Archive for June, 2011

State questioned record-keeping of GOP candidate for attorney general

By Beth Musgrave – bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Republican attorney general candidate Todd P’Pool has been warned twice by Kentucky officials for not keeping adequate records that justify the time he bills the state for working on child support collection cases as the Hopkins County Attorney.

Officials warned P’Pool in 2008 and again in 2010 that he was not keeping adequate records of his work enforcing the state’s child support laws, according to documents obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader through an Open Records Act request.

P’Pool’s campaign defends his record-keeping and performance in child support cases, noting that P’Pool has increased child support collection in Hopkins County by 37 percent since being elected in 2006, has passed previous audits done by the cabinet and has won two outstanding performance awards from the state.

“If the cabinet had a problem with what he was doing, why would they give him two outstanding service awards?” said David Ray, a spokesman for the P’Pool campaign.

P’Pool is challenging incumbent Democrat Jack Conway in November for the state’s top law enforcement job.

NEA names Beshear this year’s ‘Greatest Education Governor’

The National Education Association named Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday this year’s recipient of its America’s Greatest Education Governor Award.

Soon after Beshear’s office distributed a release about the announcement, his re-election campaign sent out emails noting the award and seeking campaign contributions.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said in a statement that Beshear has “fought to preserve resources” for the state’s students and classrooms in the midst of budget cuts.

Lawmaker pledges to push again for reforms in state pension system

By John Cheves – jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A key lawmaker on Wednesday said he will revive his efforts to ban well-connected middlemen known as “placement agents” from doing business with the Kentucky Retirement Systems, following a new state audit that raised concerns about the agents.

State Auditor Crit Luallen presented her audit of the state pension agency to the legislature’s interim joint committee on state government. Luallen said she identified no misuse of KRS money related to placement agents, who help private investment companies sell their products. But one agent in particular, Glen Sergeon of New York, enjoyed close access to KRS and made nearly $6 million in fees through his relationship with Adam Tosh, then KRS’ chief investment officer, Luallen said.

Tosh resigned in 2010 after being questioned about Sergeon in an internal audit at KRS.

Richie Farmer’s wife seeks trial date in divorce case

By Jack Brammer
jbrammer@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT – A judge set a July 12 hearing to consider Rebecca Farmer’s request for a trial date to end her marriage of 13 years to state Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer.

Richie Farmer, a former University of Kentucky basketball star, is running for lieutenant governor on Republican David Williams’ ticket for governor.

Franklin Family Court Judge Squire Williams was to take up Rebecca Farmer’s motion for a trial date Tuesday morning but decided to hear it later because Farmer’s attorney was not present.

Rebecca Farmer’s attorney, Brian A. Logan of Frankfort, said the commissioner’s attorney, Richard M. Guarnieri, had a scheduling conflict. Guarnieri was not immediately available for comment.

Beshear appoints former Democratic Party executive to $60,000-a-year job

By John Cheves – jcheves@herald-leader.com

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has given a $60,000-a-year political appointment to Jeremy Horton, who was executive director of the Kentucky Democratic Party from 2007 to 2009.

Horton began last month as a “policy adviser” at the Kentucky Office of Occupations and Professions, which provides administrative support to 20 of the state’s occupational licensing regulatory boards. He will work as the office’s deputy executive director.

Aside from his tenure running the Democratic Party, Horton managed and consulted for several campaigns, including Lexington Mayor Jim Gray’s, and he co-founded Change for Kentucky, a Democratic grassroots group.

But Dick Brown, a spokesman for Horton’s agency, said politics had nothing to do with the hire. Horton was selected because of “his background in organizational and business-process initiatives for 22 years at the Lexington Public Library,” where he earlier worked, Brown said.

Marshall County judge-executive picked to emcee Fancy Farm picnic

FRANKFORT – Longtime Marshall County Judge-Executive Mike Miller has been selected to emcee the 131st annual Fancy Farm political picnic that unofficially will kick off this fall’s campaigns for governor and other state offices.

Miller, a Democrat, has held the county judge office since 1974.

Mark Wilson, who organizes the political speaking at the free picnic on the campus of St. Jerome Catholic Church in Graves County with his wife, Lori Wilson, said the picnic’s committee tries to alternate between Democrats and Republicans in finding an emcee.

“They’d run me out of town if we picked someone from the same party every year,” he said, noting that, in some years, persons not affiliated with any party are selected to emcee.

Investigative file regarding David Williams remains sealed for now

By Beth Musgrave – bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A Franklin Circuit Court judge has decided to keep records relating to a decade-old attorney general’s investigation involving Senate President David Williams sealed for now.

Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate ruled Monday during a hearing that records from a 2001 investigation would remain sealed while he reviews them.

Lawyers for the attorney general will submit the file to Wingate and to a lawyer representing an anonymous woman who is suing to keep the records private.

Under the state’s Open Records Act, the Herald-Leader asked on May 5 for documents regarding any investigations conducted by the attorney general’s office of Williams, a Burkesville Republican who is running for governor against incumbent Gov. Steve Beshear.

The attorney general’s office told the newspaper that anyone involved in any investigations of Williams would be allowed to view the records before they were released.

Tea Party opposes any delay in state GOP reorganization elections

FRANKFORT – Supporters of the Tea Party movement in Kentucky “strongly resist” any effort by the state Republican Party to change its reorganization elections by a year, said David Adams, head of a political action committee for Tea Party candidates.

Adams, who was manager of this year’s unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial campaign of Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, said Tea Party members want to seek some leadership positions in the party such as district chairs and members at large and do not want the party elections delayed from 2012 to 2013.

“The Republican Party is the vehicle for the Tea Party to restore sovereignty to the individual in America. Reorganizing the Republican Party and writing the 2012 platform is a key step in this process so any effort to delay those things won’t be viewed favorably,” Adams, executive director of Kentucky Knows Best PAC, said in a statement.

He added: “Lots of Kentuckians would love to have their voices heard on the issues of the day and we are going to work very hard to see that in 2012 the process is opened up to many more of them.”

Rand Paul questions official over airport pat-down of Kentucky girl

By Halimah Abdullah – habdullah@mcclatchydc.com

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, squared off with Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole Wednesday over a controversial pat-down of a 6-year-old Kentucky girl.

Paul, a strident opponent of what he sees as overreaching homeland security policies, sharply criticized the TSA’s random searches of travelers during a senate hearing.

Pistole said that while some pat downs are random, most are based on intelligence.

“I guess this little girl would be part of the random pat-downs, this little girl from Bowling Green Kentucky, one of my constituents,” Paul said. “They’re still quite unhappy with you guys as well as myself and a lot of other Americans who think you’ve gone overboard, you’re missing the boat on terrorism because you’re doing these invasive searches on six-year-old girls.”

McConnell won’t say where he stands on Libya mission

By David Lightman and Halimah Abdullah — McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Republicans are divided over how to proceed on endorsing — or trying to curb — the U.S. mission in Libya, and on Wednesday Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell illustrated his party’s political dilemma.

Pressed repeatedly by reporters at a Washington breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, the Kentucky Republican refused to state a position.

“I’ve got a variety of different views in my conference,” McConnell said, referring to the Senate’s 47 Republicans.

Asked for his own view, or even a gut feeling, he wouldn’t even hint at his position.