Pol Watchers

Senate race often more about Frankfort than 30th District

By Ryan Alessi
RALESSI@HERALD-LEADER.COM

FRANKFORT -- Tuesday's special election for the 30th state Senate District has, at many times, had more to do with Frankfort than with the four Eastern Kentucky counties it covers.

Both Republican and Democratic leaders in the state Capitol have campaigned ferociously for the candidate of their respective party in the district that covers Perry, Bell, Harlan and Leslie counties.

Conversely, those same Frankfort leaders -- Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and Republican Senate President David Williams --have become unwilling subjects of pointed advertisements by the opposite parties.

It is the highest-profile of three state legislative seats that will be filled in the special election, which elsewhere in the country will be known as Super Tuesday.

At stake in the 30th District race is a key Senate seat that both parties have seized upon as a steppingstone toward ultimate control of the upper chamber. The Senate is the main base of Republicans' power in Frankfort, as they hold a 21-15 seat advantage over Democrats, with one independent.

"The theme on the Republican side is retaining the control of the Senate, and the theme among the Democrats is trying to take over the Senate eventually," said Republican Rep. Tim Couch of Hyden. "Frankfort has played a whole lot into the race."

So the Frankfort-based political leaders, Beshear and Williams, are waging their power struggle using the special election candidates, former Democratic state Rep. Scott Alexander of Hazard and current Rep. Brandon Smith, a Republican from Hazard.

Both sides are going all in.

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Alexander targets Williams in TV ad

In his bid to represent the 30th Senate District, Democrat Scott Alexander is running a negative TV ad that focuses heavily on Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville.

The ad repeatedly shows Williams saying that Gov. Steve Beshear's first trip "out of the state" will be to Bell and Harlan County.

"David Williams is desperately clinging to power," says a male voice. "To keep it, he needs Brandon Smith."

UPDATE: Williams said he "muffled" a word during the interview and had meant to say "out in the state."

"Obviously I represent Whitley County, which is contiguous" to the 30th Senate District, he said. "What they're trying to do is demonize me."

The entire Jan. 14 interview with Williams, which followed Beshear's State of the Commonwealth speech, can be seen on KET.

Voters in Perry, Bell, Harlan and Leslie will choose between Alexander and Smith, a Republican state representative, on Tuesday.

Here's the ad.

(Hat Tip: The Rural Democrat)

- John Stamper

Beshear appoints judge who gave $200 to Alexander

Gov. Steve Beshear appointed 37-year-old attorney John Paul Chappell of London to an open District judgeship covering Laurel and Knox counties.

Chappell gave $200 on Jan. 19 to the campaign of Scott Alexander, the Democratic candidate whom Beshear is strongly backing in Tuesday's 30th Senate district special election. Chappell also gave Beshear $800 during this fall's governor's race, according to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

The 30th Senate district, which covers Bell, Leslie, Perry and Harlan counties, falls outside of the 27th judicial district over which Chappell will now preside. He replaces Judge Michael Caperton, who recently was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

Vicki Glass, Beshear's spokeswoman, said the donations had no bearing on the appointment.

Chappell said he's been interested in the judgeship for "some time" and has filed papers to run for the post in the 2008 election along with four others.

He said he backed Beshear and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo throughout the governor's race and wanted to contribute to Alexander's after meeting him recently at a campaign event.

"Some friends of mine – other attorneys outside of Laurel County — had told me what a good person he was and I ended up meeting him," Chappell said. "I thought he was someone I would support."

Chappell, who said he has family in Bell and Harlan counties in the heart of the 30th district, denied that his contributions had anything to do with the appointment. 

"I certainly don’t think I’ve purchased that seat at all. My puny contributions are minuscule," he said. "I met Steve Beshear and I liked Steve Beshear and I liked Dan Mongiardo. I was glad when those guys won."

- Ryan Alessi

Alexander out-raises Smith in 30th District

SMITH DOESN'T FILE FOR HOUSE SEAT BUT KEY HAZARD DEM DOES

Democrat Scott Alexander, who has been campaigning for the 30th Senate District with the full political force of the governor's office behind him, has collected $162,396 for his bid in next Tuesday's election.

With that total, which comes after the fund-raising help of Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, Alexander outpaced Republican candidate Brandon Smith, who collected $106,285. 

But both candidates reported to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance on Tuesday having about $45,000 as of last Friday. Smith and Alexander are competing to replace Mongiardo in the 30th District, which covers Perry, Harlan, Leslie and Bell counties.

Meanwhile, Smith -- who has been the state representative from the 84th House District since beating Alexander in the 2000 election -- didn't file Tuesday to run again for the House seat in case he loses the Feb. 5 special election.

