Beech Tree News Network

I am C. Josh Givens, and I desire to serve Morgantown as your mayor.
The choice to seek this office was a simple one. In three-and-a-half years as the editor of The Banner-Republican, I had a front row seat for City Council, Fiscal Court, School Board, and all sorts of other organizational meetings. This prime vantage point gave me a view of a community with a number of issues to be solved.
I watched as the matters of workforce investment and economic development were often discussed in Council chambers, but saw little concrete efforts put into place to meet the issues head-on. We now find ourselves in a position with the highest unemployment rate in our 10-county development district, and though City Hall claims work is in progress, workforce investment seems invisible.
Perhaps at no other point in the history of this community has there been a more vital election. Morgantown is going to need a mayor who understands the world does not stop at the city limit sign. We need a mayor who can comfortably communicate with our regional, state, and federal leaders and agencies. In my career as a journalist, I have experience with these folks. They know me. They respect me. They understand me to be thorough and concise. I know how to get them to listen.
Morgantown will need someone with these types of skills over the next four years. Due to what I feel has been a lack of oversight and responsible administration, a Community Development Block Grant looks to have been squandered upon a bad investment at Kentucky Copper Inc. Unfortunately, a great possibility exists where Morgantown could be on the hook for at least $1.5 million in federal funds irresponsibly authorized for use on a project which has produced absolutely zero for the local economy. No rent payments, no interest payments – yet, continued payouts – until all we are left with is a permanent layoff and the prospect of budget-crippling debt. We cannot continue this type of leadership.
As the BRADD Workforce Investment Board looks to be disintegrating with word Warren, Logan, Allen, and Simpson counties will form their own workforce investment organization, small, needy counties like Butler could be left out in the cold. Reaction to this situation will require a leader with the ability to be creative and bold in planning for the future.
I am goal-oriented, self-driven, and prepared for those long nights in City Hall and the frequent travel necessary to push Morgantown to the next level. We can diversify our economy, we can improve our educational opportunities for workers, we can rise above our current level, but not without a leader bold enough to take a chance on the unknown.
I am an award-winning journalist with decades of experience and wide-ranging respect in the field, a U.S. Army and Kentucky National Guard veteran, a Kentucky Colonel, and a member of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. I am also a charter board member of Butler County Drug Free Coalition.
I am married to Rachel Coleman Givens, and we are co-owners of Smith Funeral Home, Butler County’s third-oldest business. Rachel and I have seven children, and are coaches with Butler County Little League Baseball. We are also landlords for Andrea’s Mission for Women, and participated in the 2012 CADCA Abuse Prevention Conference in Washington, D.C.
C. Josh Givens for Morgantown Mayor. No. 1 on the ballot. Easy to find, easy to vote for.