administration in place that had experience behind it to know how to get through something like that.

>> Since crime has increased really dramatically in our city homicides in that triple digits now for 3 in a row, public safety continues to be a major concern.

What do you think needs to be the solution to the gun violence epidemic.

>> So we're just going to have to do a couple things.

One is when people say why does America have so much gun problem?

Because we're the only country in the world that has all these guns on the street so we can't give up on common sense gun reform, things like assault rifles.

You know, it's it's it.

It is see that someone 18 year-old can buy an assault rifle.

So that's those are mass shootings.

That's one category.

Then you've got the day-to-day homicides that are taking place that typically are fueled by poverty gangs, drugs you work on.

That is one issue.

A second is people just not knowing how to handle just normal beefs that back in the day, folks would have had a fist fight on now because guns are everywhere.

They just pick up a gun and shoot somebody.

So that gets back to the gun reform issue and then one that's not tough, but nearly as much but has more gun-related deaths to it than anything is suicides.

And that's more of a role issue than it is an urban issue.

So all these areas have got to be approached systematically prevention intervention, common sense, gun reform so that we can talk about.

And what I pray is this stops being a partisan issue.

You know, it's like that Second Amendment means their budget bill have a gun.

I guarantee the framers of the Constitution if they came back today and saw that, you could walk down Main Street with an assault rifle.

That's not what they had in mind.

So we've got to come back to the center on this a little bit to get rid of the extremes on both the right and the left and come up with a better solution for our kids and our grandkids that I really worry about.

>> Kelsey, Starks conversation with Mayor Greg Fischer continues tomorrow.

He addresses the Department of Justice's investigation into the LMPD.

And if you use future ambitions and politics watch for part 2 of his interview tomorrow night on Kentucky edition.

♪ >> We think of b***** cancer as a woman's disease.

But men get to tomorrow.

A conversation with a well-known Kentucky man who survived b***** cancer.

>> And we do hope you'll join us tomorrow night for that discussion and many more important issues affecting you on Kentucky edition at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central really inform connect and inspire.

We hope you'll subscribe to our weekly Kentucky Edition, e-mail news letter and watch full episodes at KET Dot Org.

>> You can find Kentucky Edition clips on the PBS video app and on your mobile device and smart TV.

We thank you so very much for watching.

Hope to see you again tomorrow night.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Take really good care.

♪