FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2010

New Political Action Committee formed

to push for new economic and energy power

A new political action committee, designed to lift up the voices of ordinary Kentuckians, was announced today by the social justice group Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC).

“We are forming the New Power PAC because somebody in Kentucky needs to tell the story about the real potential we have right now to create clean energy jobs and affordable renewable energy,” KFTC Chairperson K.A. Owens said at a Friday morning news conference. “And somebody has got to tell the truth about the coal industry and the damage it does to Kentucky’s land, water, and people.

“Over the coming weeks we will communicate directly with thousands of Kentucky voters. We will make sure voters know candidates’ positions on New Power issues, including the opportunity for clean energy and the true costs of coal,” Owens added. “And we will demonstrate to candidates that there is a significant base of support for new power and a brighter and cleaner future in Kentucky.”

KFTC has done similar work for the past 29 years, but through a PAC the nonprofit organization will be able to more directly challenge candidates on their positions.

“Kentucky needs new leadership – and new power – as much as any place I know,” said Teri Blanton, a former KFTC chairperson. “We need leaders with the courage to support a transition to a new economy and stop the destruction, or we will be left with nothing.”

Along with the PAC, KFTC announced the New Power Pledge as a way to show public support for these new policies and leadership. They are asking people to sign a pledge to support candidates and officials who will work for “new power.”

The pledge can be found online at: www.newpowerky.org. The group also has created a companion New Power Facebook page.

KFTC cited a 2008 survey that showed more than 70 percent of Kentuckians believe that transitioning to renewable energy sources and increasing efficiency should be the state’s top energy priorities – numbers they believe candidates should be paying attention to.

“Right now, today, Kentucky has the opportunity to embrace clean energy solutions that will create good jobs, keep energy affordable, foster new industries and protect our health,” said Megan Naseman, a KFTC steering committee member from Berea. “Our state has the technology and know-how. We have the renewable resources. And we have the workers and entrepreneurs to be leaders in the new energy economy.

“That’s an important story. It is a true story. But it is a story that has been all but drowned out by the relentless drums of the coal industry,” Naseman said.

A report issued this week by four national small business associations determined that 1.9 million jobs in the United States have been lost because of the failure of elected officials to pass clean energy legislation.

“We know that Kentucky loses ground with every day that our leaders coddle the coal industry and refuse to face the future,” Naseman said. “Kentuckians can’t afford political leaders who are unable or unwilling to seize this moment and make the most of it. It’s time for new power.”

The New Power Pledge reads, “I pledge to support candidates and elected officials who will work for New Power policies that create clean energy jobs, affordable renewable energy, and healthy communities and that address the problems created by old power fossil fuels.”

CONTACTS:

K.A. Owens, chairperson
(502) 403-9439
firstwave9@juno.com

Teri Blanton
(859) 582-0312
teri@kftc.org

Megan Naseman
(859) 868-8203
megannaseman@gmail.com

Paid for by New Power PAC, www.newpowerky.org.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.