Doctor Thrasher to Challenge Hawkins in 25th

Lifelong Valley Station resident Dr. Robert G. Thrasher of 4620 Palma Road in Southwest Louisville's 25th district has officially filed to run against reactionary incumbent Doug Hawkins, triggering a Republican primary this coming May. It should be a lively contest. I, personally, cannot wait for the battle to begin.

The following appears courtesy of my friends at The Local Weekly:

Dr. Thrasher is a graduate of Valley High School (1970) and holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Louisville in Education Leadership and Development. He has recently taught at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. He is currently on a sabbatical from the university. His past accomplishments include coaching the Girls Softball team at Valley High School (2004), the Boys Baseball team (2005), both Men’s and Women’s Basketball at Lindsey Wilson College (1980-1982), along with starting the Baseball Program at Lindsey Wilson College in 1980. He is a member of the Virginia Avenue United Methodist Church located on Stonestreet Road. He devotes countless hours at his church while serving on several committees there. He also is a board member of the Valley High School Alumni Association. You can find him usually at the school on nights of football and basketball games running the official score clock.

Dr. Thrasher believes in term limits for all political offices including Metro Council. He also supports the National Republican Party platform. He feels he can make a difference in Southwest Jefferson County in particular, Valley Station.

Currently, Dr. Thrasher is writing a book entitled "After the Lights Went Out", an autobiography of his four years of undergraduate work at the University of Louisville and the school's sports programs. He also is working on several research articles dealing with college student-athlete gambling habits. He has published two of his articles to date, "The Impact of Gender and Varsity Athletic Participation on Gambling Attitudes and Subjective Norms of College Students", Journal of Contemporary Athletics and "The Efficacy of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Explain Gambling Behavior", College Student Affairs Journal. His third article, "The Efficacy of a Modified Theory of Reasoned Action to explain gambling behavior in college students" has been submitted to the Journal of Gambling Studies.

Dr. Thrasher has also presented peer-reviewed presentations at the International Conference of Sport and Entertainment Business at South Carolina University, Sport Management Conference at Florida State University, and the 2006 North American Society for Sport Management in Kansas City, the National Conference on Gambling and Addiction in Las Vegas, and the Troy University Southern Sport Management Conference. He currently has submissions to the 2010 University of North Carolina Scholarly Conference on College Sport and the 2010 National Council on Problem Gambling Conference.

While impressive, there is nothing here to suggest Thrasher has any political experience whatsoever. Besides his "support" for the Republican National Platform, there is only one policy position listed ... his obsessive, conspicuous hatred for the games of chance. It always strikes me as odd when one hails from and aspires to political office smack dab in the middle of the home of the world's most famous horse race carrying the "anti-gambling" banner. It's like running a temperance movement from inside a brewery.

I would encourage and hope for a clean, fair primary from these two candidates. Let the fun begin. The winner will face Democrat David Yates in November.