837. A generational end.

Of all of the brothers and sisters of my grandparents, my earliest memory of any of them is of Aunt Virginia Lee Lewis Sharp, my maternal grandmother's youngest sister, who passed away this morning in Bokeelia, Florida, where she and her family have lived since the 1970s. As I was growing up, she was a constant presence when we visited my great-grandparents' farm on Old Louisville Road in western Franklin County, usually in the kitchen and making sure every one was fed, but especially her dad, my great-grandfather, Robert Lewis, Sr.

Of my four grandparents, I never met any of the siblings of my paternal grandfather, U. G. Noble. I know he had two brothers, Robert (or R.G.) in Millington, TN, and James (or J.G.) in Bakersfield, CA. I also know he had two older half-sisters, Helen and Louise, who were twins. I believe he had two much older half-brothers who were also twins. As he was the youngest of all of these siblings, and he was born in 1906, I presume they are all deceased.

My paternal grandmother, Grace Lee Noble, had one sister, Mary Lee Hiner, who I remember as an very elegant, well-to-do lady. Aunt Mary, who I believe lived in Shively, died in 1981.

My maternal grandfather's siblings were all well-known growing up. My grandfather, Dan Hockensmith, died in 1983. His closest brother Milford (of Frankfort) died in 1990; sister K. Lorraine McKnight (of Nashville, TN) in 1991, his step-brother Luther Raymond Crutcher (of Crestwood) in 1995; sister Anna Louise Roberts (of Louisville) in 2000; brother William (of Springfield, MO) in 2010; sister Mildred Smith (of Clarksville, IN) last October; and youngest brother Lee Roy (of Paducah) in December.

My maternal grandmother, Vivian "Tommie" Lewis Hockensmith, was from a large family and I was close to most of her siblings. We visited my grandmother's family often growing up, mostly in Frankfort, but also in Lexington, Lawrenceburg, Versailles, Shelbyville, Bagdad, Waddy, Graefenburg, Alton, Switzer, Stamping Ground, Bridgeport, and most points betwixt and between. I have many cousins - second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth cousins, removed and so-forth, some of whom I actually know - all through Franklin, Anderson, Woodford, and Shelby counties.

Of my grandmother and her siblings, in order of birth, Henry died in 1995, my grandmother in 1976, Robert, Jr. in 2008, Frances in 2017, Billy in 2018, Charlie in 2016, Elbert "Egg" in 2017, Lura Edith in 2013, Harry (who died as a child) in 1931, Dorothy Ann in 2012, Virginia Lee today, and Jimmy Carroll late last year. My mother and her uncle Jimmy, who were close in age, grew up together and were very close. Of those who grew to adulthood, my grandmother died the earliest at the age of 59 in 1976. There were some interesting characters among the Lewis family - businessmen and women, politicians, farmers, teachers, and engaging story tellers.

Today draws a close to the generation of my grandparents' siblings. I have wonderful memories of all of them, and I miss them.

Jimmy, Virginia Lee, Walter (Virginia Lee's husband), Lura Edith, Glenda (Jimmy's then-wife), Garnet (Lura's husband), great-grandfather Robert Lewis, Sr., Sarah (Elbert's wife), Elbert, Frances, my grandmother Tommie, Dorothy Ann, Jake (Dorothy Ann's husband), Joann (Billy's then-wife), Virginia (Henry's wife), Billy, Henry, Garnett (Charlie's wife), Charlie. Missing: Bob.  Sadly, with the exception of Aunt Glenda, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Jake, everyone in this picture, which was taken in 1975 I believe, is deceased.

835. The Obituary of Darryl T. Owens

Darryl T. Owens

Louisville - Darryl T. Owens was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1937. He grew up in Fort Hill and recalled those days fondly. Stressing religion, family and education, his mother Dorothy Minter Owens raised a son who quietly became a giant as a civil rights leader, public servant and a man of many firsts.

Owens graduated from Central High School and left Kentucky to earn a bachelor's degree from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. There he pledged the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and forged lifelong friendships.

"At Central State, we were lucky because everyone was invested in our success," Owens said while receiving a lifetime achievement award from the University. "They pulled our coats when they needed to. My friends and I joke about writing a book 'I am glad they didn't mind their own business. ' Our business was their business. They knew how hard the world would be and they knew that we were the ones who needed to go out into the world to make it a better place for less fortunate black people."

Go out into the world he did. Owens was accepted into Howard University Law School in Washington, DC where he earned a Juris Doctorate degree in 1962. Owens returned home to Louisville where he opened his law practice in 1965.

Owens devoted his life to public service and civil rights. As an attorney, political candidate and government official, he broke racial barriers by becoming the first African American to gain recognition on many fronts. He pounded on doors to assure access for those who had been left out and—once inside—worked to ensure that those rights endured.

From 1965 to 1969, Owens served as the first black assistant prosecutor of the Louisville police court. Ultimately, he would become the first black assistant Kentucky attorney general and the first black president of the Legal Aid Society. Owens served as NAACP President, Louisville branch from 1970 to 1976. He also served on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees, the Louisville Urban League and local and state government advisory committees.

