Governor Andy Beshear: “We’ve broken every economic development record in the books and created new, good-paying jobs for Kentuckians.”
A leader of the Democratic Party elected twice in conservative Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear continues to explore practical ways to improve the lives of Kentucky families.He’s a champion of the Bluegrass State, increasingly focused on welcoming the world to its “New Kentucky Home.” He spoke at length for this interview, conducted January 28.
You’ve recently returned from Davos and the World Economic Forum. What did you learn there about the evolving global investment climate and how it might apply to Kentucky?
Governor Andy Beshear: Davos was an incredible opportunity for me, as governor, to meet with CEOs from international companies that span three continents in one place over three days. I got in more than 25 meetings, five panels and an opportunity to directly talk to companies that employ 8,700 Kentuckians, as well as to talk to companies that have announced that they’re going to invest in the United States but haven’t fully decided where they’re going. So the primary value proposition as governor is both to protect the jobs that you have and seek to expand current operations from foreign-owned companies, but also to make the direct pitch about why to make Kentucky your New Kentucky Home. We also heard such great feedback on our Kentucky facilities. Nearly every company that I met with offered — we didn’t even have to ask — that this was one of their best years ever at their Kentucky facility. Over and over, we learned that for many of these companies, their Kentucky manufacturing facilities are their single largest operations anywhere in the world.
In November, you unveiled the New Kentucky Home initiative, which combines economic development and tourism efforts. How did you hit upon such a concept, and how is it a fit for Kentucky specifically?
Gov. Beshear: In Kentucky, we love where we’re from. Our place of home is so important to us, and this is an opportunity to take everything we love about Kentucky, to tell it, and then to unleash it upon the world with an invitation to join us. Our New Kentucky Home is about telling our story of how we’ve broken every economic development record in the books, from private-sector investment to new jobs, to wages and exports. To leave stereotypes of the past in the past. And then finally, to give those that are looking at Kentucky more than just information on where to locate, but a real feel about what it’s like to live here. For so many executives looking at a state, they’re not just looking to move their business, they’re looking to move their family. To give people that feel of what it’s like to be part of this New Kentucky Home means we need to be providing information — sure on our economy — but also on our way of life, on the different tourist opportunities, on the newest downtown project that’s going on in our various communities. We believe that the next stage of marketing is to truly give these companies a feeling and an understanding of what it would be like to be a part of one of our communities.
Gov. Beshear frequently leaves Frankfort to travel around the Bluegrass State to meet with those serving their communities.
Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor
Your term in office has coincided with the strongest sustained period of economic growth in commonwealth history. What can other states learn from what you’ve been doing in Kentucky?
Gov. Beshear: I don’t want to give them all the secrets, but I’d say a couple of things have helped propel us. One, from an ideal location like Kentucky you can reach 60% of the U.S. population in a one-day drive. We’re number one for air cargo by tonnage. We have rail, we have river. You can truly transport any good that you make anywhere in the United States with ease from Kentucky. The second is speed to market. We are committed to a collaborative approach from everyone, from our environmental permits to our building inspectors, to get a facility up and running faster than anywhere in the United States. We have a battery supply company located in Elizabethtown that told [former] Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that their facility was up, approved and running six months faster than [any place] they had ever seen. The last piece is a direct relationship with your governor and state government. These executives oftentimes put their career on the line in where they locate the next big investment. So as a governor, you should have a direct relationship with that company, and then you should be directly involved in everything from the initial steps to recruit them, but then also through the construction and the beginning of the operations of their facilities, and then throughout the life of the company. You look at a company like North American Stainless, who I just visited in Madrid. They’re owned by Acerinox, a company that has expanded 13 separate times since first locating in Kentucky. That’s what a real long-term relationship can result in.
Workforce continues to be a priority among executives making site location decisions. What are you doing on that front?
Gov. Beshear: I think Kentucky has the best workforce development structure in the country. First, we’re investing in our career and technical education in our high schools. We provided $245 million to come in and retrofit those programs for the jobs of the future. When a company decides to locate with us, we take them to that school system. We work their curriculum into that CTE program. The second piece is our two-year degrees from our community and technical colleges. We launched an Education First Employer program that opened the doors of those facilities and said to employers, “You bring your needs and we’ll meet them while providing a degree to your students.” The third piece is our universities, especially the engineering programs, which the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are both significantly expanding. And many of our regional universities are starting programs directly in advanced manufacturing or logistics, which are in such demand and need. And finally, we have a number of state programs to skill and to re-skill Kentuckians to meet the needs of the future — the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation, for instance. We recently announced $19 million in awards for 104 Kentucky facilities to train more than 42,600 workers. That was this last year, and that’s the most we’ve ever done since 2016. So, we’re committed.
