On June 26, 2009 County Judge Duane Murner finally released the name of the “anonymous” donor of $100,000 given to the Oldham County Fiscal Court in February 2008. Not surprising, the donor was not George Rawlings as Murner led everyone to believe shortly before the end of last year when he announced that Rawlings was the donor. The fact of the matter is the donor was the Rawlings Foundation. Some people will say what is the difference?
There could be a lot of differences. Consider the fact that the foundation also gave $100,000 to the City of LaGrange, who in turn gave $50,000 of it to the Oldham LaGrange Development Authority (OLDA) whose main purpose is to develop the Oldham Reserve property. Oldham Reserve is the location of the Rawlings Group company and building that is controlled by George Rawlings. Did Rawlings make a tax deductible contribution to a foundation bearing his name with the intention that the foundation would channel the money to a group that would benefit his company? Are you getting the picture?
For some reason, Murner did not want to divulge the true name of the donor. Apparently, he thought that he could just say that it was George Rawlings and everyone would drop the issue. However, thanks to Magistrate Scott Davis, the correct named was finally divulged by Murner. The Oldham Circuit Court had ordered Murner to furnish Davis with the name some four months ago. However, Murner defied the court order and never released the documents identifying the donor. After Murner’s continued defiance, Davis filed a motion in Oldham Circuit Court to have Murner held in contempt. The motion was scheduled for a hearing on Friday, June 26th at 1:00 PM. Finally, rather than appear in court and face the consequences, Murner released the name to Davis’ attorney. The documents clearly reflect that the donor was The Rawlings Foundation, not George Rawlings personally. This is just another example in a long line of misleading statements and actions by County Judge Murner. His is cementing his legacy of being one of the least trusted and respected elected officials in the history of Oldham County.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
THE RICK RASH RALLY
I attended the Rick Rash Rally (RRR) last night even though I was not one of those invited. I don't know how many people Rash expected. Since he had 300 hot dogs he must have been prepared to feed at least 200 people. Well, Magistrate Rash will have plenty of food to last him a long time. He won't even have to depend on a free lunch from someone with whom the county does business.
I counted about sixty people. On the surface would seem like a decent turnout for a "town hall" meeting as Rash billed it. However, after counting the people who were invited, the represesntatives of local government, people from the Veolia company which runs the sewer district, people from Industrial Disposal and all of the representatives of the Sheriff's department, I doubt that there were twenty people there. That is being generous.
I only heard three diferent people ask questions and one of those does not live in Rash's district. Thus, I would not call the RRR a success. Rash did show that he could get elected officials out to appear with him. In my opinion that was his reason for inviting them. Rash is always trying to impress other people and he is willing to use others for that purpose.
During the entire rally I could not help but feel sorry for Rash. There he stood, a grown man with his political career on the line, and he has to depend on other people to keep him in office. Make no mistake, the office of magistrate, even though it is on the bottom of the totem pole in county politics, is very important to Rash. He once told me that politics was his "life". Think about that, a man at his stage in life struggling to hold on to the office of magistrate.
I will give Rash one thing, he is no quitter. He can't afford to be since the position means so much to him. Thus, we can expect to see more RRRs.
I counted about sixty people. On the surface would seem like a decent turnout for a "town hall" meeting as Rash billed it. However, after counting the people who were invited, the represesntatives of local government, people from the Veolia company which runs the sewer district, people from Industrial Disposal and all of the representatives of the Sheriff's department, I doubt that there were twenty people there. That is being generous.
I only heard three diferent people ask questions and one of those does not live in Rash's district. Thus, I would not call the RRR a success. Rash did show that he could get elected officials out to appear with him. In my opinion that was his reason for inviting them. Rash is always trying to impress other people and he is willing to use others for that purpose.
During the entire rally I could not help but feel sorry for Rash. There he stood, a grown man with his political career on the line, and he has to depend on other people to keep him in office. Make no mistake, the office of magistrate, even though it is on the bottom of the totem pole in county politics, is very important to Rash. He once told me that politics was his "life". Think about that, a man at his stage in life struggling to hold on to the office of magistrate.
I will give Rash one thing, he is no quitter. He can't afford to be since the position means so much to him. Thus, we can expect to see more RRRs.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
IS RASH SNUBBING PAULA GISH?
Rick Rash is having his first political rally and he has invited several politicians. However, missing from his list of officials is Deputy County Judge Paula Gish. I feel certain that was not an oversight - it was intentional. Yes, she is not an elected official but neither is Stan Clark.
