Column by Taylor Shelton

On Monday, a particularly disturbing and ill-informed letter to the editor ran in the Kernel. Bill Marshall, a UK graduate, voiced his grievances with 75th Legislative District candidate Rev. Kelly Flood. Marshall complained that Flood would turn Lexington into San Francisco.

For any number of reasons, I’m not sure Marshall has been paying attention. Does he not remember 1950s music icon Pat Boone making automated phone calls on behalf of Ernie Fletcher last year to remind everyone that Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo were closeted gays trying to take over our state?

First of all, that strategy didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. Second of all, Beshear and Mongiardo have done little to turn Kentucky into any sort of leftist utopia, so just because you think it so doesn’t make it so. Thirdly, what is so wrong with equality? Perhaps Marshall should have reevaluated his attack on Flood. But it may have been hard for him to consider all of those factors, given it is he who is out of touch with our community.

Of the many values that I hold dear, I hold self-governance the closest. I believe that when we are allowed to, as individuals or cohesive groups, make decisions for ourselves, we are all the better for it. Marshall, however, seems to limit his political philosophy to wanting lower taxes and keeping gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens from attaining equal rights.

But more so than our evident difference of opinion on those issues, Marshall tears at the fabric of my own beliefs by declaring that he knows best for our community. I’m not sure if Marshall even lives in the 75th Legislative District, but that isn’t so important. Regardless of where he may reside, it is evident that he knows little about the Lexington community and its values.

Even for a Louisville native who was once caught in the supposed cultural superiority of the River City, I’ve come to call Lexington home. I believe that the Lexington community is, for the most part, one that reflects my own personal values. The community that I belong to is one far different than the one Marshall belongs to, because no one who has immersed themselves in this town would hold the opinions that Marshall so proudly proclaimed in his letter. While Marshall is certainly entitled to his own opinions, they serve as the antithesis of the values of our community.

Our community is many things: the economic engine for Lexington, Fayette County and all of central Kentucky; home to two of the state’s top universities; the cultural center of the region which fights for the recognition of cultural treasures; and a community which values all people, regardless of their age, gender, race, sexual orientation or economic class. Those are things that I am surely proud of, and things that anyone in our community should be proud of.

Our state legislative district has long been represented by individuals who share these values. Circuit Court Judge Ernesto Scorsone and State Senate candidate Kathy Stein have represented the 75th district since 1984 with the same respect for all people that we should expect from elected officials in our community.

Flood will most certainly follow in those footsteps by representing the 75th district and the community that we all hold so dearly. Marshall may be a decent human being, but he certainly doesn’t represent my values, and he certainly doesn’t represent the values of this community, which would be happy to be represented by Flood after November’s election.