Candidate for Kentucky House District 64;
Party: Democrat
Status: Challenger
William Whalen is a Democratic candidate for District 64 of the Kentucky House of Representatives, which covers much of central portions of the Northern Kentucky region (click here to see a map of the district).
Nicholas McHargue will serve as his primary opponent in May. Whoever wins the primary will face off against the winner of the Republican primary, either incumbent Kim Moser or challenger Scott Berger, in November.
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Whalen grew up in Grant County and has lived in several cities throughout the commonwealth; he currently lives in Independence. He has a degree in communications from Thomas More but has been working as an electrician for about eight years. He is a fourth generation union worker and is currently a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He is a also a member of the Kenton County Democrats Executive Committee. Whalen said he was running to help bring more working-class voices to Frankfort. This will be the first time he’s run for office.
“I feel like there’s too many lawyers down there,” Whalen said. “There’s too many business owners in Frankfort, and I’m just trying to be the voice of the working-class guy.”
One of the key issue Whalen pointed to was reversing Kentucky’s right-to-work status, which was instituted in 2017. Whalen also pointed to workers’ right generally, affordability, healthcare and education as other key issues.
“They keep trying to do the voucher system,” Whalen said. “Even though I went to a Catholic school, my parents would have never accepted that, and I don’t agree with that. We need to make sure our public schools are funded.”
He characterized St. Elizabeth Healthcare as a “monopoly,” although he said it was a good hospital. He said he was in favor of amending but not completely revoking medical certificate of need laws.
“I think certificate need helps in the rural areas, but it doesn’t help us here,” Whalen said.
Finally, Whalen said he was in favor of greater investments in transportation infrastructure.