L-40 picnic draws candidate for U.S. Senate

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway visits lodge

ONE OF THE candidates in a key U.S. Senate race in Kentucky was on hand at Local 40 (Elizabethtown) during the lodge’s annual picnic June 12. Democrat Jack Conway, currently the state’s attorney general, visited with members and lodge leaders during a trip across the state.

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L-40 BM-ST Ray Parrott, r., visits with Jack Conway, c., Kentucky attorney general and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, as L-40 Chairman of Trustees William Link looks on. In background is L-40 member Jim Arnett, Conway’s chief of staff.

“Local 40 is throwing its support behind Conway,” says BM-ST Ray Parrott, “because he’s on the side of labor, and he will be a good friend for us in Washington.” The lodge has an especially strong connection with Conway, as one of its members — Jim Arnett — serves as his chief of staff.

Conway is facing off against Rand Paul, the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul from Texas’ 14th district. The younger Paul is often in the news for his controversial remarks. He has stated that the government has no business getting involved in mine safety and dismissed the Gulf oil spill as just “an accident.”

The Conway-Paul matchup is for an open seat now held by Republican Jim Bunning, who is retiring. Bunning himself has recently been in the news for repeatedly blocking efforts to extend unemployment benefits.