Kentucky Civic Engagement Table (KCET) is a left-of-center advocacy group that supports and coordinates efforts of small, left-leaning activist groups in Kentucky. The group is part of the coalition State Voices, which organizes left-of-center state-based political advocacy groups. ¹

Projects that KCET supports include reinstating voting rights for Kentuckians with felony convictions, increasing voter engagement among racial and ethnic minorities in Kentucky, and supporting the “Defund the Police” movement. Several board members have associations with state and local Democratic Parties in Kentucky.

Background

Liberal activists created so-called state “table” organizations in the mid-2000s to coordinate and support the work of left-leaning state and local political activist groups, with the goal of orienting these smaller nonprofit organizations toward a more coordinated and lasting approach. ²

State Voices was launched in 2008 to coordinate the state table organizations being developed across the country. As of 2021, State Voices has 23 table organizations in the network. The Kentucky Civic Engagement Table (KCET) was founded in 2018 ³ and received nonprofit status as a public charity on October 24, 2018. It had not filed a publicly disclosed Form 990 tax return as of September 2021. ⁴

Projects

Kentucky Civic Engagement Table provides training, tools, and resources to small progressive nonprofits with a focus on increasing voter registration and engagement, and to increase leadership in left-leaning communities. ⁵

Election Administration

Kentucky Civic Engagement Table advocates for voting rights for Kentuckians with felony convictions. ⁶ In 2020, more than 150,000 persons with felony convictions had their voting rights restored. ⁷

KCET partnered with BallotReady to provide Kentuckians with information on how to vote by mail in the 2020 election. BallotReady is an online resource that encourages early voting and vote-by-mail. ⁸

Leadership Development

KCET provides leadership training and tools to member organizations, with a focus on ethnic and racial minorities as well as women, low-income individuals, immigrants, and the formerly incarcerated. ⁹

Defund the Police

KCET worked directly with local organizers in Louisville to support protests related to the investigation of the death of Breonna Taylor during a police raid. ¹⁰ In 2021, KCET supported Black August as “a time to commit to Black lives and rebellion, to defunding police, and to investing in Black communities”. ¹¹

Leadership

Sellus Wilder founded the Kentucky Civic Engagement Table. He is also a director at Commonwealth Alliance for Voter Engagement. He previously coordinated protests directed at the Bluegrass Pipeline, a proposed natural gas pipeline that was blocked in the Kentucky courts. Wilder ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2016 on a progressive platform. ¹² He was endorsed by progressive group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. ¹³

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Annual Report dated June 30, 2021, lists LaToya Drake as the president of KCET. ¹⁴ Drake is a former candidate for the Kentucky state House and serves central executive committee of the Kentucky Democrats. ¹⁵

Alicia Hurle is a co-director at KCET since August 2020. She is also a co-director for Commonwealth Alliance for Voter Engagement. ¹⁶ Hurle is a deputy organizing director for democracy at Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

Crimson Macdonald is a board director at KCET since June 2018 and the chair of Campbell County Democrats. ¹⁷

Ariana Velasquez is a board director at KCET. She is also on the state central executive committee of the Kentucky Democrats. ¹⁸

1. “Who We Are.” State Voices. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.statevoices.org/about/who-we-are/
2. “History.” State Voices. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.statevoices.org/about/history/
3. “History.” State Voices. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.statevoices.org/about/history/
4. Kentucky Civic Engagement Table Determination Letter. IRS.gov. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=832413836&name=Kentucky%20Civic%20Engagement%20Table%20Inc.&city=Frankfort&state=KY&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20DETERMINATIONLETTERS&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=DETERMINATIONLETTERS
5. Kentucky Civic Engagement Table. Kelly Ann Brown Foundation. Accessed September 15, 2021. http://www.kellyannbrownfoundation.org/kentucky-civic-engagement-table.html
6. Kentucky Civic Engagement Table. Kelly Ann Brown Foundation. Accessed September 15, 2021. http://www.kellyannbrownfoundation.org/kentucky-civic-engagement-table.html
7. “Voices for Power.” State Voices. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://voicesforpower.statevoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SV-2020-Post-Election-Report.pdf
8. “Learn More About Voting.” Kentucky Civic Engagement Table. Accessed September 15, 2021.  https://www.statevoices.org/state-tables/kentucky/
9. “Who We Serve.” State Voices. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.statevoices.org/about/who-we-serve/
10. “Voices for Power.” State Voices. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://voicesforpower.statevoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SV-2020-Post-Election-Report.pdf
11. “Defund Police For Democracy.” Kentucky Civic Engagement Table. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.statevoices.org/state-tables/kentucky/
12. Sellus Wilder. LinkedIn. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sellus-wilder-657a474/
13. “Democrat Sellus Wilder picks up KFTC endorsement for U.S. Senate, says he’s ‘credible contender’ to Jim Gray in primary.” Louisville Insight. March 29, 2016. Accessed September 17, 2021.  https://louisvilleinsight.com/archived-news/sellus-wilder-picks-up-kftc-endorsement-for-senate/
14. Commonwealth of Kentucky Annual Report Online Filing. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://web.sos.ky.gov/corpscans/77/1037177-09-99999-20210630-ARP-8489073-PU.pdf
15. Party Leadership. Kentucky Democrats. Accessed September 17, 2021. https://kydemocrats.org/about/people/party-leadership/
16. Alicia Hurle. LinkedIn. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciahurle/
17. Crimson Macdonald. LinkedIn. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/crimsoncunningham/
18. Party Leadership. Kentucky Democrats. Accessed September 17, 2021. https://kydemocrats.org/about/people/party-leadership/