Matt Sawyers was recently appointed as Commissioner of the Department for Local Government. In this interview, he shares insights into his career journey, the motivations behind his new role, and his vision for the future of the department. Learn more about his goals and priorities as he steps into this pivotal position.
Q. You’ve worked in a variety of roles throughout your career. How has this experience prepared you to serve as Commissioner of the Department for Local Government?
It brings me back to where my career in government and public service started, when I was Governor Steve Beshear’s first appointee to DLG, serving as Chief of Staff. In that capacity, I served as the Governor’s alternate to the Appalachian Regional Commission and his designee to the Delta Regional Authority. That role allowed me to connect with local officials and leaders in communities across the state, all working hard to make their communities better for their citizens.
From there, I gained valuable perspective and appreciation for the hard work and commitment progress requires through a variety of roles and responsibilities in Steve Beshear’s administration. Those opportunities, while working with some tremendous mentors and public servants, and my work outside state government with a national association helped form my approach to management and organizational execution.
Q. What motivates and inspires your work in public service?
It’s as simple as seeing goals being realized. All this hard work from developing an idea or identifying a need, to gathering support, to developing a plan, to finding solutions to execute those plans, to seeing a dream realized is really inspirational. We are fortunate at DLG that we have the opportunity to play a part in seeing those dreams fulfilled.
Q. What are your chief priorities and goals for DLG?
I believe our chief priority should always be to build upon the excellent reputation and legacy of the agency and to better our support to local governments in every way. In addition, we will follow Governor Beshear’s lead in our commitment to support communities in the most professional way possible. And we will never forget or overlook any Kentuckian who needs our assistance, whether that be following a natural disaster, an infrastructure emergency, an opportunity to create jobs or a better place to live or any other case where we might extend DLG’s resources to meet needs and solve problems.
Q. How do you plan to address the specific needs and concerns of Kentucky’s local governments?
First by listening. There are at least two buckets to think about when answering this question. There are needs specific to local governments that are applicable to nearly all local governments. To address those issues, you need to develop a comprehensive approach to solving the problem that identifies and brings in various stakeholders who can work to provide solutions to those needs and concerns.
The second bucket contains the very specific needs of an individual community. We will listen, identify the problem, and work with the community to develop solutions, whether that be leveraging our resources and expertise, or providing a facilitating role to establish connections within the public, non-profit, and for-profit sectors to create a solution.
Q. How do you plan to foster collaboration between DLG and county officials?
You develop relationships by being there. You get to know people. Learn about their jobs, personal experiences, families, communities, and goals for their time in office. DLG has always been a pro-active agency. We do trainings, we attend ADD meetings, fiscal court meetings, city council meetings and numerous conferences. We host our own Governor’s Local Issues Conference. We have an open door policy, and we have a standard to be responsive to emails and calls.
Q. What would you like county officials to know about you and DLG?
They should know DLG is operating as tight as it ever has. More dollars, federal and state are passing through our office than ever before, being managed by a smaller staff than in anyone’s memory. I am very proud of how the agency is operating. We have experienced professionals here who come in every day committed to doing a great job for our constituents.
What they should know about me is I gave up a great career to come back to state government. I saw what Governor Beshear was doing to lead Kentucky forward. His message that our opportunities and challenges here are not red or blue, but are about moving Kentucky forward together. That message resonated with me and I hoped I could play a role. Also, I really missed working across this beautiful state with all the great Kentuckians striving to provide a better commonwealth for our kids.
Q. Are there any specific initiatives or projects that you are excited about?
Fulfilling the promise made to Kentucky’s natural disaster survivors to build their lives and communities back better than ever is a top priority of the administration.
I have also had the opportunity while serving in the Governor’s office to expand re-entry services to incarcerated individuals. We ultimately hope to provide support to our county jails who face so many challenges, and prepare re-entering individuals with the tools and resources they need to become valuable members of our communities and our workforce.
Matt Sawyers Bio
I was born in Whitley County and have lived most of my life in London. I graduated from South Laurel High School and the University of Kentucky. I worked on political campaigns until I joined Steve Beshear’s administration in 2008 as Chief of Staff of the Department for Local Government. I then served six years as Deputy Secretary of the Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet.
Before rejoining state government, I was the executive director of the Kentucky Oil and Gas Association and the National Association of Shell Marketers. I joined Governor Andy Beshear’s administration in November 2022.
I currently live in Lexington with my wife, Jenni, and our two kids, Nick and Lily, who are 16 and 12. I spend nearly all of my free time on a ballfield or in a gym.
