Pol Watchers

State settles lawsuit stemming from hiring probe

FRANKFORT — The state has settled a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Transportation Cabinet worker Sarah Missy McCray for $500,000.

McCray claimed in 2005 that she was retaliated against for cooperating with with former Attorney General Greg Stumbo's investigation of hiring practices in the administration of former Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

McCray will receive a lump-sum payment of $500,000 for damages and be reassigned to the Personnel Cabinet, said cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe.

In her lawsuit, McCray named then-Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert as a defendant.   An indictment against Nighbert, which was later dropped after he was pardoned by Fletcher, alleged he told McCray that, if it were 20 years ago, "I probably would have come back there and socked you in the mouth."

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statement about the settlement that he was "happy" to reach "an amicable resolution of this matter."

“I appreciate how difficult this has been for Ms. McCray and applaud her pursuit of justice," Beshear said in the statement. "It’s no secret that many state employees were mistreated over the past four years."

“This case is one of the most egregious examples of how many state workers came to work each day fearing for their jobs," he said. "It left us with the task of cleaning up the mess created by the previous administration.”

--Jack Brammer

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Stumbo has 'no regrets' as he leaves office

By Jack Brammer
JBRAMMER@HERALD-LEADER.COM

FRANKFORT -- History will remember Greg Stumbo's four-year tenure as state attorney general for the investigation and prosecution that brought down a governor.

Stumbo, who left office Friday as the state's chief law-enforcement official and longs to continue his political career by returning to the state House, says he hopes "history will remember us as being not afraid to enforce the law and that we took this job seriously."

The well-known Democratic politician from Floyd County said in a wide-ranging interview that he has "no regrets" how his office handled the state hiring investigation that led to the indictment of former Gov. Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher and others.

He also said he believes the outcome of the investigation and possibly last year's governor's race, which Fletcher lost to Democrat Steve Beshear, would have been different if Fletcher "had worked with us as he first said he would."

Three misdemeanor charges issued by a special grand jury against the governor were dismissed after Fletcher and Stumbo reached an agreement. Fletcher pardoned others who were indicted and maintained that the investigation was politically motivated.

When news broke about the investigation, Fletcher said he would seek "the unvarnished truth" and would address the situation if any wrongdoing were found.

"I would have wagered my house at that time that the situation would not have turned out as it did," Stumbo said Friday. "If he had worked with us, he still might be governor.

"What transformed him to take a defiant approach towards me and the investigation, I don't know. I'm convinced he was talked into it, but his initial position was the real Ernie Fletcher, in my opinion."

Stumbo said his office did not target Fletcher because he was Kentucky's first Republican governor since 1971.

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Stumbo gets guilty plea in election fraud case

A London road contracting company will pay $250,000 to settle election fraud charges brought against one of its employees, Attorney General Greg Stumbo announced today.

Phillip Dufour, an employee of Elmo Greer & Sons LLC, has also pled guilty to a felony charge of violating election laws and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Dufour and Elmo Greer & Sons have agreed to cooperate with an ongoing investigation by naming all individuals who solicited funds or were given money during the gubernatorial primary election last year.

The investigation was spurred by an article in The Courier-Journal earlier this year that identified suspect donations to candidates for governor.

Dufour pled guilty to charges of funneling money to eight individuals so that they could contribute to the campaigns of former Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Republican Anne Northup and Democrat Steve Henry.

In a settlement with Stumbo's office, the company agreed to pay $250,000 to defray costs of the investigation "as a gesture of good faith." The company denied any liability in the case.

Stumbo said the case produced the largest fine and payment for election fraud in the state's history.

"It should put everyone on notice that this type of activity will not be tolerated," Stumbo said in an interview.

Friday is Stumbo's final day in office.

- John Stamper and Jack Brammer

Meade challenges Stumbo for nomination

Attorney General Greg Stumbo has some competition for the Democratic Party's nomination to replace state Rep. Brandon Spencer, D-Prestonsburg, who abruptly announced his resignation this week.

Charles "Chuck" Meade, who has previously held the 95th House District seat, issued a statement today asking party officials in Floyd County to place him on the ballot for a special election to replace Spencer.

Regardless of their decision, Meade said he plans to continue campaigning for the seat, which will be up for election again in the May 2008 primary.

"I am in it and I am in it to win," Meade said.

Stumbo announced yesterday that he wants the seat, which he held for more than two decades before becoming Attorney General in 2004.

"I would like the people of Floyd County to know that Spencer and Stumbo’s decisions have in no way affected my decisions to run for the office," Meade said.

