BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- The day after he was hit with a $50 million lawsuit, Kenton County Jailer Don Younger faced new questions Thursday about a letter sent to jail staff urging them to campaign for him.
The letter, from the jailer's chief deputy, tells employees to actively start working to re-elect Mr. Younger, pointing out that they could lose their jobs if he is not re-elected.
"Don has went to bat for us a lot in the last few years and I feel that it is time that we go to bat for him," wrote Gary Webster in a letter mailed to deputies' homes. "If a new jailer should get elected, there is nothing to guarantee that you will have a job in the future." The jail has 75 full-time employees.
The letter was investigated by County Attorney Garry Edmondson on Wednesday. He said he found nothing improper because the letter was not generated with county money or on county time.
Rumors that the letters were inserted in paychecks were false, he said.
As for suggestions that failing to work for Mr. Younger could lead to employees losing their jobs, Mr. Edmondson said that's just politics. The jailer, he said, has the power to hire and fire his workers.
Mr. Younger's opponent in the November election, Terry Carl, said he plans to talk to Mr. Edmondson today, ask for a more thorough investigation and file a complaint with the state elections board. CP:Don Younger
The letter is another example "of the good ol' boy network," Mr. Carl said.
He promised, if elected, that employees would be put on a merit system so they would not have to worry about political patronage firings.
The letter, intended to help Mr. Younger, may have added to his problems. After all the allegations of poor management, the letter points out and admits yet another jail problem -- staff absenteeism. Few companies would put up with the absentee problems the jail does, the letter says.
"The jailer has the power to hire and fire as he sees fit," the letter continues. "A new jailer could come in and see some of the attendance records and feel that it is a time for a change and start hiring and firing people left and right."
Mr. Younger knew nothing of the letter, Mr. Edmondson said. Mr. Younger's operation of the jail is under fire from both inside and outside the county administration building. Other county officials, chiefly Judge-executive Rodney "Biz" Cain and Police Chief Mike Browning, say the jail is poorly managed and that Mr. Younger should hire help. He has refused. The officials can do little more than urge; the jailer is separately elected.
On Wednesday, the family of James Franklin, a 68-year-old diabetic who died in the jail June 26, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging the jail violated his constitutional rights.
Mr. Franklin was found dead, naked and lying in his own waste.