He could have filed for the House seat and run for the the special election for the 30th Senate race because only odd Senate seats are up for the regular 2008 elections. He could have done so because the two seats wouldn't show up on the same election ballot in November.

No Republican filed to run for the 84th District, which covers Perry and part of Harlan counties.

But one of the four Democratic candidates who did jump in the race was Chester Jones, the Democratic Party Chairman from Perry County -- one of two key local party officials who helped secure the Democratic nomination for Alexander.

It's just the latest development in an already convoluted and politically messy race.

The other party official, Leo Haggerty, served as Bell County Democratic chairman. Haggerty and Jones voted for a nomination process that only allowed the four county chairman to officially vote for the nominee -- not all the members of the county executive committee.

Alexander defeated former state Rep. Roger Noe of Harlan in that process, which Noe strongly objected to even to the point of accusing Mongiardo and Beshear of meddling in the process.

Haggerty, meanwhile, recently accepted a $50,000-a-year position in the Governor's Office of Local Development.

- Ryan Alessi

39 of 100 House seats have primary, general contests

All 100 seats are up for re-election, but many didn't draw opponents. Here is the list of all the contested House Districts:

• 1st District: Rep. Steven Rudy, R-West Paducah, versus Democrat Mike Lawrence

• 6th District: Democrat Will Coursey versus Republican Marvin Wilson, which will be a rematch of the Feb. 5 special election.

• 9th District: Rep. Myron Dossett, R-Pembroke, versus Democrat Travis Calhoun

• 11th District: Rep. David A. Watkins, D-Henderson, faces a Democratic primary challenge from Herb McKee

• 13th District: Rep. Jim Glenn, D-Owensboro, versus Republican Ben Boarman

• 15th District: Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, faces a Democratic primary challenge from Denny Kirtley

• 16th District: OPEN SEAT Republican primary between Michael J. Smith, Tim Thompson and William "Billy" Hall. Democratic primary between Kent Knight and Martha Jane King.

• 21st District: Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, versus Democrat Charlene Rabold, a retired teacher and librarian

• 24th District: Rep. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, faces a Republican primary challenge from Anthony Stargle

• 25th District: Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, faces a Democratic primary challenge from Glenn Fonda, a rematch of the 2004 primary. Republican Lisa Williams also filed to challenge the Democratic primary winner in the fall.

• 26th District: Rep. Tim Moore, R-Elizabethtown, versus Democrat Mike Weaver, the former state representative from that district

13 of 19 Senate seats contested in primary or general

Democrats and their May 20 primaries are in blue, Republicans and their May 20 match-ups are in red:

• 1st District Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray, will face the winner of a Democratic Primary between Carroll Hubbard (former congressman) and Rick Johnson (former Appeals Court Judge).

• 3rd District: Sen. Joey Pendleton, D-Hopkinsville, versus Republican challenger Tom Jones, a Christian County magistrate.

• 5th District: Sen. Carroll Gibson, R-Leitchfield, versus Democratic challenger Barry Cannon of Caneyville -- a rematch of the 2004 race that Gibson won.

• 7th District: Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, UNOPPOSED

• 9th District OPEN SEAT Democratic Primary: Steve Newberry (broadcaster, businessman), John Rogers (Glasgow lawyer) and Horace F. Johnson (former law enforcement official). Republican Primary: Jeffery Jobe (newspaper publisher), David P. Givens of Greensburg and Bob Bryant of Glasgow.

• 11th District OPEN SEAT Republican Primary: Charlie Walton (former principal and former state Rep.) versus John Schickel (former U.S. Marshal)

• 13th District: Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, UNOPPOSED

• 15th District: Sen. Vernie McGaha, R-Russell Springs, UNOPPOSED

• 17th District: Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, will face the winner of the Democratic Primary between Rand L. Marshall (assistant Scott County attorney) and Robert Powell of Georgetown. 

• 19th District: Sen. Tim Shaughnessy, D-Louisville, versus Republican Bob Heleringer, a lawyer and former state representative

• 21st District: Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, UNOPPOSED

• 23rd District: Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Crescent Springs, versus Democrat Kathy Groob of Covington, a rematch of the 2004 race that Westwood won.

• 25th District: Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, will take on the winner of the Democratic Primary between Michael "Whitey" Adkins of West Liberty and Pete M. Frye of Campton.  

• 27th District: Sen. Walter "Doc" Blevins, D-Sandy Hook, versus Republican Richard White of Morehead.

• 29th District Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, D-Drift, faces a Democratic primary challenge from Eric Shane Hamilton -- a rematch of the 2004 primary election that Turner won by 24 votes.

