William Compton

William Compton was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Compton earned a high school diploma from Warren East High School and a bachelor's degree in music education from Western Kentucky University in 2016. His career experience includes working as an orchestra director and as a teacher with Warren East High School. Compton has been affiliated with the Poor Peoples Campaign, Footprints Outreach, and the Kentucky Democratic Rural Council.[1][2][3]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is William Dakota Compton. I am a 31 year old public school teacher, where I am teaching String Orchestra. I am also a 3rd term city commissioner for the small city of Plum Springs, Kentucky.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Healthcare- I believe Healthcare is a human right. I support Medicare for All, protecting rural hospitals, and lowering prescription drug costs.Education- I am a public school teacher. I fully support funding public education, raising teacher pay, expanding mental health support for students, and making college and trade programs more affordable.Jobs and Wages- I believe we need to raise the minimum wage, expand rural broadband, invest in clean

energy infrastructure, and protect workers' right to unionize.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Healthcare, Education, Jobs/Economy

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Andy Beshear because he has been a stalwart fighter for Kentuckians and has worked to make things better here in our state.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe the most important qualities are: Honest and Dependable. We see our elected representatives constantly lie when they get elected, just to help themselves and we have seen them ignore the people they are supposed to represent. We need someone who will be honest and always show up for their constituents.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have a strong work ethic. That helps in this seat because I will make sure I read bills before we vote on them, I get input from my constituents, and I do my research on the legislation to ensure it helps Americans. If you are elected to do a job, you do the job correctly and not halfway!

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe the core responsibility is to listen to the people you represent. We are to represent and vote based on the needs and concerns they have in Washington.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy of a brighter future for the next generation. A future without a massive federal deficit, without the fear of not having quality healthcare, without struggling public schools across our nation.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I can remember is 9/11. I was 8 years old when it happened.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Worker at McDonalds was my first job. I stayed with them for 5 years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Apt. by Rose' and Bruno Mars

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do, especially if you are running for a federal office.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

I believe the greatest challenge is how we, as a nation, handle our national debt.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I do.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe we need term limits.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

William H. Natcher is someone I would want to model myself after.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

In some situations, I do believe a compromise is necessary to ensure we move things forward.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

It would help me make sure that we are spending our money on things to improve our nation, and would make sure that I could write legislation to do just that.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

I do.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

NextGen Politics

What committees interest you?

Education committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We need to fight to improve financial transparency for our government. I believe election reform like ending citizens united and gerrymandering across the nation is needed to help with this reform.

William Compton did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a 27 year old music educator, city commissioner for the small city of Plum Springs, and candidate for US Congress.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Our working class citizens have been neglected for too long and it is time we have a representative that will stand up and vote for the working people. I am running to be that representative and will always be here to help our great district in any way possible.It is time to pass the leadership on to someone else. Our current representative has been in congress since 2009. It is time we have a change in who represents our district. I am that change.Over this pandemic, we have seen our leaders in congress botch all attempts at helping our citizens. When the American Rescue Plan was passed, it helped out many Kentucky residents. Our representative is one of many touting how great it is in helping our district, but yet he voted no on it. I will always vote for legislation that will help our people in any time of need, not when it is convenient for me.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The areas of public policy I am most passionate about are:

-Affordable Healthcare

-Social and Economic infrastructure brought into our commonwealth

-Having clean, renewable energy sources so we have a planet our children and grandchildren can live happily on

-Equality for anyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The biggest characteristics should be honesty and integrity.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

The best quality I possess is the ability to listen and the ability to be honest. In US Congress, listening to constituents, experts, and others is the way to understand how to come to an agreement to make sure our country moves in the right direction. We also have to many politicians that are not honest with the public, and I hope to be one that changes that stigma.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities should be to create open dialogue with constituents and vote the way that they want you to vote.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event I can remember was the 9/11 tragedy. I was 8 years old at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working at local McDonalds. I started as a grill cook, and after 5 years, left as a swing shift manager.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The greatest challenge we have is to build back our great economy.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would like to be a part of the education committee.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes, I do.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe we should introduce congressional term limits.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is necessary for policymaking.

