Published: July 07, 2008 09:53 pm      

Lunsford pumps gas in Grayson

GRAYSON — U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford says you can learn a lot while pumping gas, unloading trucks and doing other jobs in small cities across the state.

Lunsford spent several hours in Grayson on Monday morning and afternoon at Randy's Roadside Market serving customers and hearing their opinions about gas prices.

“People tend to go through categories,” Lunsford observed while waiting for his lunch order at Randy’s Roadside Market & Deli. “First of all, you have people in a state of disbelief. Then you have those who are angry about it. Then you have those that want something done about it. They want to see action and also they want public servants who are working to solve problems.”

Since his win in the primary, Lunsford said he has also had an opportunity to discuss “issues on the table” including partisan concerns.

“We survived it with a pretty rousing victory,” Lunsford noted of the primary campaign. “We did very well in the Boyd and Carter County area all the way through Prestonsburg and Pike County. It was a really productive part of the state for us.”

Regarding the party’s concerns, Lunsford said he holds “strong Democratic principles” while maintaining his independence and unwillingness to “be someone’s puppet.”

Lunsford credited early campaign efforts alongside Greg Stumbo for providing him better insight about the challenges facing people in the Big Sandy region, and State Rep. Robin Webb’s guidance to get in touch with the problems and concerns of residents in this area.

With the Democratic presidential nominee decision made, Lunsford said he has noticed a great deal more attention to his race for incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat.

“People are beginning to focus on this race very much,” he said, citing crowd sizes and response during his recent campaign stops in places including Calloway County, where he won after previous failures and adding, “it gives me great hope for the fall.”

Lunsford said he has been trying to help people understand the distinctions between himself and his opponent, calling McConnell’s two-dozen years in office “a breaking point.”

“He has been in there 24 years and on the government payroll for 40 years. He is not in touch with the men and women of this state,” he said. “Because I’ve been a job producer, I think I understand what it takes to get people re-employed.”

Lunsford said he sees several avenues for improving the state’s economic situation and scolded that McConnell “has not done a lot for the transportation system of eastern Kentucky.” He also criticized McConnell for serving the interests of oil companies when he should have been touting coal as a “savior” for the nation’s energy needs.

Access to broadband Internet service, Lunsford said, is also lagging.

“I think the next big role for a U.S. senator is to improve that dramatically,” he added.

“I think that may be the most important distinction between me and McConnell. I understand we are not in an oil based state. We are a coal based state,” he said.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.