He served as a juvenile court judge in 1980 and served as the trial commissioner of Jefferson County Court. He was a member of the Kentucky Workmen's Compensation Board and, from 1976 to 1983, Owens was instrumental in obtaining government grants to assist chronically ill patients, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), the Big Brothers program, homeless programs, vocational educational programs and various parks in Kentucky.

Owens was the first African American elected to the Jefferson County Fiscal Court. For 21 years, he served on the Jefferson County Fiscal Court representing C District. Then in 2005, he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives to serve District 43. Owens also became chairman of the Judiciary Committee during his time in the House. He introduced important expungement legislation. House Bill 64 included language to help ex-felons get jobs by expanding offenses that can be expunged and making it easier to remove felonies from their permanent record. Owens sponsored another bill to help reinstate voting rights for former felons.

He was a strong believer in the transfer of knowledge to future generations. One of his mentors was Georgia Powers, the first African-American and first woman elected to the Kentucky Senate. "In the olden days, if they had a meeting, everybody showed up," Owens once told an interviewer. "We showed up and we marched. We had leaders who we trusted. Young kids now don't understand the sacrifices that others have made so they can do what they do. That's our fault. We haven't told the story."

"Dedra and I always thought our father was bigger than life," said Debbie Owens, his oldest daughter. "Even during his illness, he had an ability to build relationships - doctors, nurses, techs and caregivers. They all loved him. He never lost his sense of humor. We laughed and loved until the very end."

He is survived by his wife Brenda Lucien Owens, daughters Deborah Owens (Ferguson Evans) and Dedra Owens of Washington, DC; stepson Desmond Sweatt and sisters Patricia Herring of Cleveland, Ohio, and Leslie Tucker of Phoenix, Arizona.

A viewing service will be held on Monday, January 10, 2022 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage located at 1700 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40203.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 10:00 am at St. Stephen Baptist Church located at 1008 South 15th Street, Louisville, KY 40210. Live streaming of the service will be available on St. Stephen's website www.ssclive.org.

Masks are required for attendance at both events.

The family welcomes donations for the Darryl Owens Memorial Fund, in lieu of flowers . Checks should be mailed to the Central State University Foundation, P. O. Box 64, Dayton, OH 45401-0064. Donations can also be made directly by visiting www.centralstateuniversityfoundation.com

W.T. Shumake & Daughters Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Copied from the Courier Journal.

© Jeff Noble, Louisville, Kentucky, January 8, 2022.

 

834. Senate Bill 3 from the 2008 General Assembly - the Filing Deadline, the opposite of this year's House Bill 172

The first piece of legislation to make it through both chambers of this year's session of the Kentucky General Assembly had nothing to do with the budget or healthcare or education or clean drinking water or highways or coal severance taxes or even pensions.  We can only hope that our legislators will eventually address these important topics at some point during the 2022 Regular Session.

No, the first piece of legislation to pass both houses and advance to the governor's desk, and one which he has already signed into law, was House Bill 172 moving the filing deadline from today to January 25, 2022, solely for this year.

Kentucky's regular filing deadline for elective office has for several years now been ridiculously early, falling on the first Friday of January at 4:00 p.m.  It has moved around over the years.  This current temporary move under HB172 is closer to the last Tuesday or last Friday in January, both of which have previously served as filing deadlines.  Many years ago, from the 1970s to the 2000s, it was in mid-March.  

But, as mentioned, the current deadline is the first Friday of January, unless, as what happened today, the General Assembly moves it for their own purposes.  Or, as in the case ten years ago, the courts move it, as Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd did moving the deadline for some offices to January 31, 2012 and others to February 7, 2012.  The reason in both this year's move and that of a decade ago was the late passage of the House and Senate (and Congressional) boundaries for the elections, redrawn after the decennial censuses.  As of this writing, those new lines have been presented, but not passed.  The new lines for judicial circuits, which haven't been redrawn in decades, have been passed to my understanding.  In other words, the dates must be moved due to the late actions (or inactions) of the members of the General Assembly themselves.

This brings me back to Senate Bill 3 from the 2008 General Assembly.  Then-Senator David Williams, someone with whom I rarely agreed, introduced a bill which would have moved the filing deadline to the last Tuesday in April and the Primary to the first Tuesday after the third Monday in August.  I completely supported Senator Williams's proposal.

It would have moved all of the filing and campaigning until after the General Assembly had done its annual destruction in Frankfort and while the destruction would still be fresh in the minds of the voters.  As it is, a session ends sometime in March or April and all is forgotten in a few weeks and then we have a filing deadline immediately after the holidays.  Also as it is, Kentucky's filing deadline is the first in the nation and the period between the filing deadline and the actual primary and election is longer than any other state in the nation.

While this year's move is for this year only, the General Assembly should take a long hard look at moving everything until later in the year as Senator Williams proposed fourteen years ago.  He was right.  Perhaps Secretary of State Michael G. Adams could take this up as a cause.  He seems to have some gravitas within both parties and elections are the province of his office.  

Hope springs eternal.

Happy Orthodox Christmas.

© Jeff Noble, Louisville, Kentucky, January 7, 2022.

