Richard C. Thornton

Age: 72

Occupation: Retired Educator

Relevant experience: Leadership! I was national president of the National School Public Relations Association which is an elected position and I was twice Kentucky President of the Kentucky School Public Relations Association.  Unlike many on the commission my service will be full time as I am a retiree and I can devote all of my time to the business of serving the citizens of Bowling Green.

What is your platform?

My platform meshes with my top priorities for what I would like to see after I’ve become elected. Primarily, I would like to see a more open and transparent government. Currently, the Commission meets at 4:30 which is inconvenient for many people to attend the meeting and the actual discussion of items is held at a separate time also inconvenient for people to attend and hear the debate about what is actually going on in our city government. I encourage everyone to look at my websit ewww.thorntonforcommish.com to see who I am and what I stand for.

If elected, what would be your top priorities?

My top priority is having an open and transparent city government.

My second priority is to transform the transit system currently in place with something that is called microtransit.  Currently, the bus system stops running at 5 o’clock and the routes are only to shopping areas. Ron Bunch with the Chamber of Commerce says that the buses need to run to businesses to be effective and we have over 7000 jobs that can’t be filled in this area. Abraham Williams with the Housing Authority says that people who need the services of government, many of which are at Lovers Lane, have to take a bus that takes over an hour and a half to get to the services that they desperately need.  I am proposing that we work with a company called TransLöc so that they can evaluate our large bus needs, our intermediate transit needs, and our point-to- point delivery of individuals to specific locations. The fastest growing city in Kentucky and the third largest in Kentucky has a Third World transit system that must change soon!

My third priority is ensuring that the Fairness Ordinance is passed. This lack of action by the current Comisdion is an insult to 15% of our population, the LGBTQ individuals who are not protected by law. We have nine cities which have passed this Ordinance and we have hundreds of Bowling Green businesses who support the Ordinance and hundreds of individuals who have spoken personally at every Commission meeting about the indignities that they have suffered without protection of law. This has to end and when I am elected Commissioner the ordinance will be passed.