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Geoff Sebesta
Geoff Sebesta (Democratic Party) ran for election for Kentucky Secretary of State. Sebesta lost in the Democratic primary on May 21, 2019.
Sebesta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2019
See also: Kentucky Secretary of State election, 2019
General election
General election for Kentucky Secretary of State
Michael Adams defeated Heather French Henry in the general election for Kentucky Secretary of State on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael Adams (R) | 52.3 | 746,629 |
 | Heather French Henry (D) | 47.7 | 682,096 | |
| Total votes: 1,428,725 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky Secretary of State
Heather French Henry defeated Jason Belcher, Jason Griffith, and Geoff Sebesta in the Democratic primary for Kentucky Secretary of State on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Heather French Henry | 71.0 | 263,431 |
| Jason Belcher | 12.9 | 47,930 | ||
 | Jason Griffith | 12.8 | 47,657 | |
 | Geoff Sebesta | 3.3 | 12,087 | |
| Total votes: 371,105 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky Secretary of State
Michael Adams defeated Andrew English, Stephen L. Knipper, and Carl Nett in the Republican primary for Kentucky Secretary of State on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Adams | 41.2 | 94,417 |
 | Andrew English | 27.4 | 62,680 | |
 | Stephen L. Knipper | 18.2 | 41,639 | |
 | Carl Nett | 13.2 | 30,340 | |
| Total votes: 229,076 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Geoff Sebesta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sebesta's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
1. Immediate publication of all correspondence and communication through the office of Secretary of State, including refusal of all privileged correspondence. The office will be, and remain, perfectly transparent. 2. Extension of this transparency into the Governor's office under the provisions of Section 91 of the Kentucky Constitution. 3. Maintaining the office in a functioning, nonpartisan, and trustworthy manner. It will be necessary to avoid the appearance of unfairness or impropriety while in office.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Transparency, voting rights, voting security, education, and to a limited degree, aesthetics.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
Dag Hammarskjöld. I think about Muhammad Ali a lot during this campaign, as well as the music of a rock band called the Mountain Goats.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
The Golden Bough, by Sir James Frazier, provides the essential underpinnings of my understanding of the current political situation.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Trustworthiness, honesty, an ability to take in new information. An ability to see themselves as others see them. Honestly caring.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I have a fairly good combination of intelligence, ethics, and reliability. I show up for work. I try to be nice to people. I also try to be nobody's
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
1. Nonpartisanship. 2. Competence. 3. Transparency. 4. The facilitation of communication between the governor's office, the legislature, and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, both in their individual selves and in their various corporate ventures. 4a. The recording and reporting of same.
What legacy would you like to leave?
The transparency provisions will most likely prove transformative, in one way or another. That's the thing about information; you don't know what you're going to do until you have it.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
I remember being really upset when I read the cover of an issue of US News and World Report that said that pennies weren't going to be made out of copper anymore. I think I was five.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
I worked for the summer of 1991 as a camp counselor's assistant for a day camp at the University of Kentucky.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
I was born on the 4th of July, so I've always been fond of it.
What is your favorite book? Why?
Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon, is probably the book I return to the most often. I think Breathtaker, by Hempel and Wheatley, is probably the greatest graphic novel of all time.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
Slippery Jim diGriz
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
I have been listening to the Mountain Goats a lot. Their song "Love Love Love" is maybe the one I think about the most.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
If I'm so smart, why ain't I rich?
What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government?
The Secretary of State functions as a symbolic personation of the function of communication between abstract entities such as the governor's office ,the legislature, land-holders, and corporations. The Secretary facilitates communication *and records communication* between these entities.
What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?
Voting issues are by far the most important to the people at large.
Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?
Kentucky Constitution, Section 91: "The Secretary of State shall keep a fair register of and attest all the official acts of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto before either House of the General Assembly." First part's the important part: "The Secretary of State shall keep a fair register of and attest all the official acts of the Governor." "All official acts" means everything done while in office. "Fair register" means you can read it. This provision can, should, and will be used to extend transparency into the Governor's office. A primary responsibility of the Secretary of State is to report on the governor and the government.
Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?
Absolutely. Experience is always a plus. I'll point out that, although I've never been the secretary of an entire state before, I do have extensive secretarial experience. I can also type 100wpm.
What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?
The ability to get along with large groups of people while being incredibly fair and scrupulously honest.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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