Board of Directors Report

Jody Cofer, Chair

As announced on February 22 at Kentuckians Value Fairness Day in Frankfort, the Kentucky Fairness Alliance will participate in the National State Political Action Committee (PAC) Project administered by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and the Equality Federation. Work on this project is underway. Last week, in our nation’s capital, KFA Executive Director Christina Gilgor and I participated in a series of meetings and training sessions related to the project.

The information we gathered will definitely be helpful. As 2007 participants along with other states in this national program, with, we will receive legal support, political, and fundraising consultation. The Project will also assist in preparing obtainable strategic planning goals. With hard work, the achievement of these goals will make Kentucky a more fair-minded place.

In Washington, Director Gilgor and I had the opportunity to meet with Jamie Fontaine, Political Director for the Victory Fund to discuss the development of our strategic plan.  Also, later this month, Ms. Fontaine will be providing training for members of the KFA Board of Directors. We also met with Heather Colburn, the consultant assigned by the Project to our state, and Timothy Cavanuagh, Director of Development Programs for the Equality Federation. They gave us great tips on fund raising. 

We were very impressed by them and are eager to continue working with Ms. Colburn to establish and develop Kentucky’s Full and Inclusive Rights Political Action Committee (FAIR PAC) during this next quarter. Other sessions spoke to a variety of important concepts including how we could work to built electoral power, how we can assess our political landscape, and how to pick the battles that will bring progress toward fairness. 

We know it is time to send a strong, yet moderate, message to the members of our legislature that have not supported fairness in the past. We need to tell them that their time has passed. The work of the FAIR PAC will begin slowly to give us the time to create a strong and sturdy strategy and structure. Last week, the KFA Board of Directors adopted governing language for the FAIR PAC. The goals of the FAIR PAC are straight forward – get support from both sides of the aisle to (a) elect a majority of pro-fairness legislators in both the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate; (b) elect pro-fairness candidates at the state level; and (c) assist local volunteers to elect FAIR endorsed candidates within their individual communities. 

As the KFA begins to fully develop and use the strength of our Foundation, our lobbying organization, and now our Political Action Committee, I am confident that we will see great strides in assuring Fairness for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities in Kentucky.  It’s time to play for Fairness!

Jody Cofer, Chair
Board of Directors