Ernie Fletcher

This fall's Kentucky gubernatorial race has not been a pretty sight.

Democrat Ben Chandler, the state's attorney general, and Republican Ernie Fletcher, Kentucky's 6th District congressman, are locked in a close, nasty campaign. Their TV ads have gone past negative into deceptive and mean-spirited - one even going so far as to mock Jack Russell terriers. Their public debates have degenerated into bouts of petty blame-pinning and name-calling.

Neither has covered himself in glory. Of course, that's difficult to do when you're trying to cover the other guy in mud. But when you hose the candidates off, Fletcher emerges as the one who's in a better position to address Kentucky's very real problems. He receives our endorsement.

Fletcher says that Kentucky has a "tremendous need for new leadership after three decades of growing bureaucracy," and it's hard to argue with him. The commonwealth spends more on state government per capita than any surrounding state, including Ohio. It is saddled with a huge payroll of 48,000 state employees, despite a constitutional limit the legislature keeps waiving, and an old-economy tax system based more on products than services. Fletcher calls this Frankfort culture "the worn-out politics of a bygone era." He promises to clean house, replacing "political hacks" with professionals.

He would help solve Kentucky's fiscal woes with tax modernization, high-tech business development and increased competition, notably in health care. Unlike Chandler, he's not keen on expansion of gambling. "But if voters want it, I'll make sure it's regulated well and make sure the revenue benefits all Kentuckians," Fletcher says.

Chandler is casting himself as a conservative in this race, and indeed many of his positions track well next to Fletcher's. He has a well-articulated "government accountability" plan. He favors tax modernization to bring capital back into the state and stem job loss. He would gradually trim the state's payroll through attrition, and would look for Medicaid savings. For new revenue, he would rely mainly on expanded gambling.

But Chandler has made as a central campaign theme the claim that Kentucky's budget problems are mainly the fault of President Bush's economic policies, particularly his tax cuts. That terrier won't hunt. Kentucky can determine much of its own fate through smart tax, budget and development policies.

On ethical matters, Chandler stresses his independence as attorney general. "I've gone after people. And I've got the enemies to prove it."

That brings up a major factor in this campaign - the current, scandal-plagued governor, Democrat Paul Patton. Chandler is trying to run away from Patton, and Fletcher is trying to pin him to the incumbent. Chandler points out he investigated Patton early and has called for him to resign. He proudly says Patton calls him "his No. 1 political enemy." At times, Chandler seems to be running against Patton almost as much as against Fletcher, while Fletcher has kind words for Patton's business-friendly early years in office as a course he would return to.

It's a curious dynamic, but it points out Chandler's problem. Despite his claim of independence, he's not an independent, and he owes much to the party that has had a stranglehold on power - and government jobs - for decades. It's hard to see how he can make much headway in changing the culture.

The most telling argument in Fletcher's favor, however, is his natural link to Northern Kentucky, a Republican stronghold that has taken the lead in Fletcher's political support. Fletcher calls it the state's "engine of expansion." A Fletcher win would give the region greatly increased clout in Frankfort. That would not only be good for Northern Kentucky, but for Kentucky as a whole. Northern Kentuckians moving into positions of influence in Frankfort could bring new blood and new ideas into state government, helping to change what both campaigns acknowledge is a bloated, insular, inefficient bureaucracy.

That's not nearly as likely to happen with Chandler. He'd be a capable executive, and he'd probably succeed with various reforms and efficiencies.

But Fletcher has the opportunity to be more effective in focusing on Kentucky's most critical needs. And he'd be better able to tap the energy and growth of Northern Kentucky for the good of all Kentuckians.

We urge Kentuckians to elect Republican Ernie Fletcher as governor on Nov. 4.