Debbie Wesslund is running to be the representative for District 48 of the Kentucky House. She discusses her goals for the district, her desire to bring more positivity to politics, reproductive rights, public safety, and other issues...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
All right, coming next week.I mentioned several times Scotti Scheffler has an
arraignment on Tuesday. You know whatelse is Tuesday? Primary election day?
Well, my goodness, although earlyvoting began already. So I've been introducing
you to various candidates for different officesin the Commonwealth of Kentucky. One of
them is House District forty eight,and Debbie Westland is in my studio.
(00:24):
It's good to see you. It'sgood to see you too. I just
saw on Twitter X a few minutesago Emma Westland tweeted, and I thought,
well, Debbie's first name must beEmma. And then when I walked
out to meet you, you informme that's not correct. That's right.
That's my daughter, Emma. Emmagrew up here in Louisville, and now
she lives in Washington, d C. And has a big career, and
she stays in touch. And you'rea proud mom. I can tell I'm
(00:46):
a very proud mom. Well,I'm glad she found me on the Twitter
machine and was able to promote.Mom. Tell me what you want to
bring to House District forty eight.I want to bring a reasonable listener,
someone who's positive, someone who willask people what they need and listen to
them, because public servants are justthat servants. We don't get elected to
(01:07):
say okay, here, now's whatI'm going to do, and you all
get in line. It's I needto find out what the community needs,
and of course already thinking about someof those things, and that's what I'll
do. Yeah, you want toget in the state legislature, obviously,
and you're a one piece of abig puzzle of legislators who are in there.
But you want your voice to beheard. But what do you think
(01:30):
stands out for your district forty eightthat you want to amplify. Well,
something that I want to amplify isone of the biggest expenses of the legislator
of the state is public education.I served on the school board for eight
years and there are a lot ofneeds there and I think the public education
(01:51):
will be better again if you askthem what they need, be partners with
the school district rather than criticizing thingsthat might not be going well, because
there are ways that those things canbe fixed. And I think a partnership
between the school board, superintendent,the state legislature would be better for the
community. Because we don't want thecommunity listening to just the negative. We
(02:13):
want them to hear how public servantsare supposed to be telling you what can
we do to fix it? Howcan we respond and make things better?
And I don't want to be madat anybody. I don't want to be
negative. I want to be constructive. And some people may use those types
of things to advance their own politicalcareers by just throwing darts at the negativity.
(02:35):
Some people think that works. Igenerally think it doesn't, But then
there are some people that do.Maybe they have a reason. They're upset
about something and they want to hearcriticism. It makes them feel like you're
getting things done. But I thinkif you're telling people what I want to
do, what the problems are,and here's how I think I can address
it and work with other people,is a better approach and a spotlight the
(02:57):
area for me, District forty eightencompasses which neighborhoods District forty eight. If
you go down to Zorn and theriver, go up to the Oldham County
line, Oh, okay, andover and down twenty two, it's kind
of like a big tear drop.Okay, district You are a lot of
people with boats, A lot ofpeople with boats. That's right. We
(03:19):
saw some boats. I'm guessing though, you're probably not stepping on boats.
Are you're knocking on doors? You'remeeting people, and what are you hearing?
Knocking on a lot of doors?People appreciate it. One woman said,
I'm glad you came to my door. One issue I'll tell you I
do hear about more than any whichsurprised me is reproductive choice, reproductive health
care for women. Even a manonce said, you know, what do
(03:44):
you think about reproductive health care?And I thought, well, that's unusual.
But it's not been unusual for aman to bring up abortion, right,
right, But it's not unusual tohear that at doors people who we
know that that's an issue that's royalingAmerica all across you know, United States,
(04:04):
and so it's an issue that's inplay in many of these elections.
That's right. What's your thought processon abortion or women's reproductive health care?
I pretty much stick with a Roev wade the first part of the pregnancy
because you never know, you knowwhat a woman's going through, and so
I think they need some time andtime to discuss with their doctors and their
(04:29):
families about what's going on and dothe best make the best decision for them,
because in some of these states,we've seen these laws pass that give
essentially no time right, And that'sa scary thing because there really are serious
health issues too sometimes that need tobe addressed, that can't be addressed.
Okay, the money that the governmentholds. We keep hearing they've got this
rainy day fund, and well it'sa rainy day today, isn't it.
(04:51):
Where should the governments spend more money? You already cited education. I'm guessing
you're going there first. Well,I think there are a variety of things.
I think housing is important. Ithink you know, I don't know,
the environment changing, some energy sourcesand to encourage more, uh,
(05:15):
a wide variety of energy sources,not just coal. We want to have
a cleaner environment. That would besomething I would look at for sure.
Yeah, things that they need topay more attention to. That. Kentucky's
a little reluctant to advance into thoseareas. The other thing, Louisville is
growing. You see things happening inneighborhoods, and I think we need to
make sure we're funding the infrastructure necessaryto support that, just like this new
(05:38):
big VA hospital. You know,we may need to have more information,
more money to to make those highwaysbe able to take all the traffic that
may be coming. Yeah, that'sthat's certainly a change there. And then
not only old VA Hospital. Idon't know what the plan is with that.
