Gary Wayne Cox
Age 67
Pilgrim
Education/work experience:
•Graduate Warfield High School (1972)
•One year Morehead State
•One year Prestonsburg Community College
•26 years Martin County Coal Corporation
•22 years to present Airport Manager, Big Sandy Regional Airport
To what extent have you been a part of the local government in Martin County?
This is my first attempt at elected office.
I have served one term on the library board.
I served one term on the Big Sandy Community and Technical College Board.
Currently serving on the State Airport Zoning Board.
What do you believe to be the top three issues affecting Martin County?
•Water
We must get our water problems corrected.
•Clean up our county
It is hard to attract industry or tourism without cleanliness.
•Lack of cooperation
We must work together to move our county forward.
If elected, what changes/goals would you advocate and why?
Transparency.
I believe it’s easier to govern when the citizens understand the cost of governing and the amount of revenues available. We must also learn to live within our means. Running a county is no different from running a household. If we can’t afford something, we must do without it or find a way to fund it without long-term debt.
Transition.
We must learn to live without coal. If coal were to make a comeback, we should welcome it, but we must prepare for an economy without coal. Tourism ideas need to be explored, working with other counties. Tourism dollars are always valuable to your economy because it is monies from outside the area being invested in your county.
Foresight.
We must learn to “think outside the box,” explore new ideas, new ways to transition our economy. It was easy to govern our county with the abundance of coal severance monies. Those days are most likely gone, and so is the luxury of bad decisions not having dire consequences.
Cooperation.
We must work together. It’s not important to have a consensus on all decisions. It’s okay to agree to disagree, but once a decision is made and you have been outvoted, you must put pettiness aside and work to make the majority’s decision succeed. I like this saying I once heard, “A rising tide lifts all ships.” What’s good for the county is ultimately going to be good for its citizens.
Leadership.
When put in a position of leadership, one must lead. A magistrate must make decisions that put the county in the best possible position to succeed. A magistrate must talk with their constituents, get as many different opinions as possible, then decide what is best for your district and county. It’s easy to say YES when you agree, but it’s even more important to say NO when you don’t.
In no more than 400 words, tell us why voters should choose you for this office.
Managing Big Sandy Regional Airport for the last 22 years, I have been working with both federal and state agencies. I know how to build relationships and how to stand up for the things I believe in and do it respectfully. It was a 13-year battle with the FAA trying to shorten our runway because it was originally built with inadequate safety areas. Maintaining the length of our runway at 5,000 feet was extremely important for the future of our industrial park. Larger jets require at least 5,000 feet to operate for insurance purposes. Today the federal government is spending $5.8 million to fix our safety overrun area to federal standards, with no local funds. I will work for District 4 and Martin County with the same diligence that I have done with the airport.
My entire family lives in Martin County. My only agenda is to make Martin County a better place to live and work. My promise to the voters in District 4 is for honest, responsible leadership.