832. On the passing of State Representative Darryl T. Owens

My friend Darryl T. Owens passed away yesterday after a long illness.  He was 84.  For many years he represented me in the General Assembly as the 43rd District State Representative.  He had previously served as a member of the Jefferson Fiscal Court for "C" District.  I've known Darryl for thirty-eight years and supported him in nearly every one of his elections, the exception being when he ran for Mayor of Louisville in 1985.

Darryl is mentioned in more than a dozen posts here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River at Milepost 606. You can search his name in bar at the top left of the blog and go read about our various interactions.  He was a firm yet fair person willing to do almost anything for anybody, especially if it meant taking on authorities.  He loved addressing inequalities and working to solve them.

Among the entries herein is one dated March 2, 2013, where I have posted an address I made to the Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Executive Committee on a number of topics, one of which mentioned the work of Rep. Owens.  I have copied the pertinent paragraphs below.  I've also included a link to his bio on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights website.  It tells much more than I can say in one post.

Here is part of my speech to the KDP SCEC:

On a different matter, and in the other house of the General Assembly, I am also concerned and dissatisfied.  Two days ago, the Kentucky House, in the name of religious freedom, passed a law which subverts the gains Kentucky and a few - very few - of its local communities have made with regard to civil rights protections for lesbians, gays, and others.  In the name of religious freedom, which I would call religious preference, something forbidden by the United States Constitution, our House passed a law by an overwhelming vote – seven Democrats voting no and the balance of the Chamber in favor – which could strip away discrimination protections in the name of religious freedom.

Two attempts were made by my representative in the House, Darryl Owens, to amend the bill, one passed and one was not called for a vote - both in the name of protecting the gains made in civil rights over the years, and especially in the cities of Vicco, Covington, Lexington, and Louisville.

Each of these bills now head to the other Chamber where both will likely be passed. Each bill needs work and if passed as written I would hope Governor Beshear would give the General Assembly more time to think through their votes by vetoing these horrible pieces of legislation.

Here is the link for the KCHR website for Rep. Owens bio:  Biography of Darryl T. Owens

Darryl leaves a large legacy of work behind and will be missed.  Please keep his wife Brenda and their family in your thoughts.  Rest in Peace and Power, my friend.

© Jeff Noble, Louisville, Kentucky, January 5, 2022.

831. Republicans and their crayons

 

There's not a lot to say here.  The GOP has full control of Kentucky's legislative and congressional redistricting for the first time in history.  They've controlled the senatorial redistricting since 2000, so the two parties have been agreeing not to screw each other too badly for the last two redistricting efforts.  Prior to that, back to 1964, the Democrats had had full control.  Needless to say, paybacks are hell.  

One friend, Clayton Brown, commented that a drive along I-64 from Lexington to Louisville would take you through five of the six congressional districts, from the 6th to the 1st to the 4th to 2nd to the 3rd.  The 1st is the interesting one.  It begins down on the banks of the Mississippi River in Fulton County, about 300 miles to the southwest and runs to Franklin County and the Forks of Elkhorn Creek.

Redistricting is one of my favorite subjects and I may have more to say at another time.  First we need to get the crayons away from the Republicans.

© Jeff Noble, Louisville, Kentucky, January 4, 2022.

823. It's going to be a great week in America! Happy 2021.

 

38-3-51

100.305, 321.39, 323.10, 323.12, 323.13

35 Pa. CS 7301 (b).

You might ask, "What are these cites?"

Let me begin by saying starting next week, when the Kentucky General Assembly convenes, the veto-proof Republican-controlled legislature will be taking up 39A.100, which is the equivalent cite in the Kentucky statutes that the above numbers are in the Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania codes respectively.

They are all cites to state laws approved by their state legislatures granting governors (and in some cases other elected officials) broad (sometimes undefined) extensive authority in times of peril or pandemic. These are the times we are in.

We've been hearing our president (and many of the few supporters he has left) making the argument that the laws under which most of the states conducted their elections, because they were different, amended or altered in their operations by the governors or the officials in charge of elections, somehow nullifies the elections themselves because those laws were not approved by the legislatures themselves.

The stupidity in this argument, and stupid is a word I rarely use but it is most applicable here, is that I am able to cite to Georgia Code 38-3-51; Wisconsin Statutes 100.305, 321.39, 323.10, 323.12, and 323.13; and Chapter 35 of the Pennsylvania Code of Statutes, Section 7301(b), all passed by members elected into the legislatures of the respective states, just as KRS 39A.100 was codified into our Kentucky laws after being passed in last year's General Assembly, all of these granting the authority that the uninformed president and his uninformed supporters say doesn't exist.

Now that the GOP has complete control of the Kentucky General Assembly, and given we have a Democratic governor, they will likely reverse many of the laws they passed in 2020. Republican legislators clearly lack logic.

But lacking even more logic than Republicans in the Kentucky General Assembly is the president and his supporters who make the argument, stupidly, that laws do not exist which allowed the states to conduct last year's elections in the fashion they were conducted.