However, Clark and Gish have one thing in common. They are both announced candidates for the office of County Judge. If Judge Murner appears at the function some will assume that he is supporting both Rash and Clark, exactly the perception that Rash hopes people will have.
Rash surely knows that he needs all of the support that he can get, including one of his past contributors, Industrial Disposal. The fact that Rash is so brazen to invite them, even after supporting their fee increases on numerous occasions, reflects his gall.
Frankly, I am surprised that any politician seeking office would support Rash if they review his record on fee and tax increases. Oh well, as has often been said, politics makes for strange bedfellows.
I am sure that Paula Gish will understand why she was not invited when Thursday night comes and she is at home.
However, Clark and Gish have one thing in common. They are both announced candidates for the office of County Judge. If Judge Murner appears at the function some will assume that he is supporting both Rash and Clark, exactly the perception that Rash hopes people will have.
Rash surely knows that he needs all of the support that he can get, including one of his past contributors, Industrial Disposal. The fact that Rash is so brazen to invite them, even after supporting their fee increases on numerous occasions, reflects his gall.
Frankly, I am surprised that any politician seeking office would support Rash if they review his record on fee and tax increases. Oh well, as has often been said, politics makes for strange bedfellows.
I am sure that Paula Gish will understand why she was not invited when Thursday night comes and she is at home.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
REPRESENTATIVE DAVID OSBORNE AND GAMBLING
Republican politicians similar to Representative David Osborne account for the reason that the Republican Party lost overall in the 2008 elections and likewise, the reason that the party is in disarray at the present time. They have quit representing the majority of the people.
Representative Osborne voted for expanded gambling this past week. I suspect that it had more to do with his ties to the horse industry and big money than to his belief about gambling. While I have not followed every vote of David Osborne, the votes that I have watched closely certainly don’t appear to be those of a conservative republican.
On the issue of expanded gambling the people are fortunate that the senate republicans are likely to kill it. The lottery was supposed to cure the ills of education and now the horse industry and the democrats want to cure the same illness again. Oh, I forgot, David Osborne wants to cure that illness too. And again, they want to do it with gambling. It seems that every time someone wants to pass an unpopular tax the education issue is used to justify the tax. Frankly, that tactic is getting old. The politicians have cried wolf too many times. By the way, when they claim that all of this money is going to be raised, just whom do they believe is going to pay the money? The money will still be coming from the people and primarily the people of Kentucky. It is disgraceful that Kentuckians would be forced to admit that they couldn’t run a state without an industry that is known for being corrupt.
As for saving the horse industry, perhaps the management of the industry should be questioned. Why shouldn’t they shoulder that blame? While the horse industry has brought a lot of attention to Kentucky it is not a “sacred cow”. As for education, the entire method of funding education in Kentucky needs to be reviewed. Don’t count on David Osborne to be a leader in that area though. That is a tough issue.
Representative Osborne voted for expanded gambling this past week. I suspect that it had more to do with his ties to the horse industry and big money than to his belief about gambling. While I have not followed every vote of David Osborne, the votes that I have watched closely certainly don’t appear to be those of a conservative republican.
On the issue of expanded gambling the people are fortunate that the senate republicans are likely to kill it. The lottery was supposed to cure the ills of education and now the horse industry and the democrats want to cure the same illness again. Oh, I forgot, David Osborne wants to cure that illness too. And again, they want to do it with gambling. It seems that every time someone wants to pass an unpopular tax the education issue is used to justify the tax. Frankly, that tactic is getting old. The politicians have cried wolf too many times. By the way, when they claim that all of this money is going to be raised, just whom do they believe is going to pay the money? The money will still be coming from the people and primarily the people of Kentucky. It is disgraceful that Kentuckians would be forced to admit that they couldn’t run a state without an industry that is known for being corrupt.
As for saving the horse industry, perhaps the management of the industry should be questioned. Why shouldn’t they shoulder that blame? While the horse industry has brought a lot of attention to Kentucky it is not a “sacred cow”. As for education, the entire method of funding education in Kentucky needs to be reviewed. Don’t count on David Osborne to be a leader in that area though. That is a tough issue.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
TIDBITS FROM OLDHAM COUNTY
Many issues of interest are taking place in Oldham County. Included are the race for County Judge, the race for PVA, the identity of the Oldham Observer, the apparent change of heart by the Oldham County Chief of Police toward veterans and the politicizing of the Fiscal Court meetings by Rick Rash with his advertisement in court of his political rally.
