 The EKB News Convention Special is presented by Country Boys Medal. Hello and welcome to this special preview of EKB TV's coverage of the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. I'm Ralph Davis. This year the presidential election is at the top of everyone's minds. EKB News will be attending this year's conventions when the Democratic and Republican candidates are officially nominated. Of course, EKB News is focused on intensely local news and our coverage of the conventions will reflect that. We will be following area residents who are serving as delegates to this year's convention and you will meet a couple of them today. Joining me in our convention coverage is EKB's very own political analyst, Dr. Tom Majasek from Big Sandy Community and Technical College. Welcome, Tom. Ralph, it's a pleasure to be here. Let's start off talking about where the convention plays in modern elections. What is the importance? Are they as important as they used to be? In this particular election cycle, yes, they are. The real challenge for the Republican Party this year is that they had a very, very contentious primary season and of course the nominee-designate is Donald Trump and what he's going to have to do is try to bring the party back together and there's a lot of work being done behind the scenes on their platform to accommodate some of those candidates who may have some bruised feelings from the nomination process and so they're going to have a challenge in Cleveland. But it could also turn out to be a very, very positive thing for them. And speaking of the division in the Republican Party, we saw some division in the Democratic Party this year as well and it appears that Senator Bernie Sanders is still going all the way to the convention at this point. Well, that's true. But it's also true that Senator Sanders said that he would vote for Hillary Clinton if she is the nominee and very clearly she has the delegates to be the nominee. So in that sense, though she also has a challenge making sure that Sanders supporters can come back in and into the party and actively support her on Election Day, I think her challenge is not quite as great. And the Clinton campaign has been very, very conscious of the desires of the Sanders campaign to feel that they've made a difference. They're including many of the Sanders people in the process of creating the platform. Even here in Kentucky, one of the strongest supporters that Bernie Sanders had was Celest Wilder and Celest Wilder is going to be on that committee to create the Democratic platform. So I'm sure the Sanders people are going to have a voice. And as I say, it's not that the Republican Party can't pull itself together and get behind the candidate. Certainly they're going to want to do that, but the challenge is a little bit greater. OK, all right, we're going to take a short break now. But when we return, we'll talk to our first delegate. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Got Scrap? Country Boys Medal pays top prices for your Scrap Medal and is open Monday through Friday from 8.30 to 4. Country Boys Medal appreciates their customers and supports coal miners and the coal industry. No metal load is too small or too large at Country Boys. Country Boys Medal on Buckley's Creek above the Christ Central School open 8.30 to 4 each Monday through Friday. Call them at 606-433-1088. In today's economy, it makes more sense now than ever before to take the best care of your clothing. Better care means longer life. And that's why you need to take your clothes to Shirtlifts Dry Cleaning and Laundry. You've trusted Shirtlifts through the years with the best in dry cleaning services. But don't forget their laundry services that include ironing too. Get more wear out of your clothing by trusting Shirtlifts Dry Cleaning and Laundry, Hambly Boulevard Pikeville, serving the Pikeville area since 1921. Your life is already full of surprises. Whether it doesn't have to be one of them, don't let nature's fury catch you off guard. Before you make plans, check with us. We'll make sure you're prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store. Before the storms turn severe, turn to the EKB Weather Team. Chief Meteorologist Lathan Hopkins, Meteorologist Ross Whitley, and Weatherman Matt Hopkins rely on our live Skywatch Doppler radar presented by Kentucky Power to keep you safe and informed. And welcome back to this special preview of the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. We're going to begin with the Democratic side of things, and the Democrats have their convention in Philadelphia this year, correct? And that begins July 25th. We're joined by Catherine Burke, who's an attorney here in Pikeville. She serves as a delegate at the convention this year, and you're in support of Senator Sanders. I'm committed to Senator Sanders. And tell us a little bit about it, just how that works. Well, you apply to be delegates through the Democrat process, and then the number of delegates for each