Wednesday, January 27, 1999
GOP gives Patton pass in election
Kentucky governor gets token opposition
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKFORT — The Republican Party stalled its run of success in Kentucky politics Tuesday when it failed to mount a credible challenge to any of the Democrats running for statewide re-election this year.
Gov. Paul Patton drew little more than token opposition. And Republicans did not field any candidates to run against the Democratic statewide officers running for re-election. Only state Treasurer John Kennedy Hamilton is not running for a second term.
Barring any independent candidate filing for the November election, all have been given what amounts to a free second term.
“This state is still a Democratic state at the state and local and county level,” Kentucky Democratic Chairman Ron McCloud said.
Even as Tuesday's deadline arrived for getting in this year's gubernatorial race, Republicans still couldn't come together and find a strong candidate to challenge Mr. Patton.
Two Republican lawmakers — Sen. Virgil Moore of Leitchfield and Rep. Hoby Anderson of Flatwoods — arrived just before the 4 p.m. filing deadline at the secretary of state's office in Frankfort to ostensibly file as a governor-lieutenant governor ticket.
Mr. Moore said he showed up as a joke because the Republicans did not have a strong candidate. Mr. Anderson, however, apparently was serious about entering the race but was unable to find a running mate.
That leaves two little-known GOP candidates to run against Mr. Patton, the first governor since 1804 allowed to run for re-election.
Peppy Martin, a Hart County public relations writer, did file as a Republican for governor on Tuesday. She met her lieutenant governor running mate, Wanda Cornelius of Taylor County, just two weeks ago at a meeting of the Federation of Republican Women.
Ms. Martin worked for a short time in the office of Gov. Louie Nunn in 1971, Kentucky's last Republican governor. Her only previous electoral experience was a failed campaign for state representative in Jefferson County in 1981.
Ms. Cornelius said she served two terms on the Taylor County board of education and accepted an appointment to fill an unexpired term last month. She found out from election officers Tuesday she would have to resign from the school board to run for lieutenant governor. Ms. Cornelius said if she had known she would have to resign, she would not have joined Ms. Martin's ticket.
The other Republican gu bernatorial ticket is a husband-wife team, David and Joanna Williams of Columbia.
Randy Kammerdiener, state GOP executive director, acknowledged there was some “euphoria” in the party after the 1998 elections when the party took a Senate seat and five of six congressional seats. Mr. Kammerdiener said the reality of a public financing system that limits campaign spending and is weighted toward Democratic incumbents came crashing down this year.
“I think we were facing an uphill battle on four fronts,” he said.
The only other primary contest on the May 28 ballot will be for the Democratic nomination for treasurer. State Rep. Susan Johns of Louisville is running against Johnathan Miller, a Lexington lawyer who ran sixth out of seven candidates in the 6th District Democratic congressional primary last year.
Mr. Patton filed election papers with the secretary of state's office Monday afternoon. That night he hosted a dinner for about 60 state labor leaders at the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort.
Unions supported Mr. Patton when he helped win legislative passage of a prevailing wage bill. But some labor leaders turned on the governor after he pushed through legislation reforming workers' comp and making it more difficult in some cases to receive benefits.
“I found it very significant that the governor wanted to be with labor the day he announced for re-election,” said Jim Cole of California in Campbell County, an executive board member and political director of the Northern Kentucky Labor Council.
“The governor told us he wants to make sure prevailing wage is maintained in the state, he talked a lot about collective bargaining and said he would be perhaps revisit the workers' comp issue.”
Mr. Cole was one of several local labor leaders to attend. The others were:
• Wayne Whalen, Dry Ridge, president of the Northern Kentucky Labor Council.
• Frank Butler, Newport, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
• Dave Guidugli, Cold Spring, United Food and Commercial Workers 1099.
• Jerry Monahan, Cincinnati, executive secretary of the Greater Cincinnati Building Trades Council.
• Leroy Olberding, Cincinnati, Ironworkers Local 44.
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