Thursday, April 01, 1999
Not too early for next year's candidates
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Stop the presses! This just in! Republican gubernatorial candidate Peppy “What's my real name?” Martin said something lucid, useful, topical, timely and newsworthy on the campaign trail!
Gotcha. Don't forget what today is.
Draud pressured from both sides. State Rep. Jon Draud of Crestview Hills, hasn't even served through one session and Republican Party leaders are on him to make a decision about running for Congress.
The party is having trouble recruiting a candidate to run next year against Democratic U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas of Richwood.
Mr. Draud will probably decide within weeks, he told people at last Saturday's Gallery Furniture.com Stakes.
There is also talk that Villa Hills attorney Lawson Walker, a former state lawmaker and GOP official who ran for lieutenant governor a few years ago, is not totally out of the picture.
But now a Democrat is plotting a run against Mr. Draud in the 2000 statehouse races.
Fort Mitchell Councilman Jeb Holbrook, 25, said he has formed an “exploratory committee,” which candidates use to test the political waters.
“I've called Jon Draud and told him to go for” the congressional race, Mr. Holbrook said, “because I'm probably going to run for his seat in the legislature.”
Mr. Holbrook, a student at Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, is the son of Fort Mitchell attorney Lanny Holbrook. The elder Mr. Holbrook is a successful lawyer and businessman, and he was a major player in the election and administration of former Gov. John Y. Brown.
Son said Dad is going to help the campaign as an “adviser and fund-raiser.” Also helping out will be Alex Edmondson, son of Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson.
Jeb Holbrook is in only his first term on Fort Mitchell City Council, but he definitely has a bright political mind and a good future.
However, he may have picked a fight he can't win in running for Mr. Draud's 63rd District statehouse seat. It's a heavily Republican enclave, taking in Fort Mitchell, Fort Wright, Crescent Springs, Villa Hills, Lakeside Park and Park Hills.
That's not exactly Democratic territory. In fact, the district is recognized in Frankfort as one of the most Republican in the state.
A race like this, however, may be right up Jeb Holbrook's alley. He is not the most conventional of pols. To learn what that means, check out his cable TV public access show.
You have never, ever, seen anything like it. We'll leave it at that.
More Moreland. Campbell County Democratic Party leaders have long had their eye on former Dayton School Superintendent Jack Moreland as a potential candidate.
They wanted Mr. Moreland, who lives in Cold Spring, to run for the statehouse in the last couple of elections. But after retiring from Dayton, he did stints as interim president at Northern Kentucky University and with Gov. Paul Patton's administration in Frankfort.
He's now in the private sector, working for RADAC Corp. in Dayton and once again he is being touted to run against either Republican state Rep. Joe Fischer of Fort Thomas or state Sen. Katie Stine, also of Fort Thomas.
Mr. Moreland isn't saying much about his plans, but he has told friends he would like to get involved in politics.
At last week's Campbell County Democratic Party tribute to former elected officials Bill Donnermeyer, Paul Twehues and Ken Paul, more than one speaker alluded to Mr. Moreland's political potential.
“Are we going to be calling you Representative or Senator some day?” one speaker cracked.
Smart, tough, friendly and connected, Mr. Moreland would make a good candidate. But whether he is good enough to win as a Democrat in statehouse districts that have voted Republican in the last few years remains, of course, to be seen.
Fitting farewell. The Westside Cafe in Newport, at the foot of the 12th Street Bridge and one of the great neighborhood bars in Northern Kentucky, has weighed in with its own unique tribute to those three former county Democratic officials — Mr. Donnermeyer, a former state representative; Mr. Twehues, the former county attorney; and Mr. Paul, the former county judge-executive.
The small sign that hangs over the bar's entrance simply reads, “Thank you Bill D, Paul T and Ken P.”
Arlinghaus sighting. Former Kenton County Commissioner Steve Arlinghaus, who lost his seat in the fall to Republican Adam Koenig, is now a vice president of sales and marketing for Radius Construction Co. in Covington.
CyberGary. Newport native Gary Bauer has finally established an Internet site — www.Bauer2K.com — for his President 2000 Exploratory Committee.
The site contains his biography, stance on issues, reports from the campaign trail and e-mail to contact the campaign and the candidate.
Mr. Bauer is one of the last Republican presidential hopefuls to get a Web site.
He plans to formally kick off his presidential campaign April 21, probably at Newport High School, where he graduated in 1968.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort, or by e-mail at crowleys@cinci.infi.net
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for the Enquirer. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort.
CROWLEY ARCHIVE