Thursday, August 19, 1999
Attorney starts 2002 re-election bid
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Garry Edmondson didn't plan to run for a third term when he was elected Kenton County attorney six years ago. So much for that plan.
Mr. Edmondson said he decided some time ago that he would seek re-election in 2002.
“There is still a lot more I want to accomplish with this office,” Mr. Edmondson has said. “And a lot of people realize the good job I am doing, and they want me to stay.”
That decided, Mr. Edmondson, a Fort Wright Democrat, surely didn't think he would have to gear up for the next campaign more than three years before Election Day.
But thanks to Republican Eric Deters, who is already campaigning and raising money for the seat, Mr. Edmondson is in political mode whether he likes it or not.
And after spending about 30 minutes with Mr. Edmondson in his Kenton County Administration Building office, it's pretty apparent the answer is “not.”
“This is a nonpartisan office,” he said. “We don't prosecute people based on their political party. This office should be elected like the judges are, with no mention of political party.”
Interesting concept. It probably has some merit and is worth discussing and debating.
But Mr. Edmondson isn't exactly FDR when it comes to his devotion and loyalty to the Democratic Party. He has a running feud with Kenton County Democratic Party Chairman Shirley Huelsmann, a rift based partly on the direction and ideology of the party and partly on the fact that Mrs. Huelsmann's husband, Marty, worked in the office of former County Attorney John Elfers. Mr. Edmondson beat Mr. Elfers in a vicious Democratic primary six years ago.
But give Mr. Edmondson at least some credit. He makes no bones about his distaste for local Democratic politics.
“A lot of it has to do with the life issue,” said Mr. Edmondson, who strongly opposes abortion. “I don't like where the Democrats stand as a party on that issue.
“There are plenty of Democrats like me, especially in this area, who are pro-life. But there are plenty who aren't.”
Mr. Edmondson even disdains being called a Democrat, a comment that angers and dismays the local party leadership and faithful. “Don't call me a Democrat,” he said. “That's a label that doesn't really mean anything, especially in my case.
“I'm a conservative. That's what the press should call me. Or if they must, a conservative Democrat.”
That said, the “conservative Democrat” doesn't plan to switch parties, a topic that has been burning up the local political rumor mill.
“Why?” he responded when asked whether he was going to jump ship and join the GOP. “It doesn't really mean anything. It's just a label.
“Look at my '93 campaign. It had plenty of people from both parties who worked for me and supported me,” he said.
That's a fact. Mr. Edmondson enjoyed a lot of bipartisan support six years ago.
Still, it sounds like the “conservative Democrat” is whistling past the political graveyard. Democrats don't have much of a track record in win ning Kenton County elections these days, though the GOP did give Mr. Edmondson a pass last year by not running anybody against him.
Mr. Edmondson would love nothing more than not having to run as a Democrat, conservative or not, against Mr. Deters.
But, alas, Mr. Deters is all too eager to remind reporters and voters about Mr. Edmondson's party affiliation.
Which brings us back to our original premise. Mr. Deters is forcing Mr. Edmondson into the political arena months — make that years — before he wanted.
Well, he might be kicking and screaming going into the race, but he's in it. Not officially, anyway. But he wisely is talking about some of his accomplishments in the county attorney's office.
Though critics have said Mr. Edmondson has bloated the payroll and staff of the office, he counters by saying more staff and additional resources have allowed him to better serve the public.
In his first year in office he increased the amount of child support collected by 24 percent. It has increased about 8 percent every year since.
The staff working on the child support program has grown from two to eight. Much of their focus is getting parents to pay support they owetheir spouses, or working to establish paternity so reluctant fathers can begin to support their children.
Sitting at a small table in his office, Mr. Edmondson produced a number of checks that parents paid just last month after being pursued by his office. The checks total more than $60,000.
With no trace of self-pity, Mr. Edmondson talks of coming from a broken home, and how that inspires him to go after parents who won't help financially support their off spring.
“My mom got $25 a week. That was it,” he recalled. “I don't know how she did it. She was a remarkable woman.”
His office has also cracked down on drunken driving and prostitution, and worked to keep pornography out of Kenton County, he said.
Mr. Deters and others are waiting to hit Mr. Edmondson with some issues. The lawsuit Kenton County settled for $850,000 with two developers relating to the bidding of the new Kenton County Justice Center and parking garage will certainly be raised in this campaign.
As will lots of other issues — because Mr. Deters and Mr. Edmondson have reputations as being tough, outspoken and even ill-tempered pols and campaigners.
“It will be a blood bath,” said a Democratic Executive Committee member. “Those two will chew on each other like raw meat being thrown to hungry wolves.”
“A celebrity death match,” said another Democrat on the committee. “I'd pay to see it.”
Mr. Edmondson will be prepared for anything, he said.
That's not political bravado and machismo. Mr. Edmondson is tough, straight-forward, at times confrontational and always ready to speak his mind — qualities that fit a prosecutor but could hurt a politician.
But that won't bother Mr. Edmondson. Remember, he doesn't want to be a politician. Just a conservative.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort, or by e-mail at crowleys@cinci.infi.net.
CROWLEY ARCHIVE