Fools like Congressman Louie Gohmert, Senator Ted Cruz, and Gov. Ron DeSantis should be tried for sedition, if not treason, against the Republic based on the United States Constitution and cites such as the Georgia Code 38-3-51; Wisconsin Statutes 100.305, 321.39, 323.10, 323.12, and 323.13; and Chapter 35 of the Pennsylvania Code of Statutes, Section 7301(b).

Next week is going to be a great week in America. The Republican Party is going to be seen as the anti-American, anti-Constitution, anti-Rule of Law, anti-Voter, and anti-Election fanatic cult it truly is.

© Jeff Noble, Louisville, Kentucky, January 2, 2021.

813. An Open Letter to My Fellow Democrats on Marijuana

2019 General Assembly - Hemp - Marijuana

:

Friends --

The voters of Kentucky made one thing clear in November.  The Pension Crisis wasn't enough to turn out Republican legislators at the ballot box.  While the entire nation had a good night for Democrats, we in Kentucky quite honestly only did so in very few places.  For that we should be thrilled as we are sending some excellent new folks to the General Assembly, new blood, new ideas, new perspectives.  But we're already behind after this foolish Special Session.  The main reason given by GOP members in the House for its failure was the differences in this bill from that of SB151 in the 2018 Regular Session.  Jerry Miller and his pals will be back with SB151 as soon as they are able in the upcoming session.  Do we have a plan or are we just opposed to theirs?  The governor has moved money into the pensions by cutting services elsewhere and raising taxes which mostly affect working class people. If we are going to counter that, we had better have a plan that isn't just opposition to theirs and provides some stream of revenue that can be directed to the pensions.

As all of you know, a generation ago, Gatewood Galbraith started a movement to legalize hemp and marijuana in Kentucky. I voted for Gatewood twice, in 1983 for Ag Commissioner against David Boswell and again in 1991 against Brereton Jones for governor.  He ran last in both primaries but I'm still proud of those votes.  Gatewood's movement has finally come to fruition all these years later.  The problem for us is the Republicans, for the moment, own the matter.  Senator Mitch McConnell got himself onto the committee writing the final farm bill for the sole purpose of inserting hemp language and then made sure it got passed in Washington. When the president signed the bill two days ago, before the close of business on that same day, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles submitted the necessary paperwork to the federal Department of Agriculture (USDA), which the bill requires, for Kentucky to begin its program.  He already had the program in place waiting for the president's signature, making Kentucky the first state in the Republic to apply for USDA approval of its hemp program.

My point?  The Democrats in the General Assembly and those running for governor, and any other leaders of the State Democratic Party, better get on board quickly, as in by the end of the year and certainly by the gaveling in of the new Session, on this issue and push the envelope much further, to full legalization.  We're not winning with the Pension issue.  But we can if we have a revenue stream.  We can if we have an issue.  Right now the GOP owns the hemp issue.  McConnell created it just as he did the Tobacco Buyout Program in 2004 cementing the votes and support of tobacco planters and sellers throughout the Commonwealth. We cannot wait or McConnell and Quarles will completely own this issue by January.  Hemp is here.  Recreational marijuana is not.  

A lawyer friend of mine originally from Shelbyville offered me this quote earlier today.  He said, "I can see this Fancy Farm line: "You're right Governor, marijuana is illegal today.  And you're also right that I wouldn't want my child to use it today.  But I'll tell you what.  I'd rather be high on an illegal substance than have a first term mired by illegal bills, low approval ratings, and no substance."  If we want to capture the imagination and votes of both younger Kentuckians for whom this is a no-brainer and older Kentuckians who may see this as an alternative to expensive medicine, push the envelope.  Hemp is here and Trump, McConnell, and Quarles own the issue.  Recreational marijuana, properly controlled and taxed, is out there on the horizon waiting for Kentucky Democrats to reach out and make it theirs.  Don't wait. 

Jeff Noble

Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Executive Committee 

At-Large member

805. Call the House, Call the Senate, and Call the Governor

Governor Bevin has managed to pit 70 groups of program supporters against the 69 others, and many of the 70 seem to have lost sight of the pension crisis. Yes, there are some really good programs he has proposed to cut, in fact almost all of them and a few, maybe three, that maybe should be done away with. 
I'm partial to some eastern Kentucky educational programs, particularly the Robinson Scholars as well as several based in Lexington such as the University Press, this one mostly because my great-grandmother Alice Colston Hockensmith (Miss Alice to you Frankfort people) gave me many books from the press growing up and I've continued her gifts with gifts of my own.

The Chaffee Program in Louisville is an important program on its own but is nostalgically important to me because it is housed where I went to register for school for the first time, the old South Park Elementary School in Fairdale. That's probably not a good reason but it caught my attention. The Agriculture Public Service Program, another UK item, takes me back to my freshman year as an Ag-Econ student. Cuts to the State Tree programs and aid to the local County Conservation Districts show a lack of concern about the environment for the future. There is a conservation district in each county except Logan which has two.

And closing down the cafeteria in the Annex should be grounds for impeachment.

So these programs all have supporters and good reasons for that support. And as the governor points out, they all cost money. And he says he is proposing these cuts to help fund the pension crisis shortcoming which up until his address last night was all most anyone was talking about when it came to budget items in Frankfort.

