A Smart Plan for Growth Starts with Listening
There is no question that McCracken County is entering a period of significant growth. As I have stated before, the biggest question is whether we are prepared for it and more importantly how do we go about getting prepared.
My opponent recently announced a growth planning initiative for McCracken County. I’m glad to see county government finally paying greater attention to an issue I believe should be one of our highest priorities.
But his announcement also highlights an important difference in our approach to leadership.
My leadership style starts with listening, then I do the homework and then I bring people together to build a plan.
In July, I began doing exactly that.
I started by sitting down with citizens from across our community. I didn’t walk into those meetings with a plan and ask them to support it. I asked questions.
What concerns you about the growth coming to McCracken County?
Are our roads ready? What about sewer and water capacity? Do we have enough housing? Can our schools handle additional enrollment? What will growth mean for healthcare, public safety, utilities and childcare?
I wanted to hear their concerns before deciding what the plan should look like.
Then I went to work.
I began meeting directly with the people who operate and manage the systems our community depends on every day; transportation, water, sewer, electricity, healthcare, education and other critical services. My goal has been to understand areas where we are prepared, where the pressure points may be and what we need to start addressing now.
I didn’t start with going to the media. I started with questions.
I strongly believe a plan should be built WITH PEOPLE, not simply presented to them.
There is another part of my opponent’s announcement that concerns me and it should you, the citizens, as well.
Based on the public comments by County Commissioner Bill Bartleman, it appears the members of the Fiscal Court themselves had not been involved in developing the proposal before it was publicly announced.Commissioner Bartleman said in an interview with the Paducah Sun, September 1, 2026:
“At last week’s fiscal court meeting, the judge introduced the idea of forming a growth planning committee. His proposal is forward thinking, and worth serious consideration, but wasn’t discussed in detail. No action has been taken and nothing has been approved by the fiscal court at this time. I am hopeful the judge will schedule a workshop soon so we can discuss his idea in more detail along with other options.”
In my opinion that raises a fair question -
Why weren’t the County Commissioners part of forming the growth planning committee before it was announced to the public?
We need to remember these are independently elected commissioners who represent the people of McCracken County. They bring their own experiences, ideas, and perspectives to the table.
If we are talking about collaboration, shouldn’t that collaboration begin with the people we were elected to serve with us?
Commissioner Bartleman’s statement indicates that the proposal had not been discussed in detail by the Fiscal Court and that no action had been taken or approved at that point. I can only surmise that indicates there has been little planning put into it, or what planning has been done has been conducted without the benefit of the three other elected officials. Each of those officials (the three commissioners plus the Judge Executive) have equal votes.
That’s not how I would approach a challenge this important to the future of this community.
As County Judge/Executive, I don’t want to announce a growth planning committee and then bring people into the room. My approach would be to get the right people around the table and work together on a plan. We’re facing unprecedented growth in McCracken County, but we’re not the first community to go through this. Bowling Green and Owensboro have both experienced significant growth, and there are things we can learn from them. I want to talk to the people who have been through it—find out what worked, what didn’t and what they would do differently. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to learn from others, bring that knowledge back home and develop a plan that makes sense for McCracken County.
As you can see there is a big difference in my approach.
I think you will all agree that government needs a seat at the table but so do the citizens of this community!
My opponent’s proposed working groups include existing government, regulatory and public agencies addressing infrastructure, housing, transportation, workforce, healthcare, public safety, land use and other areas.
Those organizations absolutely need to be involved. Their knowledge and expertise are essential.
But government shouldn’t be the only voice determining what our community needs.
I want citizens at the table.
I want businesses and employers at the table.
I want developers and investors at the table.
I want educators, healthcare providers, utilities, economic development professionals and first responders at the table.
And more than anything, I want our elected County Commissioners as well as elected City Officials at the table.
We need to hear from the people who will invest here, build here, hire here, raise families here and live with the decisions we make.
In my experience as an elected official, you learn from listening - that’s how you truly discover concerns and obstacles that may never show up in a government report.
My leadership philosophy is simple –
Listen. Learn. Build the Team. Build the Plan. Then Lead.
As I’ve said before I’ve spent much of my career building teams and bringing people together to solve problems.
In my 40 + career I learned leadership isn’t about having every answer yourself.
It’s about knowing how to ask the right questions, listening to people who know more about a particular issue than you do, bringing different perspectives together and turning that information into successful action.
That’s the approach I’ve already started taking with McCracken County’s growth.
I’ve been doing my due diligence.
I’ve been listening to citizens.
I’ve been meeting with the people responsible for our infrastructure and essential services.
And you can be sure I’m not finished.
I realize there are more people we need to hear from and more questions we need answered before anyone suggests that we have the complete plan.
I am proud to say that is the difference in my leadership style.
I don’t want to announce a plan I want to build one from the ground up.
I don’t want to present people with a plan. I want them involved in creating it.
I want “Smart Growth”!
And I don’t believe any one elected official, agency or organization has all the answers.
McCracken County’s growth will affect all of us. Preparing for it should involve all of us.
That is collaborative leadership—and that’s how I intend to lead McCracken County.