candidate was determined by the primary that we had on May 17th. And so because of the vote, it was 50-50, so Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders equally divided the delegates. And I'd applied to be a delegate, and the Democratic party were very egalitarian, so we always tried to divide it up gender-wise equally. And I was the one woman who applied to be a delegate for Senator Sanders from the Fifth Congressional District. Okay. Now, did you support Sanders in the primary? Yes, I voted for him in the primary. I think Senator Sanders has some very good ideas. And I think he's had a profound effect on this primary election and on Secretary Clinton. He's moved her, in my opinion, back toward the center left where she needed to be. And she's also energized the young people, unlike anybody has in a long, long time. I have a 27-year-old son, and he's all gung-ho for Senator Sanders, and I think our party needed that energy and those new ideas to challenge us. But now it appears, we'll say appears at this point, that Secretary Clinton is going to be the nominee. Do you have any problems supporting Secretary Clinton? I do not. I'm a Democrat. And I think Democrats work for the common good of the people. And I will have no hesitation in voting for whoever the convention nominates. Right. Okay. Well, what are some of the most important issues, I guess, that you see in this campaign? Well, I think the important issues that Senator Sanders has brought to light is the wage inequity, the top 1 percent, lifting people up by giving them a living wage that they can live on. I think that's been one of his strongest issues and something that the young people have really latched on to and really believe and are fervent about that issue. Of course, I think another issue is security. And we have to balance our liberties against the security, and that's a very hard thing to do. And Secretary Clinton and Secretary of State, of course, was greatly involved in those issues of security and been affected by those and lived those issues, basically. So I think that's, to me, those are two of the most important issues. Looking towards the future of Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky in general, we've been closely tied to the production of energy. Yes, we have. And as you know, the coal industry has been suffering the last four years or so. As you look towards a Clinton presidency, and by that, of course, I mean a Hillary Clinton presidency, what do you think that she will be doing to try to correct the employment problem in this area? I think, and I don't know the details of it, but I think Secretary Clinton is the only candidate who has an actual plan of stimulus, of re-educating and re-moving our people towards other job skills for an infusion of money to help people do that and to move beyond the coal-based economy that we've had all my lifetime. And I know we're reluctant to do that in many ways. It's very painful to do that. Economically, it has effects on families and, again, a cycle of out-migration from the area like we had in the 1950s. But I think she's the only one that has an actual plan that she's proposed about what to do. Now, she's gotten a lot of flack because she said, I'm going to get rid of the coal jobs. And I think that was taken out of context, because she just recognized the reality that coal is on its way out, both for the market, the environmental issues, but the market is just as important as the environmental issues, in my opinion, in the decline of coal. Now looking ahead to the convention, what do you anticipate happening? Oh, I think it's going to be fun. I was at the convention in 1992 with my grandfather. He was a former state senator from Pike County at F.M. Burke. At that time, he was the oldest male delegate there in 1992. He was 93 years old. Unfortunately, there was a woman from Puerto Rico who was older than him, or he had been the oldest. But it was a contested convention as well in 1992, because Jerry Brown was there. And now the governor of California was there with his troops in hand. So I expect Democrats have a history of fighting like cats and dogs during the primary. And then sometimes by the general election, we go, okay, we'll get over it. Most of us get over it. And that was also a Clinton convention. That was also a Clinton convention, as it was. It can't stop thinking about tomorrow was the music that was there. So I think that, you know, we'll go, I'm sure there'll be some fights about the platform on the floor. There may be some fights about the rules on the floor. But in the end, as Senator Sanders has already said, he's going to support Hillary Clinton if she's the nominee. Right. One of the most exciting things you're going to have to do with the convention is to select a vice presidential nominee. And no one knows who that is. Who do you have at the top of your wish list? Well, I think that, of course, everybody talks about Elizabeth Warren. I'm not sure, unfortunately, if the country's