Attorney in the dark about secret campaign meeting

They don't call it the silly season for nothin'. To wit:

May the farce be with you: Rumors were swirling a couple of weeks ago that Fort Mitchell attorney Rick Robinson had a ''secret'' campaign meeting planned for last Sunday. Mr. Robinson, a former long-time aide to GOP Congressman Jim Bunning, is considering running for the House should his former boss get in next year's U.S. Senate race.

But Mr. Robinson said no such meeting was planned or held. Instead, he spent last Sunday afternoon seeing The Empire Strikes Back with wife Linda and eight-year-old son Joshua.

''My son doesn't want me to be a congressman,'' Mr. Robinson quipped. ''He wants me to be a Jedi knight.''

Browns give Campbell Repubs the blues: Mentor residents Craig and Debra Brown have been making a lot of noise about problems in the Campbell County Republican Party, of which they are active members. In fact, Mrs. Brown is on the executive committee and helped revive the Campbell County Republican Women's Club.

The Browns are making all kinds of charges about shoddy record-keeping and poor fiscal management, but some party leaders believe the couple is just trying to wrangle power away from others, including Executive Committee Chairman Norb Gettys.

The Browns say that's not true, that they are concerned about the direction of the party. Or as they put it in a letter to the state party, ''a party without a budget is like a ship with no rudder.''

Mr. Gettys said he's never seen the county party stronger. Other members say attendance at some monthly meetings has reached nearly 100 and a candidates' slate is being planned to prepare to challenge for every Democratic controlled seat in the county courthouse.

''We have never had such a productive and harmonious group in number and personality,'' said Mr. Gettys, a Fort Thomas attorney.

''There is no trouble within the (Campbell County) Republican Party, but unfortunately we have some trouble makers who are bent on creating controversy where there really is none.''

Watch for this spat to come to a head real soon.

Hey, hey Paula: Fort Mitchell's Paula Miller made a political name for herself for the work she did last year as a leading member of the inner-circle of Jack Westwood's successful Kentucky Senate campaign against Democrat Joe Meyer.

Now, she's being courted by Sen. Dan Kelly, the state Senate Republican floor leader, to do some work for Senate candidates in 1998. And some of those thinking about running for Jim Bunning's congressional seat should he make a Senate run are also interested in talking to her about doing campaign work.

Mrs. Miller isn't saying much, but party insiders say it's a safe bet she will move on to a higher-profile campaign once ground work for the '98 elections gets in gear.

Show Gex the money. What's this? State Sen. Gex ''Jay'' Williams hustling the Patton administration and his senate buddies for state dough to build an NKU science center?

Sure enough, Mr. Williams is assuming the responsibility - ''carrying the ball'' in Frankfort speak - for winning Senate approval for science center money.

Mr. Williams has never been one to seek money for state projects, so what's driving the new interest?

''He's running for Congress and he wants to have some accomplishments to run on,'' a fellow Repub said. ''Isn't that obvious?''

Well, now that you mention it ...

Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Enquirer. His column appears on Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581.