Campaign website

Compton's campaign website stated the following:

Healthcare

I support Medicare for All. In Medicare for All, Medicare coverage will be expanded and improved to include: dental, hearing, vision, and home- and community-based long-term care, in-patient and out-patient services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, reproductive and maternity care, prescription drugs, and more. I will also work to stop the pharmaceutical industry from ripping off the American people by making sure that no one in America pays over $200 a year for the medicine they need by capping what Americans pay for prescription drugs under Medicare for All. Under the Affordable Care Act, Kentucky expanded Medicare, which covered more people who previously made too much money to afford Medicare but not enough to afford private insurance. Due to that policy, so many Kentuckians were able to have insurance for the first time. If we have Medicare for All, so many more Kentuckians will be covered for the first time in their lives.

Infrastructure

We need to focus on our infrastructure that is sadly crumbling around us. I support President Biden’s plan to strengthen our infrastructure. Repair Economic Infrastructure like roads, bridges, waterways, etc and use renewable resources for the repairs. Despite the importance of these resources that everyone uses, we are seeing about 21.8 % of roads nationwide in poor condition, 7.6% of bridges nationwide are in need of repair, and there have been 4.8 derailments for every 100 miles of train track from 2015-2019. In Kentucky, a study in 2020 found that 13.8 percent of major urban roads are in poor shape, and 3.1 percent of urban freeways and interstates are in poor shape. We also need to repair our Social Infrastructure such as: Invest in public education: Fix buildings, staffing budgets and universal Pre-K childcare, supplies for schools, etc, invest in childcare for working families, etc. I also believe that we need to implement a broadband wireless internet initiative across our nation. Internet access is something we need to utilize for the future, and having this resource will help many rural Kentuckians in the future.

Veterans Affairs

We need to invest more into veteran care. Veterans have selflessly put their lives on the line for our freedom and we need to properly thank them for it. The way we treat our veterans when they come home from war needs to change. We need to provide better mental health care for our veterans, medical care, and reacclimation to civilian life training. We also need to target the issue of homelessness, and find a way to make sure our military veterans are not on the street without a roof over their heads. We also need to work to provide transportation to and from grocery stores, doctors, jobs, and group help sessions.

Education

As a public school teacher, education is something near and dear to my heart. Our education system is in need of reform. We need to provide more funds for schools to, not only buy the resources/materials needed for the next generation to learn, but to pay educators what they duly deserve. We also need to end high-stakes testing. State testing should not be tied to school funding. We also need to provide resources for students to not only learn the basics (Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading), but to explore other areas such as: Art, Music, Farming/Agriculture tech, business, etc. We also need to ensure each student has access to a mental health counselor in the school. I also support student loan forgiveness up to $50,000 in order to support our students’ economic futures.

LGBTQIA+

When it comes to equal rights, we have made many amazing strides over the past couple of years, but our job is not done. I will fight for everyone's rights in congress. I would fight for: Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination policies, Privacy protection of our Transgender Americans, an LGBTQIA+-inclusive public education system, guarantee to Transgender-affirming healthcare, a nationwide ban on "conversion therapy", end the "gay panic" and "transgender panic" murder excuse, and ban intersex mutilation.

Gender Equality

When it comes to gender equality, I believe we still have many chances to improve. Here are the ways I would work to improve gender equality in our nation: I would support the Paycheck Fairness Act to end the gender wage gap, champion a Medicare for All platform to ensure everyone regardless of gender has access to healthcare, Fight to end sexual harassment, discrimination, and violence in the workplace, support environmental justice with adaptive resources for women, and many more.

Marijuana

In congress, I will work to legalize marijuana nationwide. We have seen success stories on how it can safely be done in many other states. With the legalization of it nationwide, we would see a large economic job opportunity open up in Kentucky. This would give farmers a chance to grow the new crop, it would provide funding nationwide for other programs, and would give us the chance to expunge the records of any person in jail that had a marijuana charge.

Justice System

Our criminal justice system is severely broken and needs massive reforms. If you commit a crime, you should be tried. It should not matter what your occupation is, how much money you make, etc. We need to end, nationwide, No-Knock Warrants. We also need to stop the for-profit prison complex mentality. Prisons should be a place for reform for a majority of the small time offenders. We also need to invest in better training programs for police, better funding so we can send out mental health professionals in situations when needed.

Environment

I believe we are facing a major existential crisis when it comes to our environment. I will fight for greener energy to be used in the commonwealth, as well as working to transform our energy sources to renewable energy. By moving away from nonrenewable energy, we can create long lasting, safe jobs in our commonwealth that will provide stability for families in our nation. I support legislation such as the Green New Deal.[4]

—William Compton's campaign website (2022)[5]