But we've got a lot of buildingsin downtown that are vacants or nearly
(06:00):
vacants. What do we do withthose? That's really tough. I've thought
about that. I know a friend, Humana has worked for Humanity for years.
I don't think she's been to theoffice hardly at all. She works
from home, and I understand thebuilding is going to be empty. I've
wondered about downtown condominiums. I mean, that's a lot of space. There'd
be a lot of condominiums, butit could be a mixed use. Maybe
(06:24):
if you get a few more peopleliving downtown, maybe you'd need more services
downtown and work spaces downtown people also, you know, just workspaces. You
see these where they don't maybe workat home, but they go to a
place where they can get together withothers and work. You know that way,
and your feelings about public safety.People bring up that issue over and
(06:46):
over again. That means a lotof different things to a lot of different
people. Excuse me, what aboutpolicing in our community? Well, I
think they need to be supported forsure, paid. Well that's my thought.
I public safety is crucial, andit's also it's traffic, it's kids
(07:06):
on buses, it's safe homes andsave homes to live in, save homes
to keep people out, you know, one end. But I'll just save
places to live so that you're nothurt by your environment. Right, And
the buses and get kids transportation.That's going to become a sticky wicket when
(07:27):
school starts back in the fall.Right. That was tough. That is
tough. When I was on theschool board, we really didn't have that
problem with numbers of buses or driversand even teachers. And that's a real
problem. I really feel for them. I think it's something that will get
taken care of, but it maytake some time. Indeed, Debbie,
I appreciate your time dropping by hairand letting people know a little bit about
(07:48):
you and happy to meet you.Nice to meet you. And you mentioned
a daughter. Is it the wholefamily? Yes? I have one daughter,
and I do have a husband.He's sitting in his car listening down
stairs. He said, I've gota really good parking place. That's a
good husband. Well, I'm gladhe didn't switch over and listen to a
(08:09):
music station. He's listening to youright now, he says. He is.
Oh, he's listening because he'll bethere to say, well, you
should have said this, because that'swhat That's what my wife would say to
me. It's great to have support, isn't it. It is great to
have lots of support. Shout outto dad sitting in the car. I
like that. I believe me inmy role. I've done that a million
times. Rows. Just keep movingaround the block till the airplane lands.
(08:31):
You know how that goes. Wheredo people find you online? At Debbiewestland
dot com. I'll spell it DE B B I E W E S
S l U N D. Ican't believe that dot com. I can't
believe that site was still available.I'm kidding. Great to meet you,
Debbie. Great to meet you too. We're coming right back on news radio
eight forty w H A. S.
All right, coming next week.I mentioned several times Scotti Scheffler has an
arraignment on Tuesday. You know whatelse is Tuesday? Primary election day?
Well, my goodness, although earlyvoting began already. So I've been introducing
you to various candidates for different officesin the Commonwealth of Kentucky. One of
them is House District forty eight,and Debbie Westland is in my studio.
(00:24):
It's good to see you. It'sgood to see you too. I just
saw on Twitter X a few minutesago Emma Westland tweeted, and I thought,
well, Debbie's first name must beEmma. And then when I walked
out to meet you, you informme that's not correct. That's right.
That's my daughter, Emma. Emmagrew up here in Louisville, and now
she lives in Washington, d C. And has a big career, and
she stays in touch. And you'rea proud mom. I can tell I'm
(00:46):
a very proud mom. Well,I'm glad she found me on the Twitter
machine and was able to promote.Mom. Tell me what you want to
bring to House District forty eight.I want to bring a reasonable listener,
someone who's positive, someone who willask people what they need and listen to
them, because public servants are justthat servants. We don't get elected to
(01:07):
say okay, here, now's whatI'm going to do, and you all
get in line. It's I needto find out what the community needs,
and of course already thinking about someof those things, and that's what I'll
do. Yeah, you want toget in the state legislature, obviously,
and you're a one piece of abig puzzle of legislators who are in there.
But you want your voice to beheard. But what do you think
(01:30):
stands out for your district forty eightthat you want to amplify. Well,
something that I want to amplify isone of the biggest expenses of the legislator
of the state is public education.I served on the school board for eight
years and there are a lot ofneeds there and I think the public education
(01:51):
will be better again if you askthem what they need, be partners with
the school district rather than criticizing thingsthat might not be going well, because
there are ways that those things canbe fixed. And I think a partnership
between the school board, superintendent,the state legislature would be better for the
community. Because we don't want thecommunity listening to just the negative. We
(02:13):
want them to hear how public servantsare supposed to be telling you what can
we do to fix it? Howcan we respond and make things better?
And I don't want to be madat anybody. I don't want to be
negative. I want to be constructive. And some people may use those types
of things to advance their own politicalcareers by just throwing darts at the negativity.
