264. Highways, filings, and comments

First, we had a real snow overnight and if one were up through the night, one could view the falling snow through the millions of prisms created by the millions of snowflakes reflecting of the Full Moon posing high overheard. 'Twas a beautiful sight.

I suppose this being entry #264, one of the more appropriate things to talk about today would be our inner-city automotive circle, I-264, and called the Henry Watterson Expressway, after the Confederate military veteran of the 1860s who went on to become editor of the local newspaper, the Louisville Journal, which later merged with another local paper, and became the Louisville Courier-Journal.


Watterson also served a term in Congress and in the 1892 Democratic National Convention was nominated and received votes to be Vice President of the United States. He is buried up in Cave Hill Cemetery, at the top of Broadway, where it intersects with Baxter Avenue, the road leading out of Louisville towards Bardstown.

Today is also, as I mentioned before, my mother's birthday, and I do not want to fail to wish her again, here on a blog she never reads, Happy Birthday. I'll be seeing her to celebrate in a more traditional fashion later this evening.

But what I want to write about today is the local Louisville-Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee, the governing body of the local Democratic Party. This being a presidential election year, all 18 seats for Legislative District Chair and all 18 seats for Legislative District Vice-Chair are up for election. The filing deadline for such seats is one week from today, filings which must be formally done by a Declaration which must be duly signed and notarized not only by the candidate but also by two people familiar enough with the candidate to sign on their behalf. Those persons elected as Chair will also be repsonsible for electing the 18 At-Large members of the committee, as well as the Chair and Vice Chair of the County Committee.

One might surmise that instruction for filing in these offices would be found somewhere on the local Democratic Party webpage, and it is if one takes the time to look. I've had several folks ask me who is running but I am unable to provide an answer, as that seems to be a well-guarded secret. I'm not sure why. I am of the belief that we should be far more open about how one would go about being on the governing body of the local Party. I think such information should be widely made available.

So, for those who are interested, make application with the local Party by next Tuesday at 4:00 pm. Their phone number is 582-1999 and they are located at 640 Barret Avenue, behind the old Jillians restaurant, just north of Broadway. And if you file, leave me a note. Since I haven't been able to get of list from there, I try to keep track of it here.

Next Tuesday is also the filing deadline for all the various offices which will appear on the ballot in this year's primary and general elections. We are still waiting to see who all is willing to run against the Number One Republican in the United States Senate and thus become the consensus candidate after the Primary. Congressman John Yarmuth doesn't know yet what opposition he may face except he knows it won't be Erwin Roberts. Congressman Ron Lewis, who represents most of Okolona in southern Jefferson County as well as a few other Jefferson precincts, will be facing David Boswell, a sitting State Senator from Daviess County. All members of the Kentucky House of Representatives are up as well as those Senate members in odd-numbered districts. The even-numbered Metro Council Districts are up here in Jefferson County, as are most city council or commission districts across the Commonwealth. Last week Secretary of State Trey Grayson pointed out that Kentucky is falling in rank in terms of the diversity of those elected to office in our Commonwealth. He suggested that more people should be encouraged to run, especially at the local level, where most folks get their first taste of politics. That's what I am doing here.

Pray for more snow.