Paula Setser-Kissick for Kentucky Senate District 12

In recent years, state Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr has shown more independence from Republican leaders and expressed some views that are more moderate than those of the Senate’s GOP majority — especially after a teacher, Paula Setser-Kissick, challenged her for the 12th District seat.

In a recent League of Women Voters forum, Kerr said she regretted her vote last year to authorize charter schools in Kentucky and would oppose funding for charter schools in the future. She also distanced herself from this year’s Republican attempts to curb teacher pensions, saying she was “appalled by the treatment” that teachers received and calling it “as poor a job of handling public policy as I’ve ever seen.” Kerr was one of five Republican senators who voted against the Republican pension bill that’s now being challenged in the state Supreme Court.

And, yet, as Setser-Kissick points out, Kerr had earlier expressed support for Gov. Matt Bevin’s pension plan which was far more radical and harmful to public employees than the bill that the legislature eventually approved.

Setser-Kissick makes other good points, such as the need for tax reform that increases revenue by closing loopholes without shifting more burden to the Kentuckians who can least afford it. She says tax breaks awarded to promote economic development should come with a sunset clause to ensure they are periodically examined to see if they’re paying off.

A technology resource teacher in the Fayette County Public Schools and previously a librarian and high school English teacher, Setser-Kissick was a registered Republican until about a year ago. Although trailing Kerr in fund-raising, she is running an ambitious volunteer door-to-door campaign and, she says, “working like a hound dog.”

The district and Kentucky would benefit from both Setser-Kissick’s priorities and her energy. She wants to revive the state’s flagging commitment to education and, instead of piling on more testing which she says already is “out of control, “re-imagine” schools so that they can better support students, especially children from low-income families. She also wants to restore voting rights to convicted criminals who have served their time.

Interestingly, on gun violence — a growing concern in Lexington— both the Republican and Democrat have pledged “to vote on the side of gun safety,” according to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Kerr has had an A rating from the National Rifle Association but says she supports “sensible laws,” including safe gun-storage requirements. Setser-Kissick says when she talks to her family members who belong to the NRA, they support “sensible reform” such as background checks, safe gun-storage laws and limits on assault-type weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines.

Kerr’s evolving positions better reflect the concerns of the southern Lexington district she has represented for almost 20 years. But Setser-Kissick is stronger on the issues and could provide a jolt that the Senate needs.