Thanks to this "list of 70" the governor slyly and intelligently has everyone talking about all kinds of other things they want to spend dollars on and at some point, according to his critics, he is going to say "well if you want this, you can't have that" and "that" is pension reform. To the less cynical and more hopeful (and while it may pit me against my fellow Democrats, I should be counted in this group), he may say "if you want 'this' and 'that' then you've got to raise taxes."

Now I don't know if Matt quite has the gumption to say the word "taxes" or not but I firmly believe that he knows to do both, or to do any true pension reform, taxes must be raised. And, his Medicaid strategy debacle notwithstanding, I believe he wants to correct the pension crisis one way or another. But if he has 70 groups of supporters calling on the 138 to save their program with no coinciding and coordinating call for a raise of revenue, he'll understandably choose to do one or the other, or worse yet, allow the 138 to do one or the other and not both. If your concern is about pensions, make the calls to your legislators (800-372-7181, 502-564-8100) and tell them. If your concern is about saving one of the list of 70, make the calls to your legislators (800-372-7181, 502-564-8100) and tell them. If your concern is about both, make the calls to your legislators (800-372-7181, 502-564-8100) and tell them we need more revenues. And in this latter case, after you have called your House member and your Senate member, call Governor Bevin at 502-564-2611 and tell him he needs to lead the call for revenue to lead the Commonwealth forward.

This isn't about Democratic or Republican strategy - it is about taking care of the Commonwealth.

792. A proposal to amend the By-Laws of the Kentucky Democratic Party

Given the events of the day - the Charleston shooting, the president's apparent surrender on Constitutional gun control (just as we have Constitutional limits of speech and assembly), and it also being my niece's birthday, this probably isn't important to most of you. But it is to me. I've just emailed a proposal to a certain governing body for changes to their body of laws, changes I've been writing in my mind since the summer of 2008. I think they're finally going to be heard and have a substantial chance of making it from my thought to their code. I am pleased.

785. As to my predictions - the promised report.

Last week, prior to the Election, I made a bold set of predictions for the Alison Grimes - Mitch McConnell race for the United States Senate.  At Entry #784, posted at 9:07 the night before the election, I predicted Mitch McConnell would receive 4,400 votes fewer than Alison.  Although the number does not appear in the post, my notes indicate that my prediction was for McConnell to poll 788129 votes to Alison's 792529. Despite my wishful thinking we all know that 4,400 margin of victory didn't happen and it didn't happen in a big way.  

In my defense (and this entire entry is "in my defense") McConnell's numbers were, relatively speaking" close to my prediction.  He outperformed my expectations by 2.36%.  That's pretty close.  I like it that I predicted the number I did for McConnell.  What does it tell us?  Mostly that his voters were very traditional, very reliable, and rather unmovable.  I have often described my style of "doing numbers" with the phrase "birds of a feather vote together." In Mitch's case, that is exactly what happened.  He did not receive an outpouring of new voters, people upset with Obama or Alison or Steve Beshear or anyone else.  He got 2.36% better than he should have gotten by my numbers.  That's no big deal.

Here's the big deal.  My prediction for Alison was 792,529 votes.  She polled 584,698, a deficit of 207,831, or only 73.77% of my predicted number for her.  Again we must ask, as everyone has been asking, why? Most people are blaming her loss on the president and his intense unpopularity in the Commonwealth. That can't be denied.  But there is more to it than that.

I'll be the first to admit (now that it is over) my predictions for her, unlike those for McConnell, were loaded in her favor.  I really wanted her to win.  She is a friends and her parents are dear friends who have been supportive of me in many ways.  My predictions numbers included some "seeded clouds" intended to make supporters recognize that a GOTV effort on Election Day was paramount in obtaining a victory, and pointing out as I did in the original post the importance and difficulty of getting those voters out especially in the two most populous counties, Fayette and Jefferson.  She didn't in either and the national networks called the race as soon as they could as that last poll closed in the Central Time Zone.  Alison had to do in Fayette and Jefferson what had never been done before and didn't.  My predictions in those two counties were, quite honestly, extraordinarily wishful thinking.  More than a few people through the night seemed to know that.

Sticking to traditional conservative values did not help where it might have - in the east and the west. Sticking to those same values or avoiding others, especially with regard to the president didn't help in Louisville and Lexington.  Would it have made a difference or do most people who always vote Republican continue to do so and do most people who always vote Democratic continue to do so?  Again, birds of a feather.  

In summary, Alison failed to move more than a few Republican-voting Democrats over to her column.  She also failed, in a large way, to give Fayette and Jefferson's non-traditional voters - those who only vote in presidential years - a reason to come out in her favor.  That was a needle we had to move and didn't. Doing those two things might have made the difference.  

But, back to those abysmal predictions of mine.  Other than my McConnell number which was marginally correct, my best predictions came in adjoining counties, Simpson where I missed the mark by 51 votes, and Warren where it was 89.  Grayson was the next closest at 95. Others close enough to brag about were Cumberland and Marion - each at 101, Nelson at 120, McCreary at 133, Robertson at 145 - and honestly I shouldn't include Robertson as it is hard to be off by 145 as opposed to easy, Monroe at 149, and Butler at 188.

