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Unafraid of death, former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll reflects on his long political life
FRANKFORT — At age 92, former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll sits in a recliner at his Franklin County home, talking about his glory years in politics and the six-page program-in-progress on a nearby stand. The program is entitled “Julian Morton Carroll: A Lifetime of Public Service.” It contains a portrait of him, his bio and […]
Kentucky Republicans make a clean sweep of five ‘down ticket’ offices
Republicans made it a clean sweep Tuesday – as they did in 2019 — by winning all five of Kentucky’s so-called “down ticket” races. The winning Republicans were Russell Coleman, attorney general; incumbent Michael Adams, secretary of state; Allison Ball, auditor of public accounts; Mark Metcalf, treasurer, and Jonathan Shell, agriculture commissioner. Senate President Robert […]
Democrat Adrielle Camuel wins special legislative race in Lexington
Democrats kept control of a state House seat in Fayette County Tuesday in a special election needed due to the unexpected death of freshman Rep. Lamin Swann last May at the age of 45. In Tuesday’s special election to fill the remainder of Swann’s term which runs through 2024, political newcomer Adrielle Camuel defeated Republican […]
Kentucky treasurer candidates agree on one thing: Don’t abolish the office
Republican state Rep. Steven Doan of Erlanger plans to vote along party lines in Kentucky’s race for state treasurer on Nov. 7 but his preference would be to vote to abolish the entire constitutional office. “It’s a duplication of the state Finance and Administration Cabinet, a waste of money” said Doan, an attorney in his […]
‘Coal Miner Governor’ Paul Patton will debut memoir Saturday at Kentucky Book Festival
When I interviewed Paul E. Patton in 1987 for the Lexington Herald-Leader during his bid to become Kentucky’s lieutenant governor, he showed me his fingernails. They looked as if they needed a good scrubbing, I told him. He laughed. He said they represented where he came from. The stain from operating coal mines for 20 […]
Kentucky auditor is taxpayers’ watchdog: Meet the candidates
FRANKFORT — Three of the five stories in the old, nondescript brick office building at 209 St. Clair Street house a state office that tries to determine if taxpayers’ dollars are spent properly. It is not the most exciting place in the world. Its scenery is dull. A lot of number crunching is always going […]
Election disputes put heat on secretaries of state: Meet the Kentucky candidates
Pretend it’s the end of the 2024 presidential election. Either Republican Michael Adams or Democrat Charles “Buddy” Wheatley is Kentucky’s secretary of state, a job that includes overseeing elections in the Bluegrass State. The losing candidate in the state’s presidential election calls Kentucky’s secretary of state and asks him to “find” enough votes to overturn […]
Ball claims she asked Beshear administration for audit of disaster donations, was rejected
State Treasurer Allison Ball claimed Monday night that Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration turned down her request for an audit of millions of dollars in disaster relief funds it had generated from donations. Ball said the state Public Protection Cabinet, which oversees the funds, said “no thank you” to her request. Ball’s comments came during an […]
‘A hard person not to like.’ Kentuckians remember Gov. Brereton Jones.
Former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones, who emphasized health care reform and government ethics in his administration from 1991 to 1995 and who was a major figure in the state’s horse industry, has died at 84. Gov. Andy Beshear announced the death late Monday on social media. “I was sad to learn that former Governor and […]
After losing hundreds of churches to LGBTQ rift, United Methodists charter a new one in Erlanger
As hundreds of United Methodist churches in Kentucky left the denomination over LGBTQ+ issues, some members disappointed with the disaffiliation wanted to remain United Methodists. Despite the rift, Kentucky United Methodist Bishop Leonard Fairley remained optimistic about the denomination’s future, predicting that United Methodists “will show the love of God by starting new faith communities […]
Joe Wright, a leader in Kentucky legislative independence movement, dies at 82
Former state Sen. Joe Wright, a leader in the Kentucky General Assembly’s fight to become independent from the control of the governor more than four decades ago, died Saturday at Louisville’s Baptist East Hospital. He was 82. Joseph “Joe” Richard Wright of Breckinridge County served in the state Senate from 1976 to 1992. From 1981 […]
Kentucky Methodists tally congregations lost to LGBTQ rift as a conservative alternative grows
Jacob Wilson, 28, was excited about starting as the pastor of a church in southeastern Kentucky on June 25. Both he and his new congregation in Hindman had left the United Methodist Church in opposition to gay clergy and same-sex marriage — and joined the new Global Methodist Church. Subscribing to conservative views of the […]