Meade runs a wholesale company in Allen.

- John Stamper

Stumbo will seek seat in state House

Attorney General Greg Stumbo will seek his old seat in the state House, he told listeners to WHAS radio in Louisville this morning.

Freshman Rep. Brandon Spencer, D-Prestonsburg, decided yesterday to resign immediately after "prayerful consideration," he said in a letter to Gov. Steve Beshear.

Stumbo said he has spoken to Democratic Party officials in Floyd County and told them he would accept the party's nomination for a special election to fill Spencer's spot in the 95th House District.

"I think I have a pretty good chance of winning that seat back," Stumbo told radio host Francene Cucinello. "What I bring to the table is my 24 years in the General Assembly."

Stumbo spent 19 of those years on the House leadership team.

Stumbo had been considering a possible run for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell. He had said he would likely challenge McConnell if polling done by an exploratory committee showed him within 10 percentage points of McConnell.

Gov. Steve Beshear has not offered Spencer a job in his administration, "but he has been recommended to the governor by his supporters," said Vicki Glass, spokeswoman for Beshear.

She did not know what job he had been recommended for.

Spencer, an executive with a regional ambulance company, had said earlier this month that he planned on running for a second term. He is a vice chairman of both the House health and welfare committee and the natural resources and environment committee.

Also, the man unseated in the 2006 Democratic primary, Charles E. "Chuck" Meade, announced earlier this month he would run in the 2008 primary to try to represent the Floyd County district again. Meade runs a wholesale company in Allen.

- John Stamper

Stumbo delays decision on possible U.S. Senate bid

FRANKFORT -- Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo said he doesn't expect to decide until the end of the year whether he will challenge Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell next year for the U.S. Senate.

Stumbo, interviewed after today's public swearing-in ceremony for Gov. Steve Beshear, had said he expected to make a decision by mid-December.

Stumbo said he first needs to talk to the Democratic Senatorial Committee.  He has asked for a meeting with its members next week in Washington.

He acknowledged that the committee's response will play a big part in his decision.  He wants to get a feel of their interest and possible financial support.

--Jack Brammer

Full house for Eastern Kentucky seat?

Yes, the presidential primaries will likely be over -- and thus boring -- by the time Kentuckians vote in May 2008. But Floyd County, Kentucky, could be the most exciting place in politics that month.

There's a possibility that all three men who have represented the 95th House district in Eastern Kentucky over the last five years might face off against each other in the Democratic primary.

First, state Rep. Brandon Spencer, the 32-year-old incumbent from Prestonsburg, says he's running for a second term.

Spencer, an executive with a regional ambulance company, is a member of the active freshman class of lawmakers who were elected in 2006. He is a vice chairman of both the House health and welfare committee and the natural resources and environment committee.

Then on Friday, the man Spencer unseated in the 2006 Democratic primary, Charles E. "Chuck" Meade announced he would run in the 2008 primary to try to represent the Floyd County district again.

Meade, who runs a wholesale company in Allen, said in a statement that encouragement for him to run again has been "so strong that my wife and I are humbled beyond belief." 

"I need the good people of this county to stand with me, to stand for me, and to help send a loud and strong message of their strength," Meade's statement e-mailed to reporters said. "Last election, so many said they just thought we were okay. This time we must take a much different attitude."

Meade held the 95th House seat for a little less than three years after winning a special election in February 2004 to replace long-time state Rep. Greg Stumbo, who left that post after being elected attorney general in the November 2003 election. Stumbo, during his 12 terms in the state House, became Kentucky's longest-serving House majority floor leader.

Now, Stumbo is saying publicly that he'd consider trying to get his old job back. He didn't seek re-election as attorney general this year because he ran as the lieutenant governor candidate on Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford's gubernatorial ticket that finished second in the May Democratic primary to eventual Gov.-elect Steve Beshear's slate.

Stumbo opened an exploratory committee to look into running for the U.S. Senate. But he's currently reviewing polling numbers to determine whether he could hold his own against well-funded Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell.

But Stumbo told the Herald-Leader last week that returning to the state House is "an option."

"I've had a lot of people in my home district to ask me to consider that," he said.

- Ryan Alessi

Next crop of Democrats mull run against McConnell

As one potential Democratic U.S. Senate candidate officially bowed out of the race, several other prospective contenders stepped up yesterday at the same time their target, Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell, launched his latest TV ad.

State Auditor Crit Luallen ignited a flurry of activity on the Democratic side this week as she began making calls to key Democrats to say she would decline getting into the race so as to keep "a balance in my life."

