Walker Thomas (born August 13, 1963) is an American politician who has served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 8th district since 2017.[1][2] He was first elected in 2016, defeating incumbent representative Jeffrey R. Taylor. Thomas had previously lost a special election to Taylor earlier that year.
Walker Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 8th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey R. Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 13, 1963 Hopkinsville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Controversy edit
On February 23, 2022, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that during a committee meeting, Thomas and committee chair Sen. Rick Girdler made use of the anti-Semitic phrase "Jew them down" to refer to bargaining for a lower price on a $1 lease.[3] According to the story, after a presentation about the lease, which was necessary due to recent storms, Walker had been picked up on a hot mic laughing and asking if the state could "jew them down on the price." Girdler repeated the question and then paused, and said, “That ain’t the right word to use. ‘Drop them down,’ I guess.”[4] Thomas later apologized, saying that the remark was "not who he was", and wasn't intended to offend anyone in the Jewish community.
References edit
- ^ "House District 8". Lrc.ky.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ "Walker Thomas tops Jeff Taylor in close race". Kentucky New Era. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ "Kentucky legislators apologize after using anti-Semitic phrase during committee meeting". Lexington Herald-Leader. 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ Kampeas, Ron (24 February 2022). "2 Kentucky Lawmakers apologize". Times of Israel.