(02:35):
Some people think that works. Igenerally think it doesn't, But then
there are some people that do.Maybe they have a reason. They're upset
about something and they want to hearcriticism. It makes them feel like you're
getting things done. But I thinkif you're telling people what I want to
do, what the problems are,and here's how I think I can address
it and work with other people,is a better approach and a spotlight the
(02:57):
area for me, District forty eightencompasses which neighborhoods District forty eight. If
you go down to Zorn and theriver, go up to the Oldham County
line, Oh, okay, andover and down twenty two, it's kind
of like a big tear drop.Okay, district You are a lot of
people with boats, A lot ofpeople with boats. That's right. We
(03:19):
saw some boats. I'm guessing though, you're probably not stepping on boats.
Are you're knocking on doors? You'remeeting people, and what are you hearing?
Knocking on a lot of doors?People appreciate it. One woman said,
I'm glad you came to my door. One issue I'll tell you I
do hear about more than any whichsurprised me is reproductive choice, reproductive health
care for women. Even a manonce said, you know, what do
(03:44):
you think about reproductive health care?And I thought, well, that's unusual.
But it's not been unusual for aman to bring up abortion, right,
right, But it's not unusual tohear that at doors people who we
know that that's an issue that's royalingAmerica all across you know, United States,
(04:04):
and so it's an issue that's inplay in many of these elections.
That's right. What's your thought processon abortion or women's reproductive health care?
I pretty much stick with a Roev wade the first part of the pregnancy
because you never know, you knowwhat a woman's going through, and so
I think they need some time andtime to discuss with their doctors and their
(04:29):
families about what's going on and dothe best make the best decision for them,
because in some of these states,we've seen these laws pass that give
essentially no time right, And that'sa scary thing because there really are serious
health issues too sometimes that need tobe addressed, that can't be addressed.
Okay, the money that the governmentholds. We keep hearing they've got this
rainy day fund, and well it'sa rainy day today, isn't it.
(04:51):
Where should the governments spend more money? You already cited education. I'm guessing
you're going there first. Well,I think there are a variety of things.
I think housing is important. Ithink you know, I don't know,
the environment changing, some energy sourcesand to encourage more, uh,
(05:15):
a wide variety of energy sources,not just coal. We want to have
a cleaner environment. That would besomething I would look at for sure.
Yeah, things that they need topay more attention to. That. Kentucky's
a little reluctant to advance into thoseareas. The other thing, Louisville is
growing. You see things happening inneighborhoods, and I think we need to
make sure we're funding the infrastructure necessaryto support that, just like this new
(05:38):
big VA hospital. You know,we may need to have more information,
more money to to make those highwaysbe able to take all the traffic that
may be coming. Yeah, that'sthat's certainly a change there. And then
not only old VA Hospital. Idon't know what the plan is with that.
But we've got a lot of buildingsin downtown that are vacants or nearly
(06:00):
vacants. What do we do withthose? That's really tough. I've thought
about that. I know a friend, Humana has worked for Humanity for years.
I don't think she's been to theoffice hardly at all. She works
from home, and I understand thebuilding is going to be empty. I've
wondered about downtown condominiums. I mean, that's a lot of space. There'd
be a lot of condominiums, butit could be a mixed use. Maybe
(06:24):
if you get a few more peopleliving downtown, maybe you'd need more services
downtown and work spaces downtown people also, you know, just workspaces. You
see these where they don't maybe workat home, but they go to a
place where they can get together withothers and work. You know that way,
and your feelings about public safety.People bring up that issue over and
(06:46):
over again. That means a lotof different things to a lot of different
people. Excuse me, what aboutpolicing in our community? Well, I
think they need to be supported forsure, paid. Well that's my thought.
I public safety is crucial, andit's also it's traffic, it's kids
(07:06):
on buses, it's safe homes andsave homes to live in, save homes
to keep people out, you know, one end. But I'll just save
places to live so that you're nothurt by your environment. Right, And
the buses and get kids transportation.That's going to become a sticky wicket when
(07:27):
school starts back in the fall.Right. That was tough. That is
tough. When I was on theschool board, we really didn't have that
problem with numbers of buses or driversand even teachers. And that's a real
problem. I really feel for them. I think it's something that will get
taken care of, but it maytake some time. Indeed, Debbie,
I appreciate your time dropping by hairand letting people know a little bit about
(07:48):
you and happy to meet you.Nice to meet you. And you mentioned
a daughter. Is it the wholefamily? Yes? I have one daughter,
and I do have a husband.He's sitting in his car listening down
stairs. He said, I've gota really good parking place. That's a
good husband. Well, I'm gladhe didn't switch over and listen to a
(08:09):
music station. He's listening to youright now, he says. He is.
Oh, he's listening because he'll bethere to say, well, you
should have said this, because that'swhat That's what my wife would say to
me. It's great to have support, isn't it. It is great to
have lots of support. Shout outto dad sitting in the car. I
like that. I believe me inmy role. I've done that a million
times. Rows. Just keep movingaround the block till the airplane lands.
(08:31):
You know how that goes. Wheredo people find you online? At Debbiewestland
dot com. I'll spell it DE B B I E W E S
S l U N D. Ican't believe that dot com. I can't
believe that site was still available.I'm kidding. Great to meet you,
Debbie. Great to meet you too. We're coming right back on news radio
eight forty w H A. S.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.