Dear Fellow Grant County Republicans and Tea Party members:

After much thought, prayer, and consideration, I filed my papers yesterday to run for State Representative. I have contemplated the decision for some time now and over the past weeks, several closed doors reopened and encouraged me to run. I visited Frankfort yesterday and meet with several Republican leaders who expressed frustration with Speaker Stumbo and his unwillingness to allow conservative bills to reach the floor for a vote. They expressed that they were very close to a House majority that would change the speakership and if they did not flip the House this year, they believe they would in 2014. Democrats have to run with Obama at the top of their ticket and in 2008, Obama only carried 8 Kentucky counties and is even less popular today. After hearing their frustration of having good conservative bills that would improve and move our great commonwealth ahead, I believe it is time we make our district Republican and move one step close to a true conservative majority. We are currently 10 seats away and there are several competitive races this fall on current House Democrats.

We currently have two very qualified candidates on the Republican side. Scott Bruce has also filed. He called me before he filed and explain his intentions and I talked to him Monday afternoon and explained my intentions. We WILL have a clean race and we WILL be unified after the primary. I will state for all to know, if your nominee is Scott Bruce, I will fight 110% for him and to do our part to help elect Jeff Hoover Speaker of the House and rid Kentucky of our version of Speaker Pelosi.

You will be hearing more from me on my stances on issues throughout the campaign, but one of my main issues that needs to be changed in Kentucky is the taxing authority of boards. Being on the fiscal court, I know first-hand that most of your county tax rates are set by appointed boards (library, soil conservation, etc.) who have no answer to the tax payer. I believe that boards should come to the fiscal court with their tax rate and it needs to be voted up or down, because magistrates and commissioners are elected by the people and this can only be changed in the Kentucky Legislature. That would put a stop to most tax increases. Many of you attended the fiscal court Monday night and saw firsthand the movement to add another taxing district that wants to start at 11 cents on the $100 property value that can increase to 21 cents the very next year. Fortunately, it looks like it will be on the ballot where people will have a chance to voice their opinion on the issue.

To those of you who are still registered Democrat….I understand you are because in the past, many elections are decided in the democrat spring primary because Republicans did not file candidates or did not have a primary. Here is a great opportunity to switch. We have two great candidates on our side of the primary and this trend will ONLY continue. So I encourage you to go ahead and jump on in…I promise, the water is warm!!

Thank you for a moment of your time today,

Brian Linder