• 31st District: Sen. Ray Jones, D-Pikeville, UNOPPOSED

• 33rd District Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, faces a Democratic primary challenge from  Marshall "Marty" Gazaway of  Louisville.

• 35th District: Sen. Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville, versus Republican John Albers of Louisville

• 37th District: Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, versus Republican Doug Hawkins (a Louisville metro councilman)

- Ryan Alessi 

Candidates start rolling in on filing deadline day

After a slow morning in the Secretary of State's office, candidacy papers began arriving for  this year's state House races.

Woody Wells Jr., a Republican and car dealership owner from Mt. Sterling, is seeking a rematch in the 74th District with freshman Democratic Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Jeffersonville. Henderson also has a primary opponent, Billy Ray Fawns of Owingsville.

Meanwhile, the candidacy papers for Michael Pitzer, a 35-year-old Republican, arrived by mail. Pitzer, of Louisville, is seeking the 34th House seat, which is held by Democratic Rep. Mary Lou Marzian of Louisville.

And in a mid-morning rush, several other candidates walked in to file their papers shortly before 11 a.m. Here are the others:

13th District -- Rep. Jim Glenn, a freshman Democrat lawmaker from Owensboro, drew Republican opposition from Ben Boarman, a bar and pawn shop owner in Owensboro.

82nd District -- Duane Bunch, a Republican teacher from Whitley County, filed against Republican Rep. Charlie Siler of Corbin. The two faced off in a primary in 2006 also.

90th District -- Urshell Smith became the fourth Republican in the 90th District, which is held by Rep. Tim Couch of Hyden. The district includes Leslie, Clay and part of Harlan counties.

51st District -- Doug Mullins, a Democrat from Campbellsville who has served two terms on the city council, filed in the open seat for the 51st District, currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Russ Mobley. Two GOP candidates have filed in that district and will square off in the May 20 primary.

61st District -- Stephen Wood, a Republican small businessowner from Williamstown, is seeking to challenge Rep. Royce Adams, D-Dry Ridge.

25th District -- Democrat Glenn Fonda has filed to force a Democratic primary re-match in the Hardin County district against Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown.

62nd District -- Republican Jason Mays, a former associate basketball coach for Georgetown College and now a financial representative, filed to challenge Rep. Charlie Hoffman of Georgetown, the Democratic House caucus chairman.

UPDATE 12:48 p.m.:

95th District -- Republican Larry Brown, a Republican and Prestonsburg attorney, will run for the Floyd County district this fall. He is currently running in the Feb. 5 special election for that open seat against his boyhood friend, Democrat Greg Stumbo, who held the seat for 23 years before taking four years away from the House to serve as Kentucky attorney general. Stumbo and former Rep. Chuck Meade, who represented the district between 2004 and 2006, will compete in the May 20 Democratic primary.

35th State Senate District -- Republican John Albers of Louisville filed to run against Democratic Sen. Denise Harper Angel of Louisville, who is seeking her second term. Albers said he was in a rush and wouldn't stop to talk.

UPDATE 3:08 p.m.:

• Two Louisville software developers -- both Democrats -- filed against a pair of Louisville Republican state representatives, Bob DeWeese of the 48th District and Ron Crimm of the 33rd District. Matt Fleitz, 32, is challenging DeWeese, while 29-year-old Greg Galbraith filed to take on Crim.
• Former state Rep. Mike Weaver, an Elizabethtown Democrat, is seeking his old 26th House seat, which is currently occupied by Rep. Tim Moore, R-Elizabethtown.
• Democrat Travis Calhoun, a doctor  has filed in the
• Raybold -- retired teacher and librarian and just resigned from the Kentucky
• Bill Young, a Shelbyville Democrat,

Mike Farmer agasint Westerom
Not filing Brandon Smith

This is the first time since I've been the caucus director that we have no open seats. They have four open seats/

Others also filed in a rush of candidates. (I'll get those names up as soon as I can.)

In the Congressional races, former Republican U.S. Rep. Anne Northup of Louisville is expected to file for her old seat at 1 p.m. Still no word on whether Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford will pull the trigger on a U.S. Senate bid.

After filing her papers, Northup said she welcomes a primary against Chris Thieneman, a developer who filed papers late last week, and Bob DeVore Jr. She said she hopes to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, who beat her in 2006.

- Ryan Alessi

Former judge vs. former congressman in West KY

Retired judge Rick Johnson of Symsonia filed for the 1st Senate District race on Friday, setting up a Democratic primary election showdown between the former Kentucky Appeals Court judge and a former congressman.