First, consider the race for Judge. There are two announced candidates and I believe that there will be at least two more. Although Judge Murner claims that he will support Paula Gish, he has not ruled out running for the office again. Now if I were Paula Gish, I would feel as though I were on the proverbial banana peeling. She can’t seriously believe that Murner will willingly allow the judgeship to fall into the hands of David Voegele or Scott Davis should either enter the race and become contenders. Neither Davis nor Voegele would be acceptable to Murner. Further, Murner has not been successful in his term. Sure, he claims to have balanced the budget but everyone knows that he did it with tax increases and not good management practices. Further, he has failed to adequately identify the people who were responsible for the sewer district debacle and the Oldham Reserve situation gets worse every day. In essence, he has been a failure.
Then there is the PVA race. On one hand there is the incumbent Ron Winters who was supported by the developers the last time that he ran. However, after he rebuked them in their attempt to have their assessments reduced it appears that they have a new candidate in the person of Albert Harrison. However, he has never demonstrated that he could handle a tough race. Winters has had tough races and been successful. Also, he recently was found to have acted lawfully when he hired his wife as his Chief Deputy. I will predict now that Winters will win that race going away.
While I have only visited the Oldham Observer web site three times, those visits left me with the impression that the owner of the site was not interested in issues, only attacking people. Even at that he was not very accurate but it was difficult for people to attack him because he was afraid to allow people to know who he was. However, I have been informed that he has now been identified and that his identity has been placed on his site. I would expect that he would now try to be more accurate for fear of being sued. Perhaps he may not even place any more material on his site. What a loss! Of course that is a “tongue in cheek” remark.
Then there is Chief Mike Griffin of the Oldham County Police Department (OCPD) who has been alleged to have discriminated against Bruce Gentry, an applicant for a position with the OCPD, and has been sued by Gentry. He is alleged to have discriminated against him because he had a military commitment. During his appearance before Fiscal Court on Tuesday Griffin appeared to have nothing but praise about the military experience of the latest recruit for the department. If he did discriminate against Gentry, he must have had a sudden change of heart about the military. When a decision in the Gentry case is reached we may know the answer to that question. There was a settlement hearing held in the Gentry case earlier in June. However, I have not heard of any settlement.
Of course some things never change. Rick Rash will take any opportunity to pound his chest. During each of the last two Fiscal Court meetings he has advertised his Town Hall (Political Rally). This certainly detracts from the dignity of the court but dignity has not been Rick Rash’s strong suit. I really believe that Rick Rash will have at least one opponent and I believe that Rick Rash will be defeated. I then expect him to try to get the new judge to give him a job so that he can increase his retirement. One could honestly ask if Rash is a magistrate because he wants to serve the people or if he is there primarily to increase his retirement and other benefits. The voters will decide that.
First, consider the race for Judge. There are two announced candidates and I believe that there will be at least two more. Although Judge Murner claims that he will support Paula Gish, he has not ruled out running for the office again. Now if I were Paula Gish, I would feel as though I were on the proverbial banana peeling. She can’t seriously believe that Murner will willingly allow the judgeship to fall into the hands of David Voegele or Scott Davis should either enter the race and become contenders. Neither Davis nor Voegele would be acceptable to Murner. Further, Murner has not been successful in his term. Sure, he claims to have balanced the budget but everyone knows that he did it with tax increases and not good management practices. Further, he has failed to adequately identify the people who were responsible for the sewer district debacle and the Oldham Reserve situation gets worse every day. In essence, he has been a failure.
Then there is the PVA race. On one hand there is the incumbent Ron Winters who was supported by the developers the last time that he ran. However, after he rebuked them in their attempt to have their assessments reduced it appears that they have a new candidate in the person of Albert Harrison. However, he has never demonstrated that he could handle a tough race. Winters has had tough races and been successful. Also, he recently was found to have acted lawfully when he hired his wife as his Chief Deputy. I will predict now that Winters will win that race going away.
While I have only visited the Oldham Observer web site three times, those visits left me with the impression that the owner of the site was not interested in issues, only attacking people. Even at that he was not very accurate but it was difficult for people to attack him because he was afraid to allow people to know who he was. However, I have been informed that he has now been identified and that his identity has been placed on his site. I would expect that he would now try to be more accurate for fear of being sued. Perhaps he may not even place any more material on his site. What a loss! Of course that is a “tongue in cheek” remark.
