CJ's Hawpe on Dems AG race

[groovedaddy]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070516/COLUMNISTS08/705161144/1054/OPINION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Print this article | Go back

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Courier Journal

David Hawpe
Take an amen from the Simon corner? Two candidates disagree

I hadn't heard much about Freedom's Heritage Forum lately, so I was surprised to see a copy of the right-wing religious political action committee's primary election checklist.

Anti-gay crusader Dr. Frank Simon founded the group, for which he still volunteers. Its Web site says, "Candidates are considered for their involvement in the Christian conservative movement and their standing in the community. Generally, a supported candidate is pro-life, favors lower taxes and opposes special rights based upon sexual behavior."

Also a surprise, at least to me, was the appearance of attorney general candidate Bob Bullock's name on the Freedom's Heritage Forum list. A Frankfort veteran, Bullock served more than 30 years as an assistant attorney general before retiring to private practice in 2000. He served on the drafting committee for the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act and in three stints as director of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

Having thought well of Bullock over the years, I have a hard time understanding his acceptance of an amen from the Simon corner. But, then, Simon and his followers almost certainly wonder why anybody would want to be mentioned favorably by me.

I asked Bullock how he got this endorsement. He said he filled out Freedom's Heritage Forum's questionnaire. And he's "pleased" with the group's nod in his direction.



After I talked to Bullock about being "pleased," his spokesperson called back to specify "that doesn't mean Bob Bullock is endorsing all the tactics, methods and beliefs" of Simon and his group.

She added, "We don't want this endorsement to define all that Bob Bullock is."

His main opponent, Louisville attorney Jack Conway, said, "I don't think any levelheaded Kentuckian, regardless of party, should seek or accept the endorsement of Frank Simon's group. To me, Frank Simon represents intolerance, and I'm proud to stand against that."

Conway, you will remember, served six years in senior-level cabinet positions in the administration of former Gov. Paul Patton, before narrowly losing a congressional race to incumbent Rep. Anne Northup. He helped draft the 1997 higher education reforms that mandated the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville to become leading research institutions, and he worked on legislation to impose tougher sentences on violent offenders, improve water quality and deal with the state's open dumps. Last year, he won one of the largest civil verdicts in the history of Jefferson Circuit Court.

Who is for which candidate? Some of the names are listed on the candidates' Web sites.

Bullock mentions the Kentucky Constable Association; Charlene Hampton Holloway, R.N.; Communication Workers of America president Phillip Coldiron; former Gov. and now state Sen. Julian Carroll: Franklin County Judge/Executive and Democratic Executive Committee chairman Ted Collins.

Conway is supported by four former attorneys general, including some of Bullock's former bosses, and by incumbent Greg Stumbo. He lists endorsements from former Gov. Brereton Jones; U.S. Reps. John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler; Mayor Jerry Abramson; Auditor Crit Luallen; former U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas; former Supreme Court Justices John Palmore and Martin Johnstone; Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel; state legislators Gerald Neal, Larry Clark, Joni Jenkins, Rocky Adkins and Jerry Rhoads; Laurel County Judge/Executive Tommy Turner; Marshall County Judge/Executive Mike Miller, and Henderson County Judge/Executive Sandy Lee Watkins.

Conway also lists endorsements from the Kentucky AFL-CIO, Louisville Central Labor Council and more than 35 separate unions, including those representing teamsters and warehousemen; auto workers; electrical workers; steelworkers; air traffic controllers; mine workers; communication workers; government employees; teachers; musicians; sheet metal workers; plumbers and pipe fitters; postal workers; bakers, confectionary and tobacco workers; maintenance employees; bridge and iron workers; fire fighters; machinists, stage hands; boilermakers; painters; bricklayers; evaluator constructors; heat and frost insulators and asbestos workers; laborers; carpenters, joiners, millwrights, pile drivers and mill cabinet workers; utility workers; food and commercial workers.

Of course, the checklist that counts is the one voters make on Election Day.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070516/COLUMNISTS08/705161144/1054/OPINION