ready for a completely woman-female ticket. But Tim Kaine is the governor of Virginia, and he's a very positive guy. And I'd like to see him. And I trust Hillary Clinton to make the best choice, somebody that she can work with. I mean, she has this history of being adversarial to President Obama in 2008, and then that being his secretary of state, and then working very closely together. So I think she has a history of working with people and finding people that she can work with. And he's the one I know best, but I'm sure there are other people out there that I don't even know about that she's considered. Going back to the convention, could you just maybe give us an overview about what life is like at the convention? Well, there are long days. It's changed a little since 1992. We have to pick up our credentials every morning around 7.45 or 8.00 a.m. Then there's a caucus in the morning. Then there's the Kentucky delegation, the Democratic Party's organizing some luncheons, and there are going to be speakers there. We don't know who those are yet. And then there's another caucus in the afternoon. Then the convention, actual convention, the one you see on C-SPAN and when you do see it on the major networks these days, and the old days you used to see it on the wall-to-wall. So from 4 to 10 every night is when the work of the convention actually comes together and that's down at the Wells Fargo Center. And then there's usually a party afterwards. So for four days it's going to be very little sleep, I'm afraid. Thank you, Kevin. We're going to take another short break and then we're going to hear from the other side. Stay with us. Got Scrap? Country Boys Metal pays top prices for your scrap metal and is open Monday through Friday from 8.30 to 4. Country Boys Metal appreciates their customers and supports coal miners and the coal industry. No metal load is too small or too large at Country Boys. Country Boys Metal on Buckley's Creek above the Christ Central School open 8.30 to 4 each Monday through Friday. Call them at 606-433-1088. In today's economy it makes more sense now than ever before to take the best care of your clothing. Better care means longer life and that's why you need to take your clothes to shirtless dry cleaning and laundry. You've trusted shirtless through the years with the best and dry cleaning services, but don't forget their laundry services that include ironing too. Get more wear out of your clothing by trusting shirtless dry cleaning and laundry, Hambly Boulevard Pikeville, serving the Pikeville area since 1921. Hey guys, come on in. You know football season, it's almost here. And I want you to join me every Saturday morning at 10 live right here on EKB TV for Armchair Quarterback. We'll be going over high school football highlights and breaking down the plays everybody's talking about. And I'll have some special guests too. Nobody but nobody is all over local sports like EKB. Look at the chips too. Don't miss Armchair Quarterback Saturdays this fall at 10 only on EKB TV. And welcome back to our special preview of this year's National Political Conventions. We're joined now by our Republican delegate, who happens to come from Prestonsburg, but is also a Kentucky state treasurer now. So we are meeting her in Frankfurt at the Republican Party of Kentucky's headquarters here on Capitol Avenue. Allison Ball, how are you doing today? I'm great. First, tell me what you expect, I guess, this year going into the convention. What's your expect to see? How are you expected to go this year? Well, I've been before. I went to four years ago, and it was a great experience four years ago, because you get people from all over the country who kind of like-minded, and it really has a party atmosphere. It almost feels like a family reunion. So the main thing that I expect to see and the thing that I'm looking forward to is that family reunion atmosphere, especially it's going to be fun being with a bunch of Kentuckians, because we do go as a delegation. You've got the delegates, the alternates, and their family, their guests that come with them. So we all get to spend a lot of time together. And for about a week, it's just fun getting everybody better from across the Commonwealth. So that's the main thing I'm looking forward to. It was an exciting, to say the least, primary year on both sides. And I guess on both sides, there's been some talk about whether the party can come back together. Sure. Do you see there being a problem with that this year? I think that's what conventions are for. Conventions are the unifying final step that you do. So we saw that four years ago. I think we usually see that. And that's the point of everybody getting together, remembering what we're about, we're about certain principles, conservative principles, and just kind of getting focused on that. OK, well, speaking of those principles, what do you think are the biggest issues that you're facing this year? Why is the Republican Party, I guess, best suited in your opinion