Beshear, Abramson kick off campaign

FRANKFORT – Gov. Steve Beshear formally announced his intention to seek a second term at press conferences in Frankfort and Louisville on Monday and officially introduced longtime Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson as his running mate.

The two will continue their campaign kick-off tour Tuesday and Wednesday with stops in Bowling Green, Paducah, Owensboro, Hazard, Hebron and Worthington.

Monday’s announcement kicks off the 2011 race for governor and also creates an open race for Louisville mayor. Within hours of the Frankfort press conference, Greg Fischer, 51, a Louisville businessman who ran for the U.S. Senate, announced that he would run for Abramson’s seat. Another Democrat, Louisville Metro Councilman Jim King also released a statement saying that he would make a decision whether he will run in “coming weeks.”

Many Republicans hope that former federal prosecutor and lieutenant governor Steve Pence enters the race. Pence did not return calls Monday seeking comment. Another possible Republican candidate is Kelly Downard, a councilman who challenged Abramson in 2006 and lost.

Beshear, who was elected in 2007, said Monday at a press conference in Frankfort that it would take an additional term to accomplish what he set out to do. The governor has had to grapple with declining state revenues and manage the state’s response to several natural disasters, including an ice storm that crippled much of the state in January and February.

“Our work is not finished,” Beshear said. “I dream of more for our state and our people.”

Abramson, 62, has spent more than 20 years as the mayor of the state’s most populous city and has an impressive track record of attracting and retaining jobs, improving the city’s parks system and reducing the size of government, Beshear said.

“Mayor Abramson is a proven leader,” Beshear said.

Only 19 months into his first term, Beshear had to choose a running mate early after Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo announced earlier this year that he was going to run for U.S. Senate and would not be on the governor’s ticket. In Kentucky, candidates cannot raise money until they announce their intention to run. Gatewood Galbraith, an independent and Lexington lawyer, has also said that he intends to run.

On Monday, Beshear touted his accomplishments over the past 19 months. Those accomplishments include passing an overhaul of the state’s economic development tools, getting more children enrolled in the state’s healthcare plans and attracting a federal research laboratory to Kentucky.

Charlie Moore, the chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party, applauded Beshear’s decision to add the five-time mayor to the ticket, saying that Abramson’s proven leadership skills were needed as the state struggles financially.

“The governor needs the best executive he can find,” Moore said, adding that he doubts that a Democratic candidate will emerge to challenge Beshear in 2011.

But others have questioned whether Abramson could help Beshear pick up votes in far Eastern and Western Kentucky. Abramson’s more liberal stances on some issues – such as gun control – would resonate with rural voters who tend to be more conservative.

Beshear dismissed the criticism Monday, adding that most people in Kentucky care more about where a candidate is going than where he is from.

“Jerry Abramson is a very mainstream Kentuckian,” Beshear said. “This administration is not going to have any agenda about gun ownership at all.” Beshear noted that gun control is a federal issue.

Abramson said he will finish out the remaining 18 months left in his term as mayor. Abramson and Beshear have said they do not have a hand-picked Democratic successor in mind to replace Abramson but will back whoever the Democratic candidate may be.

Abramson said that the city’s dismal finances and other problems over the past 18 months – one of the toughest periods in his 20 years as mayor – had no bearing on his decision not to seek a sixth term as mayor of Louisville Metro merged government. Abramson served three terms as mayor of the city of Louisville and is in his second term under the merged government.

–Beth Musgrave

Filed Under: Democratic Party • Elections • Governor's Race • Jerry Abramson