Arguably my best prediction came from Fayette given its size where I was off 659 votes.  My worst, of course, was Jefferson at 33025.  I suppose that should be embarrassing.  The entire list is below.

Takeaway? Simple - running on traditional Republican values didn't move anyone and may have alienated some.  Let's see how those considering a 2015 statewide run respond to that. 


Below are my original predictions with the actuals to the right of those and occasional notes.

ADAIR - (2100) - (777)
ALLEN - (2100) - (435)
ANDERSON - (600) - (1406)
BALLARD - (100) - (926)
BARREN - (2100) - (1077)
BATH - 700 - (587)
BELL - (1400) - (2151)
BOONE (17000) - 3588 - Boone's deficit was 3588 lower than my prediction.
BOURBON - 200 (387)
BOYD - 200 - (233)
BOYLE - (1100) - (445)
BRACKEN - 100 - (577)
BREATHITT - even - (368)
BRECKINRIDGE - (300) - (990)
BULLITT - (4000) - (1870)
BUTLER - (1600) - (188)
CALDWELL - even - (1346)
CALLOWAY - (1800) - (787)
CAMPBELL - (6100) - (536)
CARLISLE - even - (609)
CARROLL - 400 - (366) - Carroll's win was 366 lower than my prediction.
CARTER - 900 - (169) - Carter's win was 169 lower than my prediction.
CASEY - (2100) - (425)
CHRISTIAN - (2500) - (1301)
CLARK - (1400) - (849)
CLAY - (2500) - (772)
CLINTON - (1900) - (418)
CRITTENDEN - (600) - (730)
CUMBERLAND - (1200) - (101)
DAVIESS - (1600) - (3195)
EDMONSON - (800) - (561)
ELLIOTT - 500 - (245) - Elliott's win was 245 lower than my prediction.
ESTILL (600) - (693)
FAYETTE - 5600 - Note - 4322 more votes than Conway got over Paul, not an easy task. - (659)
FLEMING - 400 - (1343)
FLOYD - 2300 - (3480)
FRANKLIN - 4000 - (1795) - Franklin's win was 1795 lower than my prediction.
FULTON - even - (283)
GALLATIN - (100) - (402)
GARRARD - (1700) - (502)
GRANT - (1700) - (488)
GRAVES - (1500) - (2506)
GRAYSON - (2400) - (95)
GREEN - (1000) - (744)
GREENUP - 100 - (799)
HANCOCK - 500 - (675)
HARDIN - (3800) - (1776)
HARLAN - (1300) - (2952)
HARRISON - (300) - (685)
HART - (500) - (548)
HENDERSON - 500 - (1140)
HENRY - (200) - (699)
HICKMAN - even - (449)
HOPKINS - (2700) - (2618)
JACKSON - (1200) - (1499)
JEFFERSON - 69000 - Note - 40050 more votes than Conway got over Paul, not an easy task. - A note here - Alison beat McConnell by 35975 votes.  I had hoped/prayed/predicted against all logic that she would win by 69000, a difference of 33025.  I noted in the prediction that she needed a 40050 vote bigger win than Jack got over Randy.  Jack got fewer votes than Alison as Rand got fewer than Mitch.  Jack's margin was 28950.  Alison got 7025 more votes than Jack.  I really need to break Jefferson down by legislative district.  (33025) - Jefferson's win was 33025 fewer than my prediction.
JESSAMINE - (3300) - (1955)
JOHNSON - (2300) - (1156)
KENTON - (13500) - 1864 - Kenton's deficit was 1864 fewer than my prediction.
KNOTT - 500 - (1417)
KNOX - (2500) - (1526)
LARUE - (800) - (558)
LAUREL - (7100) - (1516)
LAWRENCE - even - (1286)
LEE - (400) - (530)
LESLIE - (2500) - (329)
LETCHER - (300) - (1992)
LEWIS - (1600) - 168.  Lewis's deficit was 168 less than my prediction.
LINCOLN - (600) - (1375)
LIVINGSTON - (200) - (785)
LOGAN - (1800) - (213)
LYON - even - (671)
MADISON - (2500) - (2565)
MAGOFFIN - 700 - (1839)
MARION - 900 - 101 - Marion's win was 101 fewer than my prediction.
MARSHALL - (1100) - (1809)
MARTIN - (1200) - (952)
MASON - 300 - (1387)
MCCRACKEN - (4400) - (2381)
MCCREARY - (2100) - (133)
MCLEAN - even - (760)
MEADE - (400) - (930)
MENIFEE - 900 - (792) - Menifee's win was 792 fewer than my prediction.
MONROE - (2600) - 149. Monroe's deficit was 149 fewer than my prediction.
MORGAN - 700 - (1113)
MUHLENBERG - 1000 - (1943)
NELSON - (900) - (120) - Nelson's defeat was 120 fewer than my prediction.
NICHOLAS - 400 - (258) - Nicholas's win was 258 fewer than my prediction.
OHIO - (200) - (2024)
OLDHAM - (7600) - (297) - Oldham's defeat was 297 fewer than my prediction.
OWEN - (300) - (812)
OWSLEY - (500) - (384)
PENDLETON - (800) - (611)
PERRY - (700) - (2381)
PIKE - 200 - (5509)
POWELL - 600 - (734) 
PULASKI - (8400) - (1947)
ROBERTSON - even - (145)
ROCKCKASTLE - (1600) - (1081)
ROWAN - 1200 - (986) - Rowan's win was 986 fewer than my prediction.
RUSSELL - (2600) - (494)
SCOTT - (1700) - (934)
SHELBY - (2700) - (995)
SIMPSON - (800) - (51)
SPENCER - (1500) - (821)
TAYLOR - (1000) - (1848)
TODD - (700) - (488)
TRIGG - (1000) - (563)
TRIMBLE - even - (396)
UNION -200 - (1547)
WARREN - (6700) - (89)
WASHINGTON - (400) - (480)
WAYNE - (1000) - (889)
WEBSTER - even - (1342)
WHITLEY - (3700) - (694)
WOLFE - 600 - (554) - Wolfe's win by 554 fewer than my prediction.
WOODFORD - (100) - (1003)