Now, Andrew Horne, a Louisville lawyer and Iraq war veteran, and two wealthy Louisville businessmen -- Charlie Owen and Greg Fischer -- have emerged as the next likely Democratic challengers. Bruce Lunsford, the millionaire Louisville businessman who has twice run for governor, also is still in the mix.

Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who started an exploratory committee for the Senate in August, hasn't officially stepped out of the race, but has begun talking more about seeking his old state House seat from Floyd County.

Democratic leaders are insisting that the party isn't panicking to find someone to take on McConnell, the U.S. Senate Republican leader who has shown some vulnerability in recent polling.

"There's no question the Democratic Party will have a strong candidate in the race," said U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Versailles, who took himself out of the party's Senate sweepstakes weeks ago. "Who runs, I don't think, is nearly as much of an issue as the political atmosphere and climate that exists."

He said Kentuckians' angst over the war and general frustration at Washington work against McConnell.

McConnell's camp has been well aware of the danger of residual toxicity from Washington politics and started early to try to protect against it.

Known as a prolific fund-raiser, McConnell has collected more than $10 million so far for his re-election bid. He began spending it a month ago on television commercials that tout his leadership position and what he says are his biggest accomplishments.

Yesterday, he began showing two new ads. The one on Central Kentucky's airwaves shows three farmers praising McConnell for his work on the 2004 tobacco buyout bill that paid millions to growers to end the quota price system.

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U.S. Senate race losing potential Democratic candidates?

Two high-profile Democratic officials who had considered taking on U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell next year are signalling that they're less likely to take the plunge after all.

State Auditor Crit Luallen, in addition to losing key advisers to incoming Gov. Steve Beshear's administration, has told party leaders in Washington that she's decided against running, and that word has filtered back to Kentucky.

And outgoing Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who started an exploratory committee to consider the race, is saying that he's now looking at getting his old job back as state representative from Floyd County.

"I represented that district for over 20 years and still live there. They have a representative up there now who is doing a good job," he told the Herald-Leader this week. "But I love the state House. It's an option."

He would have to win the seat back first through a primary against freshman state Rep. Brandon Spencer, D-Prestonsburg, who has said he plans to run for a second term.

Stumbo hasn't officially ruled out the U.S. Senate. He said he plans to "talk to some folks in Washington" before announcing his decision after Beshear's Dec. 11 inauguration.

Meanwhile, Luallen's spokesman, Jeff Derouen, wouldn't comment when asked about Luallen's phone calls this week to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and to U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles.

"We don't have anything to say about that today," Derouen said yesterday about the calls.

Derouen will be announced as a top aide to incoming Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo as early as today, confirmed Vince Gabbert, who has served as the state Democratic Party's political director but who will be named Beshear's deputy chief of staff today.

Derouen is the second key defection from Luallen's staff, joining Ellen Hesen, who last month became Beshear's general counsel.

Both Chandler and Matt Miller, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, declined to comment as well.

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Stumbo will decide soon whether to run for U.S. Senate; bid for state House an option

FRANKFORT -- Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo plans to announce by mid-December whether he will run for the U.S. Senate next year in hopes of ousting Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell.

Another political option, he acknowledged today, is to run for his former state House seat from Floyd County.

Stumbo said in an interview in his Capitol office that he is not ready to make public the results of a recent survey he took on his chances in running for the U.S. Senate.

"I haven't shared the poll numbers with my supporters yet. I can say they really didn't give us any surprises," he said.

"The numbers look very promising for the primary election of the potential candidates out there we tested. It appears I have the best chance of unseating Sen. McConnell but it obviously would be a pretty formidable task."

Stumbo said earlier this year that he likely would run against McConnell if his poll showed him within 10 percentage points of him.

"The number is on the bubble," he said. "The number is a little bit skewed because of the television campaign the senator has been running.  That has probably helped him three to five points."

He said he plans to "talk to some folks in Washington" before announcing his decision after Gov.-elect Steve Beshear's inauguration on Dec. 11.

Asked if running for his former state House seat is an option, Stumbo said, "I've had a lot of people in my home district to ask me to consider that.

"I represented that district for over 20 years and still live there. They have a representative up there now who is doing a good job," he said.

"But I love the state House. It's an option."

State Rep. Brandon Spencer, D-Prestonsburg, said earlier this week that he plans to run for re-election next year for the 95th House District seat.

Asked if he has heard that Stumbo might run for the legislative seat, Spencer said, "You hear all kinds of rumors."

--Jack Brammer