Tagged: Congressman John Yarmuth

As the Democratic National Convention wraps up, Kentucky Democrats are trying to present a more unified front for President Barack Obama.

In this year’s primary, 42 percent of Democrats who cast ballots voted uncommitted rather than for the president. That created a problem for delegates to the party’s national convention, since uncommitted isn’t a candidate.

But this week, almost every Kentucky delegate supported this president's formal nomination.

Third District Congressman John Yarmuth has help secure $375,000 in federal funds to fight youth substance abuse.

The $375,000 in federal funding will be divided up among three different community groups that work to prevent drug abuse among teenagers and young adults in Louisville. The funding is part of a larger $76.7 million investment in the Drug-Free Communities Program, which was established in 1997 to help mobilize local individuals and organizations to prevent youth substance abuse.

Tomy Baker Molloy is coordinator for the Seventh Street Corridor PAL Coalition, which will get $125,000 of the grant. She says the funding is a needed investment that will help turn young people away from harm.

"It’s vital for our organization. We work in the Park Hill, Algonquin and Old Louisville neighborhoods where youth are typically disenfranchised and not so engaged," she says.

Several Kentucky delegates are headed to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention this week.

The delegation will include Governor Steve Beshear, Attorney General Jack Conway and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who are all backing President Obama’s re-election bid this year. But Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler is skipping the convention to campaign in central Kentucky instead.

Critics also point out that 42 percent of Kentucky Democrats voted “uncommitted” over the president in the May primary and are not all supportive of Mr. Obama’s agenda.

Third District Congressman John Yarmuth is among the delegation. He says he is concerned about a split among the delegates, but remains optimistic that their vote will be unanimous.

"I and others will spend part of the convention trying to argue with those uncertain delegates that unanimous support for the president is important because we’ve got down ballot races across Kentucky. We’ve got many state House races that promise to be competitive and we need to be unified in the fall campaign," he says.

Congressman John Yarmuth presented two local members of the Montford Point Marines with the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday.

The Montford Point Marines are the first African-Americans to enlist and serve in the United States Marine Corps. Approximately 20,000 black recruits were trained for combat in World War II, breaking the armed services color barrier.

Yarmuth says the men who enlisted in the Montford Point Marines deserve to be honored for their military service, but also for breaking Jim Crow segregation.

"The Montford Point Marines changed the course of history and their story continues to inspire all of us in the fight for racial equality to do more. What happened at Montford Point was a key moment of progress in U.S. history with 20,000 unique stories of triumph," he says.

One of Kentucky’s two Democratic Congressmen believes his party has a good shot at unseating U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in 2014.

So far, many of the state’s top Democrats have announced plans to avoid challenging the Senate Minority Leader. That includes Attorney General Jack Conway, who ran for Senate against Rand Paul in 2010, former state Auditor Crit Luallen and current Auditor Adam Edelen.

But Congressman John Yarmuth, D-3, says he believes most of the other well known Democrats could unseat McConnell, including Governor Steve Beshear or Congressman Ben Chandler.