VANCEBURG —
Lewis County Judge-Executive Thomas Massie announced Monday morning he planned to file paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office that day to become a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 4th District of Kentucky.
Massie said he is motivated to seek the seat because he believes Congress “is broken. We must act now to solve our nation’s spending problem, to promote domestic energy solutions and to reform our tax code. We have to solve the debt crisis we have, find domestic energy solutions and implement tax reform. Those are my big three.”
Noting he and his wife have college degrees, Massie chuckled as he said they still struggle to deal with the nation’s tax codes, providing an example of the need for tax reform. “I think we need more common sense in Congress,” he added.
If elected, Massie said he will bring his common-sense business experience, as well as the lessons learned from local politics, to Washington, D.C.
“I will vote to cut spending, simplify our tax code and roll back regulations that are stifling our economy,” he said.
Massie, 41, earned two engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after graduating from Lewis County High School in 1989. Based on his invention that made computers easier to use, Massie founded SensAble Technologies Inc., raised more than $32 million of venture capital, created 70 jobs and obtained 24 patents. Massie also worked three summer jobs at the Ashland Inc. refinery while on breaks from his studies at MIT.
“I encourage kids around here to think big,” Massie said when asked about the transition from rural Lewis County to the world of higher education and business.
Massie moved back to Kentucky with his wife and high school sweetheart, Rhonda, about 10 years ago to raise their four children on a farm, where they work with cattle. Massie said he began battling big government as a concerned citizen in 2007, and stopped or lowered four separate tax initiatives in his county. In 2010, Massie won the race for the county’s top job. In the first nine months of his administration, he eliminated enough wasteful government spending to pay his first three years’ salary as judge-executive.
“On the local level I was able to find and eliminate a lot of waste. And I suspect there is a lot of waste in the federal budget,” he said.
Massie said he differentiates himself from others seeking the Fourth District seat by bringing private-sector job-creation experience, as well as a strong engineering background to the job.
Massie said he plans to speak at a Feb. 11 Lincoln Day Dinner in Boyd County featuring an appearance by U.S. Rep. Rand Paul.
The district spans from Oldham County to Boyd County following the Ohio River and including Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties.
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.
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