Gary Boswell is running for the 8th District Senate seat. He is a lifelong Daviess County resident and current farmer who also owned a business for 30 years before focusing on real estate investment locally. Matt Castlen, who currently holds the seat but previously announced he’s not running for reelection, has endorsed Boswell.
“I think it’s extremely important right now that we continue to have a senator for Daviess, Hancock, and McLean counties [which comprise the 8th District] that will stand up and fight for conservative principles,” Boswell said. “I’m honored to have Matt’s endorsement. I’m also pleased to have the endorsement of former senator Joe Bowen. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and have consulted with both Matt and with Joe, and Joe was one of the ones that encouraged me to seek this position.”
Boswell does have some political experience, though it came years ago. He said in 1989 he was the first Republican elected to a county office (he was elected as a commissioner) since 1917.
“People said it couldn’t be done,” he said. “Voter registration at that time was like 5-to-1 Democrat-to-Republican. Nevertheless, I was elected and served for nine years in that position.”
During that time, he lobbied for infrastructure improvements such as better roads in Daviess County. Boswell said while that was the extent of his career in a public office, he’s been to Frankfort multiple times over the years to meet with various legislators on issues facing the community.
“I kind of know the ropes up here [as a citizen activist], and now if I’m fortunate enough to get elected, I’ll be on the other side so that people would come in to talk to me about all these issues,” he said.
Boswell also takes pride in calling himself a family man, and said that’s a big factor in his decision to run for the Senate seat. He’s been married nearly 48 years, and he and his wife have 6 children and 14 grandchildren.
“I’m just very concerned about the future for my children and my grandchildren,” he said. “We’ve got a wonderful state and great district, very conservative people. I’m just excited about the possibility of getting that opportunity to represent the people of the 8th District.”
Boswell’s experience as a local business owner and his dedication to adding people to the local workforce are also things he plans to carry forward if elected.
In 1980, Boswell and his wife created the business Temporary Professionals, a staffing agency. At that time they only had two or three employees, but by the time the Boswells sold the business around 2010, they had more than 500 employees. That business is still active under new ownership with the name Paramount Staffing.
“The one thing that we were so proud of is that we instituted what we call temp-to-perm,” Boswell said. “After a very short period of time, people that did a good job working for us were allowed to be hired as permanent employees. Over the years, we helped literally thousands of people get permanent, full-time employment with benefits, which is what our ultimate goal was.”
Now, Boswell’s primary focus is as a farmer. He owns more than 1,000 acres of land in Daviess, Henderson and Muhlenberg counties.
In addition to farming, Boswell also now spends more time as a real estate investor. Most notably, Boswell is developing two major projects in Daviess County. One is a piece of land outside of Yellow Creek Park that will provide 37 homes for middle-income families.
The other is land for the East Side Industrial Park on Vincent Station Drive just off Daniels Lane (near Owensboro Health Regional Hospital). That will include 21 light industrial acres.
“We’ll build some new commercial business,” he said. “There seems to be a real need for medium-size commercial buildings because the economy’s really starting to churn. This is a real opportunity not only for affordable housing, but also to provide some opportunities for people to own a smaller-to-medium-size industrial site that’s affordable.”
Boswell is also active with several organizations in the community. In addition to being an active member of Heritage Baptist Church for nearly four decades, Boswell is involved with Friends of Sinners, Right to Life of Owensboro, and Care Net Owensboro. He’s also a longtime member of the National Rifle Association.
Castlen shared his endorsement of Boswell on Facebook late Wednesday morning.
“For decades, Gary Boswell has been a conservative leader in Daviess County,” the post reads. “A lifelong friend and a Christian brother to me, I am endorsing him for Kentucky Senate District 8. He will continue the work we started in Frankfort for our community. He will defend our values and work to cut the red tape so that Daviess, Hancock, and McLean County residents and businesses can continue to thrive.”