to lead the nation? Well, for a variety of reasons. I mean, I think they reflect Kentucky values most. And that would be the things that we care about as Kentuckians. We're a Second Amendment kind of state, especially from Eastern Kentucky, where I'm from. We care very strongly about certain rights, like guns. We do care about religious liberty. That's something that's near and dear, I think, to all Kentuckians, and particularly from the mountains, where I'm from. All those things are consistent with the Republican platform. I think the economy is definitely a big issue. And that touches coal, of course, which is something that I care about. Being from the coal fields, my great-grandfather was a coal miner, so I've got a heritage of that in my family. So all of those things will be touched upon in the Republican platform and the issues that are talked about during the convention. So those things are important. They're important for the whole country. I think they're important for Kentuckians. Ms. Ball, there's been a lot of talk in the national media about a gender gap. And of course, the Democratic presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton is a woman. Yes. The first woman to be nominated by a major party, if in fact, things go as expected. You're a young woman, a young professional, very bright person. How do you think the Republican party can close that gender gap to be successful? Well, and I think we are. Tom, I don't know if you realize this, but I'm the youngest woman elected to a statewide office in the country right now. So in the entire United States, from right here in Kentucky, it's kind of a neat thing for our state that we've got that. Of course, Jeanine Hampton, one of the tenant governors, the first African-American elected at a statewide level at all, and a woman. So Kentucky definitely is making grounds on that as far as Republicans go. And I think it's just more people like that. Of course, there's Governor Martinez. There are the Governor Nikki Haley. We have, there's a lot of Republican governors, a lot of Republican leaders. So I think as people see more and more strong female conservative leadership in the Republican party, they'll see that this is the party that best reflects what's good for everybody. What's good for everybody is what's good for women. Of course, we're just getting ready to start the conventions, and we're already hearing about the running mate on the Republican side of things. Do you have any reaction to that news? Yeah, you know, I called my dad this morning and we were talking, because I usually talk to my dad first thing in the morning. And we were saying, what do we think about Pence, the vice presidential pick? And dad said, he felt like, from people he'd talked to, there was a lot of energy in that it was a unifying. He talked about needing to unify after a tough primary. That is a unifying pick. It's somebody who has Republican credentials, has conservative credentials, has executive experience, which you always like to have that when you can as a part of a ticket. So I think Pence is gonna be an asset. Indiana is a state that actually has a lot of values that are similar to Kentuckians. And I think it's gonna be, this is gonna be a particular person who Kentuckians will be comfortable with. When you were growing up in Floyd County, the ratio of Republicans to Democrats was about eight to one, seven to one, in favor of Democrats. And you ended up a Republican. Would you like to tell our audience how you, how you decided to become a Republican? That's a great question. I think it may be closer to 90 to 10, I think Democrat, Republican registration, or whatever it is, it's very close. Yeah, it's very, very, it's very, or not closest in that, but it's a high amount. It's a high amount. So I always tell people that means if you decide to be a Republican in Floyd County, it's because you really believe that that's most reflective of the values that you have. And actually, I think being in Floyd County, it's a conservative county, you know, grew up going to church, grew up, I was given a gun when I was 12. We value the military, we value family values. We do value hard work, we value independence. And I think we actually even like government to be small in Eastern Kentucky. So as I was looking at it, I just decided that the Republicans were best reflected my values. I always joked around, you know, I was a prosecutor in Floyd County for four years and I'm sure I was the only Republican there because my boss was the chair and still is the chair of the Democrat Party of Floyd County, who I'm sure you know. And I would always tease everybody and say, every time I showed up, I made everything bipartisan, just by me being there. So, you know, it shows, I think that you really believe what you believe. If you're comfortable with taking something that's a little bit different than everybody else in Floyd County. And that's how I ended up doing that. I think we have time for about one more