BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKFORT -- Kentucky's Legislative Ethics Commission dismissed one complaint against Boone County State Sen. Gex "Jay" Williams on Tuesday and completed but did not release a report on two additional complaints.
Anthony Wilhoit, the commission's executive director, said that the investigation is complete and that a ruling on a land deal involving Mr. Williams will be made public by the end of the week.
Mr. Wilhoit was less specific about a complaint that Mr. Williams used statehouse telephones to run his current campaign for the 4th District.
That ruling "will be released very shortly," Mr. Wilhoit said. He did not give a date but mentioned that Mr. Williams is hoping to have the rulings made public prior to the Nov. 3 election.
Mr. Williams is running against Boone County Democrat Ken Lucas in the 4th District congressional race.
The commission also dismissed a complaint that had not been previously disclosed. Mr. Wilhoit said it was filed by Shirley Huelsmann, chairwoman of the Kenton County Democratic Party. The complaint, filed Monday, regarded a campaign television commercial the Republican National Committee ran on behalf of Mr. Williams. It urges people who support Mr. Williams to call him at a General Assembly phone number.
In her complaint Mrs. Huelsmann alleged "use and abuse of state phones and employees."
But Mr. Wilhoit said the complaint was dismissed "because the evidence showed Sen. Williams did not have anything to do with that ad."
Mr. Wilhoit also said the commission did not want to release rulings on the other two investigations until Mr. Williams gets an opportunity to read them.
"We don't want him to read about it in the paper," Mr. Wilhoit said.
Craig Hendricks, Mr. Williams' campaign manager, continued saying Tuesday that Mr. Williams will be exonerated in the land and phone investigations.
"It's premature to comment on a report that we have not seen and won't be public for at least a couple of days," Mr. Hendricks said.
"However, we have long maintained that Sen. Williams did nothing wrong, absolutely nothing wrong regarding the land sale . . . or the phone calls," he said.
Some calls were made from Mr. Williams' statehouse office to members of his campaign, but he said the calls were brief, not campaign-related or were quick return calls to people he then called back on his cellular phone.
The investigation, however, also looked at phones elsewhere in the state capitol used by lawmakers, such as the Senate lounge.
A second, more complicated issue, was Mr. Williams' sale of farm land to a campaign supporter. He was paid $60,000 -- to support his family during the campaign, Mr. Williams said -- but was allowed to keep using the land.
The buyer, Arthur Nitz of Frankfort, like Mr. Williams is an anti-abortion activist. Mr. Nitz donated the land to an anti-abortion group.
Robert Arnett of Covington, a Democrat close to some of Mr. Williams' political adversaries, alleged in a complaint to the ethics commission that the land deal was an illegal gift. The Associated Press contributed.
