BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE -- Democratic congressional candidate Ken Lucas has used his platform on juvenile crime to run his third radio commercial of the campaign. Mr. Lucas, a Boone County Democrat, is running against Republican state Sen. Gex "Jay" Williams, also of Boone County, in the 4th District race.
"Juvenile violence is a serious problem that requires serious solutions," Mr. Lucas said.
"I believe my seven-point plan to ensure children's safety, bring values back into the classroom, get drugs out of our schools, clean up the Internet, discipline juvenile delinquents, reduce class size and train teachers will significantly aid in the fight against juvenile violence," Mr. Lucas said.
But Craig Hendricks, Mr. Williams' campaign manager, called Mr. Lucas' plan "a wish list, not a juvenile violence program." Many of Mr. Lucas' proposals were included in bills dealing with crime and school safety the General Assembly passed, and Mr. Williams supported, earlier this year, Mr. Hendricks said.
"Senator Williams co-sponsored detailed state legislation that provides specific state and local solutions for juvenile violence," Mr. Hendricks said.
"Surely our opponent is not advocating a larger federal bureaucracy to handle problems already addressed in Kentucky," he said. "Whoever wrote (Mr. Lucas') plan is obviously not well-informed about Kentucky juvenile law."
Mr. Lucas unveiled his plan last week during an appearance at East Carter High School in Carter County in the eastern part of the 22-county 4th District.
It includes:
• Background checks on teachers, bus drivers, day-care providers and others coming in contact with children.
• Giving school personnel access to students' criminal records. Implementing a zero tolerance policy to get drugs out of schools, sentencing to jail any student who brings drugs to school.
• Protecting kids from pornography and sexual predators on the Internet.
• Removing disruptive students from the classroom.
• Providing funding for alternative learning centers, with an emphasis on discipline and counseling.
During the Carter County speech, Mr. Lucas accused Mr. Williams of being "opposed to construction of the Northern Kentucky juvenile detention center" being built in Newport because he had voted against an appropriations bill funding the center.
But Mr. Williams said it is "false to say I opposed construction of the Northern Kentucky juvenile detention center."
Mr. Williams says he did favor allowing a private company to build the $4.3 million facility, which won't open until the year 2000.
"If the state would have allowed a private company to build the center, it would already be operating -- and violent juvenile offenders would already be off the streets," he said, adding that a private corrections company could have built a center "bigger, faster and cheaper" than the state.
But Mr. Lucas' campaign manager, John Lapp, said Mr. Williams is trying to have it both ways by saying he is for the center but voting against the funding.
"You're either for it or against it, and he was against it," Mr. Lapp said.
Mr. Williams said he also wanted the center to house juveniles longer than 30 days, which will be the maximum length of stay in the center, he said.
In his radio ad, which began playing on stations last week, Mr. Lucas brings up the fact that as Boone County judge-executive he was president of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, an undercover drug unit.
Mr. Lucas resigned as judge-executive last month to concentrate on his congressional campaign.
But Mr. Hendricks said Mr. Lucas did not implement and enforce a local zero-tolerance drug policy as head of the strike force, and "why are we to believe he'll do it from Washington, D.C., in the future?" Mr. Hendricks said.
Mr. Lapp said Mr. Lucas' proposal deals with federal, and not local, issues.
"We're looking at national solutions for local problems, taking his common-sense approach to government to Congress," Mr. Lapp said.