question. But let me ask you to look ahead to the fall, Trump versus Clinton. And what you think of that matchup, what the odds are and what you think about the opponent that you'll be facing. Well, I think for Eastern Kentucky ends, I think it's very, very clear. Hillary has been open that she's not supporter of coal and she's made very strong statements about it. So as far as I'm concerned, that's the death knell for any support for her from Eastern Kentucky. We've seen in the last several years the way Obama has targeted the coal business. It's been very harmful. I was a bankruptcy attorney for a while before becoming a state treasurer. And before that, I was a prosecutor. And as a bankruptcy attorney, I had a lot of clients who were out of work coal miners. So I saw in a real firsthand way what certain policies were doing to the livelihood of people in Eastern Kentucky. And I think that we just need to remember Hillary would continue those type of policies. She's been pretty clear about it. And I think Eastern Kentucky has been pretty clear that they don't like it when people target our area. Do you have a prediction for this false race? Kentucky is probably gonna go Republican because I think that, again, it best reflects what we as Kentuckians believe. All right, all right. Thank you so much for joining us today. It's a very, very much pleasure to talk with you. Thank you, it's good to have you all here. It's a real pleasure. Thanks, Tom. Thank you. And Tom and I will be right back to wrap things up. Got Scrap, Country Boys Medal pays top prices for your scrap metal and is open Monday through Friday from 8.30 to four. Country Boys Medal appreciates their customers and supports coal miners and the coal industry. No metal load is too small or too large at Country Boys. Country Boys Medal on Buckley's Creek above the Christ Central School open 8.30 to four each Monday through Friday. Call them at 606-433-1088. WDHR, today's best country. Always the newest country from the biggest stars. Catch the Daybreak Morning Show weekday mornings from six to nine, where you can win cool prizes and even cold hard cash. 93.1 WDHR, today's best country. And welcome back. Our delegates certainly gave us plenty to think about, but Tom, every four years we're told that we're looking at an historic presidential election and then this year is no different in that respect, but it does seem to feel a little bit different. Yeah, it feels a little different for two reasons. The first is one of the major parties is gonna be nominating a woman and she'll be the first woman nominated for president by any major party in our history. That in and of itself is historic. The other reason it's kind of historic, if you take a look at Donald Trump, obviously his background's in business and he's never been elected to public office before. And he doesn't even hold any appointed positions in government. Now some people have harkened back to Dwight Eisenhower, but I would argue, if you're the supreme allied commander in World War II in Europe, the military is a part of our government. Right. So he had functioned as a college president, he had functioned as a NATO commander. So Dwight Eisenhower had plenty of opportunities to learn how to politic and to build coalitions, things like that. If you really wanna look to a person who fits the Trump mold, you'd have to go back to the Republican convention in 1940 and look at Wendell Wilkie. Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee that year. He was a businessman. He had never held elected office before. And so Trump is not unique in the sense that it has happened before. If he were to be elected president, it would be an extremely unusual thing in our history. Right. Another thing, this keeps getting mentioned, but do you think there might be a serious third party candidate to a third party candidate? I think there is a serious third party candidate. I think Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party is a very serious third party candidate. And the interesting thing about Gary Johnson is that his stand on some of the issues would actually appeal to that group of people who voted for Bernie Sanders and the Democratic primaries. In particular, Libertarians seem to be, if you will, quite liberal or progressive on issues like legalizing marijuana and preventing government interference with individual liberties. From the Republican perspective, Gary Johnson would fit more in line with their views about government keeping its hands off business, less government lower taxes, that sort of thing. So he could actually draw from both parties. Now he's more likely to draw Republican voters away, but that's not a sure thing. There are some disaffected Sanders voters and they may gravitate towards that Libertarian Party. All right, well, Tom, thank you, and that will do it. We thank you for joining us for this special preview and we'll see you at the conventions. The EKB News Convention Special has been presented by Country Boys Medal.