Carroll Hubbard, who served western Kentucky in Congress for nine terms before losing re-election in 1992 after being indicted on charges of misusing federal funds, already had filed his paperwork to run for the seat. The district, which covers seven far western counties, is currently represented by Republican state Sen. Ken Winters of Murray.

Both Hubbard and Johnson's names appeared on western Kentuckians' election ballots two years ago. Johnson ran unsuccessfully for the state Supreme Court. And Hubbard finished second in a wild three-candidate race for the 2nd state Senate district in McCracken County. After losing that race, he returned to his native Graves County, which is in the neighboring 2nd Senate District. 

Johnson filed his papers Friday, saying "For too long, the families and communities in this region of the state have been forgotten. The choice voters have this May is very simple: who can provide the kind of honest, effective leadership in the state Senate that garners the trust and respect of his fellow senators ..."

- Ryan Alessi

Williams calls on attorney general to investigate Mongiardo

FRANKFORT — Senate President David Williams is calling on Attorney General Jack Conway to investigate the activities of Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and others in the hotly contested state Senate race in Eastern Kentucky’s 30th District.

Williams, R-Burkesville, said he will talk with Conway about his concerns in the special election race that is pitting Republican Brandon Smith against Democrat Scott Alexander.  The election is to fill the vacancy created by Mongiardo’s election last November as lieutenant governor with Democrat Gov. Steve Beshear.

“I believe that the activities of individuals over there and the threats that are being made and the activities ... Where is the lieutenant governor?  Has he been in Frankfort since he’s been sworn in,”  Williams said to reporters in his Capitol office.  “Every time I turn around, I hear about him calling the county judges and yelling at them and somebody saying they are not going to get any positive activity from GOLD (the Governor’s Office for Local Development).

“I hear them talking about meeting privately with the Harlan County Fiscal Court and recruiting candidates to come into Republican primaries.  Things like that.  I want to know if he is on state payroll while he is over there full-time.  Does he have state police protection while he’s over there?  Is he really threatening and intimidating people?

“I think the attorney general needs to look into the activities that are going on.  I don’t think it’s appropriate and probably not legal for you to go over as the sitting lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and threaten county officials and folks if they don’t support your candidate.”

Williams said he was referring to officials in Bell and Harlan counties.

He also said he was concerned that  former Bell County Democratic Party Chairman Leo Haggerty has landed a $50,000-a-year job with GOLD in the Beshear administration.

Williams said he was in the district last week “and it’s pretty disturbing what you see going on down there.”

UPDATE:  Mongiardo said he is familiar with Williams' personal attacks on him and said the senator's remarks were "like Dick Cheney teaching gun safety."

Mongiardo said he has never threatened or harassed anyone and that he has spent more time in Frankfort than in the 30th District.

He also said he uses a private vehicle for campaign purposes and acknowledged that he is helping to recruit Democratic candidates for legislative races.

Concerning Haggerty's state job, Mongiardo said Haggerty's job was determined before the race started. "I wanted it to be put off until later, but he is very qualified for it," the lieutenant governor said.

Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley, D-Richmond, said in a statement it is obvious that Williams dislikes Mongiardo "as evidenced by his long history of disparagement towards him.

"This is one more example of David Williams being disconnected from mountain people.  The people from Eastern Kentucky appreciate Daniel Mongiardo for all that he has done for them.  He understands the struggles that they deal with everyday and has been a passionate advocate for their needs.

"Scott Alexander will be equally as passionate in pursuing what is best for the people of the 30th District.  This is one more example of the Republicans being willing to do anything to win, with personal attacks being their favorite weapon."

Conway's spokeswoman, Allison Martin, said the attorney general will meet with Williams next week "and listen to his concerns."

Voters in the counties of Bell, Perry, Leslie and Harlan that constitute the 30th Senate District go to the polls Feb. 5 to decide between Smith and Alexander.

--Jack Brammer

Heleringer to run for state Senate seat

FRANKFORT --Former state Rep. Bob Heleringer, R-Louisville, is filing to run for the state Senate 9th District seat now occupied by Democrat Tim Shaughnessy of Louisville.

"I want to return to elected public office and help Louisville and Jefferson County overcome the disparity between the amount of tax dollars we are sending to Frankfort and the return of those tax dollars we are currently realizing," Heleringer, an attorney, said in a statement.

"We have overwhelming needs in education, infrastructure and economic development.  As a member of the Senate majority, I will be perfectly positioned to get our needs met."

Heleringer was in the state House for 11 terms.  In 2003, he was the lieutenant governor running mate of former state Rep. Steve Nunn's gubernatorial bid.

Shaughnessy, vice president for Jewish Hospital Health Care Services, has been in the Senate since 1989.

--Jack Brammer