SOMERSET, KENTUCKY (November 21, 2022) — With a game plan for building a safer, more competitive state in hand, Somerset Mayor Alan Keck announced his candidacy for Republican governor of Kentucky Monday evening to a packed crowd of hundreds of family, friends and community supporters.

Keck delivered his announcement inside The Virginia, downtown Somerset’s century-old, newly renovated live performance venue — a symbol of Keck’s success in reviving Somerset’s economy and downtown in only one term as mayor.

Keck shared his vision for Kentucky with the crowd Monday, explaining his decision to seek the state’s highest executive office. While leading and serving Somerset has been the honor of a lifetime, Keck said, Kentucky is facing complex challenges — a workforce crisis, stagnant growth and rising crime — and needs an experienced leader in the public and private sectors to solve them.

“We’re losing the battle against our neighboring states because of a lack of vision, a lack of leadership and quite frankly, archaic policy,” Keck said. “Kentucky needs a CEO. Someone with experience in the public and private sectors who understands the struggle of the working family and the needs of the business community. Someone with a heart for service and a desire to empower and inspire Kentuckians to work toward a better future.

“We’ve had incredible success in Somerset changing the narrative,” Keck said. “I’m ready to change the narrative for my home state, working to create policies that reflect our values and make Kentucky more safe and competitive. I’ve never been more convinced that with this in focus, Kentucky can win again.”

The Keck Game Plan for Kentucky outlines strategies for improvement in four categories: Economy, Family, Public Safety and Education.

His economic platform is centered around solving Kentucky’s workforce crisis by creating welfare reform that provides sliding-scale benefits to Kentuckians willing to reenter the workforce; supporting inmate reentry programs; providing incentives for technical and community college training, and offering child care incentives to encourage mothers to reenter the workforce post-COVID.

Keck avidly supports the rapid elimination of the Kentucky income tax — which started in earnest in the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year — as well as revenue diversification options for communities to control their own destinies. He also intends to increase investment in tourism and quality-of-life initiatives by reinvesting millions in business recruitment tax incentives.

“The Commonwealth just experienced its second slowest decade of growth in 100 years,” Keck said. “Our state must grow to reach its potential. By contrast, Somerset has outpaced the state’s growth by double, and has experienced record revenue without raising taxes, record business investment and record tourism spending because we embraced investment in quality-of-life initiatives. My plan for Kentucky will embrace the same approach to revive its economy and jumpstart growth.”

Keck believes families are the cornerstone of a strong and resilient Kentucky, and he has created a game plan for strengthening this important institution. Keck and his wife Tiffany, who have three young daughters, are passionate about giving families the best chance possible at the earliest stage. They are championing a plan to provide tax incentives to Kentucky businesses that offer paid maternity and paternity leave programs.

“We must ensure working mothers and fathers have the time and resources they need to care for themselves and their families after childbirth,” Keck said. “Creating pro-family workplaces will go a long way in solving the workforce crisis. Tiffany and I understand the struggle of the working family and want to create policies rooted in faith and values that help strengthen this important institution.”

Keck’s game plan for public safety puts an intense focus on reducing violent crime by doubling down on support for law enforcement and Kentuckians’ right to protect themselves. He supports raising state incentive pay for law enforcement officers, funding school safety initiatives, and addressing Kentucky’s mental health provider shortage through investment in educational programs and recruitment initiatives.

“Kentucky has never been more unsafe,” Keck said. “We need a leader who will support Kentucky law enforcement officers in word and deed, make strategic investments to protect our school children and unapologetically defend the Second Amendment. This is my commitment to Kentuckians as their next governor.”

Finally, Keck’s platform for education invests in children early, empowering students and parents and supporting teachers. Alan and Tiffany Keck are products of the public school system and send their daughters to public school, but are passionate about parents having the right to choose where their children attend school and having a voice in their education.

Keck’s game plan includes investment in pre-K and early literacy initiatives, both public and private; increases teacher salaries, protects pensions and makes student teaching a paid internship; puts a focus on project-based learning to change the testing culture; funds more student support personnel, and promotes personal responsibility in the classroom by teaching fundamental life skills to students.

“As mayor, I fought against lockdowns that destroyed families’ livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic and advocated for keeping schools open so our children could continue to learn,” Keck said. “As the most recent testing data shows, they’ve instead fallen behind because of these lockdowns. My administration will make a significant investment in students and teachers, and push for positive change in curriculum to ensure that no matter what crisis we face, our students are getting the education they deserve.”

The Keck Game Plan for Kentucky is available at keckforkentucky.com, where Kentuckians can also learn more about Keck, his family and his accomplishments. He is also dedicated to answering questions from residents and the media, and offers a place on his campaign website for anyone to submit a question.

“I am so excited to begin this journey and am blessed and humbled by the support we’ve received,” Keck said. “I am ready to get to work making Kentucky win again.”