Rocky Adkins

Rocky J. Adkins (born November 4, 1959) is an American politician from Kentucky. He is a member of the Democratic Party and is serving as Senior Advisor to the Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear. He is a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing the 99th District of the Kentucky House from 1987 to 2019. His House district was in eastern Kentucky and includes Elliott, Lewis, and Rowan Counties.[1] From 2003 through 2016 he was the House majority leader.[2] From 2016 to 2019, he was the chamber's Minority Floor Leader.[2]

Rocky Adkins
Senior Advisor to the Governor of Kentucky
Assumed office
December 10, 2019
GovernorAndy Beshear
Minority Leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
January 5, 2017 – December 10, 2019
Preceded byJeff Hoover
Succeeded byJoni Jenkins
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
from the 99th district
In office
January 1987 – December 2019
Preceded byFrances Brown
Succeeded byRichard White
Personal details
Born (1959-11-04) November 4, 1959
Sandy Hook, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Leah
Children3
EducationMorehead State University (BA, MA)

Adkins ran for governor of Kentucky in the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election, with running mate Stephanie Horne.[2] During his campaign, he raised $1.5 million.[3] Adkins finished in second place in the Democratic primary, losing to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear. Adkins joined the Beshear administration on December 10, 2019, as the governor's senior advisor.[4]

Education

Adkins attended Elliott County High School Morehead State University (MSU).[5][6] He played college basketball for the Morehead State Eagles in 1981 and 1982 as the starting point guard. Adkins earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Morehead State University.[2] In 2017, Morehead's new dining commons was dedicated to and named after Adkins. He was inducted into the MSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004 and named the recipient of the 2012 Founders Award for University Service.[7]

Community support

Adkins is active in his hometown community of Sandy Hook, Kentucky and communities in Kentucky. He approved of and presented $730,000 dollars to help upgrade and maintain the sewage system for Sandy Hook.

A cancer survivor himself, Rep. Adkins sponsors the annual "Rocky Adkins Charity Golf Outing – Cure for Cancer" which has raised over $2.3 million for cancer research since its beginning in 1995.[8]

Kentucky Legislative Tenure

Adkins was a member of the Commonwealth of Kentucky House of Representatives between 1987 and 2019.[9] He has long been a strong supporter of education in Eastern Kentucky.[8] He currently is a member of the House Democratic Leadership office. Adkins has run unopposed in 11 out of his 12 most recent re-elections to his seat in the Kentucky Legislature, the only contested election being in 2016 when he won by a margin of 32%.

Candidate for Kentucky governor

Governor Paul Patton, who served as Kentucky governor from 1995 to 2003, endorsed Adkins.[2]

Political positions

Adkins supports "a fully-funded pension system"[10] and the use of medicinal marijuana, which he believes could provide income to help fund public pensions.[10] He also believes the state legislature needs to work with the federal government to try to expand Medicaid.[10]

Adkins opposes increased regulation on gun ownership.[10]

References
  1. "Kentucky 99th District State House Results: Rocky Adkins Wins". New York Times. August 1, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  2. Loftus, Tom (November 14, 2018). "Rocky Adkins says he's the Democrat who can win back rural Kentucky". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  3. "What to know about Rocky Adkins in the 2019 Kentucky governor's race". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  4. Desrochers, Daniel (December 2, 2019). "Rocky Adkins passes on U.S. Senate bid and takes job in Andy Beshear's administration". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  5. Fields, Mike (February 17, 2009). "Lionized in Elliott". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  6. Simon, Jeff (December 9, 2016). "How Trump ended Democrats' 144-year winning streak in one county". CNN. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  7. University, Morehead State. "MSU Dining Commons dedicated to Rocky Adkins". Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  8. "'The Rock' at Morehead State named after longtime legislator". Kentucky Today. November 9, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  9. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  10. KINSLOW, GINA (March 20, 2019). "Lt. Governor candidate Horne makes campaign stop in Glasgow". Glasgow Daily Times. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
Kentucky House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jeff Hoover		 Minority Leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives
2017–2019		 Succeeded by
Joni Jenkins
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.