I spent my last column detailing all the reasons why you should vote for Steve Beshear for governor. If you have yet to vote and are on the fence about whom to vote for, I strongly encourage you to check out that column on the Kernel Web site (www.50.63.25.108).

Beshear represents the charge we need in Kentucky — better policies on education, health care and ethics. Beshear will lead the move in creating a Kentucky of which we can be proud.

While it is of the utmost importance that Kentucky elects Beshear as our next governor, it is important that we elect Democrats at all the down-ballot positions as well. Bruce Hendrickson, Jack Conway, Todd Hollenbach and Crit Luallen deserve our votes because they also represent the good government that the Democrats are aching to bring to Kentucky.

Hendrickson is running for secretary of state. He currently is a schoolteacher in Pineville and has served on the Pineville City Council and as mayor of Pineville.

Hendrickson is strongly committed to public service, and therefore one of his top priorities as secretary of state is implementing a strong civic education program to high school students across the state. Hendrickson is also the candidate that is the most committed to protecting voting rights.

Finally, Hendrickson is committed to lowering the taxes of Kentucky’s small businesses. As a former small-business owner himself, Hendrickson is very aware of these issues and is ready to make progress on them.

Conway is running for attorney general. He spent six years in Democratic Gov. Paul Patton’s administration working on education, public safety, energy and the environment.

Conway then ran in one of the most-watched congressional races of the 2002 cycle in Louisville against Anne Northup. Despite being heavily outspent, Conway came within a whisker of knocking off Northup, who was a three-term incumbent at the time. The final margin was 52 percent to 48 percent, according to U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk statistics.

Conway is committed to supporting Kentucky’s prosecutors to ensure justice is served, advocating for consumers, vigilantly prosecuting those who prey on seniors and children, and working to stop the illegal drug sale.

Hollenbach is running for state treasurer. He serves on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, which is charged with protecting Kentuckians’ rights regardless of race, gender, age or religion. Hollenbach pledges to ensure that our tax dollars are spent wisely, to increase the efficiency of the treasurer’s office, to work toward revitalizing Kentucky’s Affordable Prepaid Tuition program and to teach financial literacy to Kentucky.

Luallen is running for re-election as state auditor. Luallen has been diligently working toward removing waste in Kentucky’s government for four years. The (Louisville) Courier-Journal called her a “truly amazing public servant,” and the Lexington Herald-Leader called her resume superior to any other candidate’s on the November ballot. Luallen has been an effective leader for Kentucky, and her work has been impeccable.

I hope you agree with me that the Democratic ticket should be elected. We would love to have your support. However, the most important thing is to go out and vote. No matter whom you support, go to your polling place today and vote. If you are unsure where to vote, go to the voter information center Web site (http://cdcbp.ky.gov/VICWeb/index.jsp) to find your polling place.

Robert Kahne is the president of UK College Democrats. E-mail [email protected].