765. Guess who's coming to dinner!

The question was asked on Facebook by a Kentucky political site, "Which politician would you wish to have dinner with and why?"  I offered the following lengthy answer, or four answers, living and deceased for both Kentucky and the Republic.

Here are the responses.

National (deceased) - John Hay, secretary and biographer to Lincoln, later US Ambassador to Great Britain, and later US Secretary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt, and a native of Salem, Indiana.

Kentucky (deceased) - James Wilkinson, American soldier and statesman in the mid to late 1700s in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky. Laid out and named the streets in Frankfort, was involved in a scandal with Spain over Kentucky and access to the Mississippi River, friend of presidents and vice presidents including the notorious Aaron Burr. Teddy Roosevelt, 65 years after his death, said of him, "In all our history, there is no more despicable character." He is buried in Mexico City.

National (living) - George H. W. Bush, who had the best-ever resume upon running for the White House - not that I voted for him (I didn't), had served under a known traitor (Iran-Contra) and early-on recognized that Trickle Down was, as he called it, voodoo economics. He lived through the transformations of both political parties, saw his sons elected governors of two different states and one elected president, and was himself the son of a US Senator. And he wears cool socks in his old age.

Kentucky (living) - this one is difficult. I remember my conversation with the late Frank Burke, mayor and congressman, just before his passing on the 20th century political history of Louisville which was fascinating. That would have been my answer. So my answer may need to come from a politically related person and not a politician. In that respect, I would turn to journalism and narrow my choices to Al Smith or David Hawpe. Hawpe and I are friends so that can be arranged. That leaves Al Smith as my answer.

What are your thoughts?

734. State Democratic Party elections - an announcement and a trivia contest

As many of you know - probably all of you - I am involved with the Democratic Party not just as a registered voter but also as an internal Party official.  My involvement with the Democratic Party, other than as a voter, began in April 1980, when I announced my candidacy for Legislative District Vice Chair of the 45th District, which, at the time, covered areas from Jefferson Hill and Keys Ferry roads on the west, eastward over to McNeely Lake Park and Pennsylvania Run on the east, all generally south of the old Louisville City Limits line starting around Strawberry Lane and Southside Drive eastward over to the Outer Loop and what we used to call Old Shep, now known as Shepherdsville Road, and extending southward to the Jefferson-Bullitt County line.  I ran that year on a ticket with Carolyn Beauchamp, an advertising and public relations lady from Okolona.  We opposed the incumbent LD Chair Ed Louden and his Vice Chair candidate Betty Jo Monroe, who were also from Okolona, which was, generally, the center of the district.  At the time, I was 19 years old.

When LD Election Day arrived, we were hopeful for victory.  As the incumbent, Mr. Louden had chosen as the site for the LD election the old Fibber McGee's Tavern, which had just a few years earlier relocated from a block west of Preston on Pinecroft Drive to its still-current location at the corner of Preston and Pinecroft.  With the votes tallied, Carolyn and I were declared the winners and proceeded downtown to "Fourth Street" where the county-wide races were held for County Chair and Vice Chair.  In those days, we did not have an At-Large person for each LD as we do now. Back then, there were seven or eight At-Large positions.  Quite frankly, they were, by an unspoken agreement, somewhat reserved for some special interests which supported the Party apparatus with both personnel and greenbacks.  The At-Large folks were nominated at the meeting and chosen a month later.

Thus began what has been a life-long involvement for me with the inner workings of the Democratic Party at both the county and state level.  Later that summer, I attended the State Democratic Convention, held that year at the Capitol Plaza, a downtown Frankfort development built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  As I have done at every State Democratic Convention then and since, I got myself nominated for a seat on the State Central Executive Committee.  That year I ran for the "Person Under 30" position - it is now the "Person Under 35" position - from the Fourth Congressional District where I was a resident.  As a note, my mother still lives in that residence, but her representative district in Congress has gone from the 4th to the 2nd and this year, finally, to the 3rd.  As a second note, she is proudly displaying a yardsign for my favorite member of Congress, John Yarmuth, who has come to be known, thanks to a creative writer ironically from Lexington, as Congressman Awesome.  But, I digress.