Everyone describes Gov. Beshear as a people person.
Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor
Federal programs enacted under the Biden administration have facilitated generational investments in strategic economic sectors, one such investment being the $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park Kentucky. With the change of administrations in Washington, do you sense that era of generational investments winding down?
Gov. Beshear: I don’t. But first I’d note that BlueOval was announced before any investment from the federal government, although the project did wind up securing a large federal loan, which we’re thankful for. Look, a number of people have tried to fight the future, and no one’s ever won. We know that in the future energy is going to be more sustainable. Why? Because the private sector demanded it before the Biden administration, during the Biden administration, and they’re demanding it now. Every company that has a facility in Kentucky that I met with in Davos is demanding it. Sustainability will continue, because it’s what the private sector demands. Electrification is absolutely the future of automotive. I did a panel with the CEO of Volkswagen, and he and I agree that growth is never linear, that it is increasing every year. It might not be increasing to the initial projections, but those companies that aren’t investing now and miss the inflection point are going to miss out on being dominant players in the industry.
How, if at all, does the changing of the guard in Washington affect Kentucky’s economic development strategy, and are there areas where it might open the door to new opportunities?
Gov. Beshear: In many ways, you could view the different administrations as the carrot and the stick. The Biden administration was trying to reshore American manufacturing and lead us into the future in areas [where] other countries have gotten ahead of us, like chips or EV batteries, and they were willing to do it through investment and assistance into those spaces and companies. It appears the Trump administration wants to do it through the stick, meaning high tariffs. Whether or not that tariff policy will work to create some of these investments remains to be seen. What my job is as governor is to work with any of these companies that have a global supply chain that would be impacted by tariffs and try to find them as many domestic and as many Kentucky suppliers as possible.
You just did Davos. Over the summer, you were considered as a vice presidential nominee. Is your increased national and international profile something that Kentucky can leverage to its advantage?
Gov. Beshear: Absolutely. I’ve met with companies that — before I was part of the veepstakes or before I saw them in Davos — hadn’t thought about Kentucky. Kentucky broke its exports record last year, meaning we are now global. And global commerce is necessary to support so many of our industries, such as the bourbon industry. My job is to take being better known nationally and internationally and make sure that I’m using any of that recognition to help Kentucky, to help us recruit more jobs, and to ultimately help our people. I love where I am as governor. It is a high honor and a blessing, but it’s also a chance for me to try to help Kentucky reach heights that we’d only dreamed of. What I’m so proud of is that we’re all doing it together as a state. To my knowledge, this is the first time Kentucky has ever been invited to Davos, and that’s not because of me, it’s the result of all of us in the commonwealth achieving all of these things that have put us on the map globally.
What has the success of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail demonstrated to you about Kentucky’s appeal as a tourist destination?
Gov. Beshear: Well, we broke our all-time impact for tourism in 2022. Then we broke that record in 2023, and we’re going to break that record when the numbers come in for 2024. People love the Bourbon Trail, and bourbon is an incredible product that is in demand throughout the world. But people also love outdoor tourism, and in Kentucky you can do everything from hiking in the Appalachian mountains and going on the zip lines at Red River Gorge to being on some of the world’s most beautiful lakes to seeing the convergence of the Ohio and the Mississippi in our river counties. You can truly do it all and see it all in Kentucky. And part of our New Kentucky Home is about welcoming more visitors and then convincing them that this is a pretty good place to live. We need more people to move to Kentucky. We need to attract more talent. We need to attract more families, and so the perfect way to do that is to attract people who are already coming here to enjoy themselves. They feel our energy, feel our momentum, and then they get excited about being a part of it.
How do you drink your bourbon? And what’s your favorite setting to enjoy a little sip?
Gov. Beshear: I always say that the very best bourbon is the one in your hand. There’s a couple of brands I like neat, but I’m an on the rocks guy.
