Hi, all -- I'm forwarding an interesting idea below that I received this morning about the Kentucky Highway "Boone-doggle." Comments and helpful ideas are welcome. Rochelle ----- Original Message ----- From: M. Caudill To: Rochelle@cablelynx.com Cc: dellariola@cebridge.net ; joycenell@aol.com ; Pete.Holste@comcast.net Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 6:20 PM Subject: Daniel Boone for Congress Dear Rochelle, I'm sure you've heard of the renaming of the Daniel Boone Parkway in KY as the Hal Rogers Parkway. Many of our local folks are upset by this, and I have been trying to provide them with an avenue to voice their opinions. My name is Michael Caudill, and I am a retired teacher from Hazard, KY, now volunteering as a DJ on a local community radio station. I developed the idea of having a write-in campaign in the November election. I've asked a few hundred people to go down the ballot to the race for 5th US congressional district, press the "write-in" button, slide open the door and write in "Daniel Boone." I don't really want to defeat Hal Rogers (the incumbent), but I feel that public roads and buildings should not be named for living elected (or appointed) officials until they've been dead a few years. Sound pretty good so far? Everyone I've talked to has liked the idea, and promised to pass it on to their friends. However, one of my contacts, an attorney, told me to ask the local election official if it would work. Now here's the problem: seems we have a law in KY that says that unless someone is REGISTERED as a write-in candidate by ten days before the election, the write-in votes will not even be counted. I've already contacted the local TV and radio stations (my ex-students are in the news departments of both), and the political editor of the 2nd-largest newspaper in the state, to tell them to watch the election results as they come in. All have agreed to sit on the story until election eve. But if the votes aren't counted, they won't show up. No story. No news. No voice of protest against the name change. I've contacted the Attorney General of KY (he's from one county over and we have mutual friends) and asked for a favorable ruling that will say, "Yes, the votes MUST be counted, even if we then declare the candidate ineligible because he did not register." Then we have a news story. Where do you and your group come in? Well, if the KY Atty. Gen. still says we have to have a candidate registered, we need a real, live Daniel Boone who lives in the Kentucky 5th US Congressional District and is a registered voter and is willing to register as a write-in candidate SOON! Surely, out of all the Boones in your registry, somebody knows one who fits this description. What started out as a small political protest has grown into a quest to give the little man a voice in his government. If we are unsuccessful this year, Hal has to run again in two years. By then we'll have a Daniel Boone - even if it involves a legal name change. T-shirts, bumper stickers, the works. We already have our slogan -- "the Great American Daniel Boone-Doggle." Please let me hear from you soon - the deadline is approaching. Michael Caudill Chairman, The Great American Boone-Doggle