I lost that race to someone named Neil - who he was I don't really know.  What I did know was that he was supported by higher-ups than me, most especially the governor, at the time, John Young Brown, Jr.  Brown had been elected the previous year in a race where, in the Primary, I supported then-Lt. Governor Thelma Stovall, the first of the two female lieutenant governors, who served successive terms, from the Commonwealth.  Governor Brown's November opponent was former Governor Louie B. Nunn, who, while a Republican, always seemed to be very well-respected in my family's home.  I voted for Brown in the Fall race.

That loss at the state convention was the first of many I would go on to lose.  Every four years, I'd get myself nominated, either at the Congressional Caucus level in the morning sessions or at the State At-Large levels in the afternoon.  For two conventions in a row, Tom Barrow and I made our way to the microphone together, he to nominate me and me him.  Neither of us were ever elected.

My continued success at losing state races was not mirrored at the local level.  Due to a relocation, I found myself living in the 35th District, then generally a compact area from Broadway south to the Watterson and from the L&N RR east to Newburg Road.  In that district, over time I served in the appointed position of Secretary as well as the elected positions of At-Large and, eventually in 2000, Legislative District Chair.  That position is currently held by Colleen Younger.  In 2001, then-Party Chair Larry Clark appointed me as the Jefferson County Party's By-Laws chair and a group of us proceeded to rewrite and codify the local By-Laws, passing them by the committee in late 2001.  I held the By-Laws chair position for many years, even after my term on the Executive Committee expired in 2004, although I am no longer there.

It was 2004 when I finally won a seat on the State Committee at a convention held in Lexington.  With the help and encouragement of Aaron Horner, his former wife Mary Ellen Weiderwohl, and Dr. Ted Shlechter, a South Louisville political activist, and others, including Jerry Lundergan and Dale Emmons, I unseated one of the two sitting "committeemen" and took my own seat as Third Congressional District Committeeman, alongside the late Leonard Gray, a friend and mentor who lived in the Chickasaw neighborhood of Louisville's West End.

In 2008, after a contested race, I was seated as a State At-Large member on the State Central Committee.  I've enjoyed attending County Executive Committee meetings across the state, although generally not far from here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606.  I've been to meetings in Jefferson, Bullitt, Shelby, Franklin, Oldham, Trimble, Grayson, Powell, Mason, Caldwell, and Fulton counties, among others.  My term as a State At-Large member comes to an end at the end of this month.

For several reasons, I've considered not running again in the committeeman position - at either the congressional level or the state level.  I've encouraged a few others to make the race and I am confident several will.  Among those who I think would make a good addition to the State Party are Charles Booker and Shawn Reilly, both of whom could run as either a committeeman or a committeeyouth.  I've also told Abby Woehrle she would be a good addition.  I know that my friends Allison Amon and Queenie Averette will seek re-election as committeewomen, so I am hopeful that should Abby run, she does so in the youth position.  My options to run are limited to two - either as a committeeman at the congressional level or in an At-Large position at the statewide level, something I've really enjoyed these last four years.

Much of my enjoyment has been as a member of the By-Laws Committee on the State Party.  I had served on this committee from 2004-2008 but was not reappointed until 2011 by the current Party Chair Dan Logsdon.  Our committee has been in the process of a meticulous study of the By-Laws, article-by-article, under the direction of By-Laws Chair George Mills, who has done a wonderful job of keeping interest alive in a process which is tedious for many.  I'm not one of those - I completely enjoy the work.

For that reason, I've decided to run again at the convention in two weeks.  I will be seeking my old post of Third Congressional District Committeeman, the post I held from 2004 to 2008.  To those of you who are eligible to vote in the Third Congressional District caucus on the morning of June 2nd, I am humbly asking for your support and vote.  While I am not confident of a win, I am confident that I could serve well, especially in the completion of the task of rewriting those sections of the State Party By-Laws in need of amendment.  If I lose, I may run in the afternoon session since it has been a tradition for me since 1980, 32 years ago.

Thanks for reading and let me know how you feel about my candidacy.

*****

Some political trivia for you.

1.  I mentioned "Fourth Street" above.  Where was that?  What was the name of the building where "Fourth Street" was housed?

2.  The 45th District, once in Jefferson County, is now in Fayette County.  Who was the last Jefferson County Democrat to serve as 45th District State Representative?

3.  I mentioned Fibber McGee's Tavern in Okolona.  For whom was it named and why does the answer have anything to do with the answer to Question #3?

4.  I mentioned Governor Brown and Lieutenant Governor Stovall, who were opponents in the 1979 race.  Who was Governor Brown's lieutenant governor running mate in 1979 and, as a bonus, what do the two of them - Brown and his running mate - have in common as far as subsequent races in Kentucky for lieutenant governor?

5.  I mentioned that Governor Brown's Republican opponent was Louie B. Nunn.  Who was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor that year?   As a note, while this person lost that race, they presently serve in one of the most powerful positions of anyone in Kentucky.

5.  This year's convention will be held at the State Fairgrounds, a name eschewed by state government officials.  What is the official name, according to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, for this Louisville venue? 

Post your answers in the Comments section below.