Then there is Chief Mike Griffin of the Oldham County Police Department (OCPD) who has been alleged to have discriminated against Bruce Gentry, an applicant for a position with the OCPD, and has been sued by Gentry. He is alleged to have discriminated against him because he had a military commitment. During his appearance before Fiscal Court on Tuesday Griffin appeared to have nothing but praise about the military experience of the latest recruit for the department. If he did discriminate against Gentry, he must have had a sudden change of heart about the military. When a decision in the Gentry case is reached we may know the answer to that question. There was a settlement hearing held in the Gentry case earlier in June. However, I have not heard of any settlement.
Of course some things never change. Rick Rash will take any opportunity to pound his chest. During each of the last two Fiscal Court meetings he has advertised his Town Hall (Political Rally). This certainly detracts from the dignity of the court but dignity has not been Rick Rash’s strong suit. I really believe that Rick Rash will have at least one opponent and I believe that Rick Rash will be defeated. I then expect him to try to get the new judge to give him a job so that he can increase his retirement. One could honestly ask if Rash is a magistrate because he wants to serve the people or if he is there primarily to increase his retirement and other benefits. The voters will decide that.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
ANOTHER POSSIBLE FOE FOR RICK RASH
The race for County Judge of Oldham County could definitely have some interesting twists during the course of the campaign season. The first could very well involve Magistrate Rick Rash.
It is apparent that Magistrate Rash is going to support Stan Clark who is the most recent person to enter the race. Rash is likely to be very active in the campaign. However, Magistrate Rash barely won re-election in 2006 and any serious candidate will pose a major threat to him. Bob Dye, who nearly beat Magistrate Rash in 2006, is one likely candidate.
However, when Judge Duane Murner, who is supporting Paula Gish, decides to begin playing dirty, he might find a candidate to run against Rash as payback for his support of Clark. After all, he did push and provide funding to Bill Tucker to run as a write-in candidate against Magistrate Scott Davis in the general election of 2006, after Davis defeated Tucker in the primary. Presumably, he saw Magistrate Davis as an independent thinker and therefore a problem for him, even though Davis was a member of Murner’s republican party.
A strong candidate put up against Rash would mean that he would have to spend much more time on his own campaign; therefore, preventing him from working for Stan Clark as much as he would like to do.
There is no question that Murner will continue supporting Paula Gish in the beginning of this campaign cycle and will do anything to get her elected. This includes railroading Rick Rash if needed. After all, Murner no longer needs Rash. He has gotten what he wanted out of Rash, i.e., votes for higher taxes, support for a failed airport, votes for higher fees, and a line of defense for several other issues. If Rash is not going to support Paula Gish, then Murner will now likely see him as the enemy. That in turn could cause Murner to show some more of his true personality, being his way at any cost.
It is apparent that Magistrate Rash is going to support Stan Clark who is the most recent person to enter the race. Rash is likely to be very active in the campaign. However, Magistrate Rash barely won re-election in 2006 and any serious candidate will pose a major threat to him. Bob Dye, who nearly beat Magistrate Rash in 2006, is one likely candidate.
However, when Judge Duane Murner, who is supporting Paula Gish, decides to begin playing dirty, he might find a candidate to run against Rash as payback for his support of Clark. After all, he did push and provide funding to Bill Tucker to run as a write-in candidate against Magistrate Scott Davis in the general election of 2006, after Davis defeated Tucker in the primary. Presumably, he saw Magistrate Davis as an independent thinker and therefore a problem for him, even though Davis was a member of Murner’s republican party.
A strong candidate put up against Rash would mean that he would have to spend much more time on his own campaign; therefore, preventing him from working for Stan Clark as much as he would like to do.
There is no question that Murner will continue supporting Paula Gish in the beginning of this campaign cycle and will do anything to get her elected. This includes railroading Rick Rash if needed. After all, Murner no longer needs Rash. He has gotten what he wanted out of Rash, i.e., votes for higher taxes, support for a failed airport, votes for higher fees, and a line of defense for several other issues. If Rash is not going to support Paula Gish, then Murner will now likely see him as the enemy. That in turn could cause Murner to show some more of his true personality, being his way at any cost.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
STAN CLARK DECLARES FOR 2010 OLDHAM COUNTY JUDGE RACE
The race for Oldham County Judge-Executive in 2010 just became more interesting on Tuesday with the announcement by Oldham County Fiscal Court Treasurer Stan Clark that he will be a candidate for the office. There is good reason to believe that he can be a formidable candidate.
