“Remember why you were elected, you’re elected to serve the people.”
Sen. Jimmy Higdon to retire at the end of term
FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — It will be the end of an era for one state senator, as he gets ready for retirement. Republican Jimmy Higdon will not be seeking re-election.
“Things have changed quite a bit, since then, mainly, social media has probably been the biggest change, where people can say pretty much, freely what they think,” said the senator.
Higdon a longtime lawmaker first entered politics in 2003 as state representative.
Later winning a special election to the Kentucky Senate where he has represented the 14th district.
He sends advice to those who want to follow in his footsteps, “remember why you were elected, you’re elected to serve the people, and don’t ever forget that, ’cause sometimes you get pulled away from that, but, you’re there at the pleasure of your constituents and you need to remember that.”
Higdon says he’s grateful he’s been able to pass over 50 bills, including the expungement bill that’s helped many.
Higdon also serves as co-chair of the Public Pension Oversight Committee, which was once ranked as the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. But now the state’s eight retirement plans are improving.
Higdon says it’s mainly because, “I’ve worked to put up some guard rails there to prevent things getting in legislation that weren’t well-vetted. Part of our pension problem is that people would put stuff in the pension plan, not really knowing what it was gonna cost and, the effects of it. We put rules into effect that any bill has to be vetted through the PPOB, any pension bill, and it has to go all the way through the system, no shortcuts.”
For the senator, what comes next is not clear, “I plan on working diligently for my constituents every day up until December 31st, 2026 and, I have a lot to do. I really appreciate my constituents that allowed me to stay here for 20, be 24 years when I retire,” said Higdon.
Senator Higdon finished with describing his time in one word, “awesome.”