Big Changes in District 45: Enter the “Killer”

Normally, when I become interested in tracking the activities of the politicians who represent my interests in various legislative bodies, I follow them on Twitter. I did that seven years ago, when I moved from campus-area Lexington down south to the Clays Mill corridor, which is District 45. Stan Lee was (and still is, for one more year) the representative from that district in the Kentucky General Assembly, so I duly followed @kystanlee, and shortly thereafter came to realize our opinions didn’t always coincide.

But I didn’t follow him for very long, because within a few months he blocked me. It was only one tweet that I sent him, but I guess it was enough. It’s been so long now, and the offending tweet now seemingly deleted or unsearchable, that I cannot recall its precise content, but it went a bit like this: Mr. Lee tweeted a photo of himself, and several other middle-aged, Caucasian legislators, signing a bill or resolution that he felt was “good for Kentucky.” Again, I have no recollection of what the document actually was or purported to accomplish, but I must have taken issue, because I replied something along the lines of, “good for aging white men in Kentucky, by the look of it.”

And that was that. Blocked, within minutes. And yeah, it was cheap, flippant, so fair enough. I was an still an angry young man then. I wouldn’t do that now. Probably. But as a consequence, I never was quite as up on the exact manner in which he was representing my interests in Frankfort as I’d have liked.

I suppose it doesn’t matter. Reviewing Mr. Lee’s legislative record now, a few days after he announced he’d not seek reelection this year, I didn’t miss much. It’s a lot of trying to ban abortion, trying to prevent same-sex marriage, and trying to make sure guns are as accessible as possible to whomever might want them. Oh, and blocking implementation of the ACA; there was a bunch of that, back in the day. He was a God-fearin’, baby-savin’, gun-protectin’, mustachioed enemy both of the damned big-government Feds and of miserable heathen liberals like myself. So, in retrospect, it was good that our relationship ended before it ever really began.

So happy trails to Mr. Lee. But who wants his desk now? Well, it turns out that Lee was going to face a primary challenger by the name of Killian Timoney, who is now the presumptive Republican nominee. So, then, to Mr. Timoney’s Twitter page:

No, this isn’t going to tell us much about his politics, but I do find it interesting that he chose—and keeps, as of this writing—the user name “killer3468,” which surely combines 1) a schoolyard nickname, and 2) an algorithmically generated series of digits to distinguish this “killer” from thousands of others, thereby reflecting 1) Mr. Timoney’s dogged determination to continue to use the nickname “killer,” and 2) his willingness to accept a Russian-bot-like numerical appendage in order to do so.

So Twitter’s a dead end. But he announced his candidacy on Facebook, so let’s start there. In that post, after listing his D-45 bona fides (Mary Queen, Dunbar, Millpond retail), he writes:

With the condition of Frankfort and the releasing of the legislative agendas, I am confirmed in my desire to serve in the state legislature. It’s clear that one of our most pressing needs is revenue. I will focus on building the infrastructure of district 45 and our Commonwealth by fully funding our schools, encouraging growth of our technical and vocational programs and implementing common sense ideas that encourage local business growth. I will focus on generating revenue and putting Kentucky back on a fiscally responsible and sound path. District 45 is ready for a change and it’s time for a new approach.

Well, as anyone can tell you, the condition of Frankfort depends on exactly which area of Frankfort you find yourself in, but perhaps he means gridlock and partisan bickering and that sort of thing, rather than its physical state. So, good: go forth and clean up that mess. Shouldn’t take much doing. But revenue: we need it? I mean, we surely do, but revenue is largely generated through taxation. Does he mean to suggest that we raise taxes? Or close loopholes? Either approach would help, but no: it’s to be “local business growth.” That sounds a lot like a tax cut in the name of supply-side economics. The cuts will pay for themselves. They will. It’ll work this time. I promise.

What else? There’s some strange cause-and-effect at work in “building the infrastructure of district 45…by fully funding our schools.” Schools need funding, to be sure, but how doing so will cause the building of infrastructure is rather mysterious, as those phenomena are both usually listed on the “expenses” side of a budget. Maybe he means that better schools will lead to more educated citizens will lead to business growth will lead to more money for infrastructure? I’d like to see his spreadsheets here.

Now, at this point, readers might grow exasperated, muttering, “look, you godless commie, it’s a Facebook post. Stop nit-picking.” But here’s the thing: this is his public campaign announcement, for a seat in the legislature of an actual U.S. state. He wants to govern us. For real. And “every step in [his] life path has been in preparation for this endeavor.” He therefore had 40+ years to prepare this post: details matter.

So: fund the schools, build infrastructure, grow tech programs, and be fiscally responsible all the while, using common sense of the sort that Frankfort sorely lacks. That’s the politics. But who is he as a person? Thanks to our self-surveilling culture, we can stalk his Facebook page a bit more for some answers.

Sports: he likes fishing and the Reds, the Phoenix Suns, and the NFL Ravens. Not the Bengals? No, that’s fair. At some point, you just can’t anymore. There’s keeping the faith, and then there’s self-harm.

Music: he likes techno. And Johnny Cash, Coldplay, U2, and Linkin Park. And, interestingly, Enya. Do you have common ground here, dear reader? For me, in order: it’s water torture; of course—everyone should; grudging respect; depends on the era; kvlt; and interestingly, yeah, in the right mood. At least it’s evidence of a certain open-mindedness.

Movies: less interesting. His likes fall largely into two categories: violent machismo, represented by “American Sniper,” “Gladiator,” “Braveheart,” and “300”; and drunken machismo, shown by “Wedding Crashers,” “Swingers,” “Old School,” “The Hangover,” and “Step Brothers.” I’m not sure where to put “The Revenant.” Now, this list doesn’t seem to have been updated in a while, so perhaps he hasn’t had the chance to add “Little Women” yet, but to make a serious point here, now, in 2020, it seems fair to ask if Mr. Timoney is open to other perspectives beyond the conventionally and crushingly masculine.

There’s a bit more here, so take a look if you care to. Some TV (fishing, mainly) and a few books (athlete biographies), and if you can learn anything from all that, all the better. With no record of political service, we have to glean what we can about the man who wants to rule this stretch of Lexington, from Fayette Mall to the airport. At some point he’ll likely find he needs a faster, more accessible means of communicating with his constituents—probably, like almost all politicians, a public Twitter. I’ll follow him then. Until he blocks me.

Thanks to Daniel Desrochers of the Lexington Herald Leader for his reporting on Lee’s withdrawal, from which I drew inspiration for this piece of commentary, and for his consistently excellent political reporting generally.