Deputy Judge-Executive Paula Gish had earlier announced that she is a candidate for the office. In an earlier article on this site, I predicted that both Gish and Clark would be candidates for the position. Both of these candidates are Republicans. I continue to believe that there will other candidates come forward for the position. Any time that there are more than two candidates for a particular office, it usually aids the incumbent. In this instance there apparently will be no incumbent, as it appears that Judge-Executive Murner will support Paula Gish – at least for now. I would not be surprised to see another candidate emerge whom Murner would then support, especially if Gish slips far behind in the race.
Both of the present candidates work in the county Fiscal Court building. Their offices are situated within a only few feet of each other. That is certain to lead to tense moments within the next 12 months.
Continue to watch this site for updates on the race as it unfolds.
Deputy Judge-Executive Paula Gish had earlier announced that she is a candidate for the office. In an earlier article on this site, I predicted that both Gish and Clark would be candidates for the position. Both of these candidates are Republicans. I continue to believe that there will other candidates come forward for the position. Any time that there are more than two candidates for a particular office, it usually aids the incumbent. In this instance there apparently will be no incumbent, as it appears that Judge-Executive Murner will support Paula Gish – at least for now. I would not be surprised to see another candidate emerge whom Murner would then support, especially if Gish slips far behind in the race.
Both of the present candidates work in the county Fiscal Court building. Their offices are situated within a only few feet of each other. That is certain to lead to tense moments within the next 12 months.
Continue to watch this site for updates on the race as it unfolds.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
MAGISTRATE RASH ANNOUNCES FIRST POLITICAL RALLY OF 2010 POLITICAL RACES
Magistrate Rick Rash has announced the first political rally for the 2010 local elections. It is scheduled to take place at the Briar Hill Park on June 25th. While Rash referred to it as a “Town Hall” meeting, it is crystal clear after listening to him that it is nothing more than a political rally.
As far as I know Rash has not had a Town Hall meeting since he has been a magistrate and definitely not over the prior three years. The only magistrate that I am aware of who has had a Town Hall meeting is Magistrate Scott Davis. He has held held several of them over the first three years of his term.
Rash is well aware that his political future is in grave danger. After all, he won his last primary election by less than twenty votes as a multi-term incumbent. Additionally, he certainly appears to have lost more ground during this current term. This likely translates into defeat for him. I am sure that Rash hopes to make voters forget all of the tax and fee increases he has supported. I don’t believe that the people will forget, especially when they are reminded during the campaign process.
It is interesting to note that Industrial Disposal, one of his former campaign contributors, will be present signing up people to participate in recycling. I wonder if they are going to pay for the hot dogs that Rash plans to serve at the rally? Rash also supported two rate increases for Industrial Disposal and worked to see a third rate increase adopted. What a way to take care of your constituents.
Rash stated that he has invited several other politicians and that there will be balloon lifts available for those attending. If all of this doesn’t amount to a political rally, then I have never seen one. There is certainly nothing wrong with Rash having a political rally, but he should just be honest and call it that. He doesn’t need to bother calling it something it clearly isn’t under the guise of a service for his constituents. But then again, Rash has always been adept at putting a spin on things.
Alas, the 2010 political races are on!
As far as I know Rash has not had a Town Hall meeting since he has been a magistrate and definitely not over the prior three years. The only magistrate that I am aware of who has had a Town Hall meeting is Magistrate Scott Davis. He has held held several of them over the first three years of his term.
Rash is well aware that his political future is in grave danger. After all, he won his last primary election by less than twenty votes as a multi-term incumbent. Additionally, he certainly appears to have lost more ground during this current term. This likely translates into defeat for him. I am sure that Rash hopes to make voters forget all of the tax and fee increases he has supported. I don’t believe that the people will forget, especially when they are reminded during the campaign process.
It is interesting to note that Industrial Disposal, one of his former campaign contributors, will be present signing up people to participate in recycling. I wonder if they are going to pay for the hot dogs that Rash plans to serve at the rally? Rash also supported two rate increases for Industrial Disposal and worked to see a third rate increase adopted. What a way to take care of your constituents.
Rash stated that he has invited several other politicians and that there will be balloon lifts available for those attending. If all of this doesn’t amount to a political rally, then I have never seen one. There is certainly nothing wrong with Rash having a political rally, but he should just be honest and call it that. He doesn’t need to bother calling it something it clearly isn’t under the guise of a service for his constituents. But then again, Rash has always been adept at putting a spin on things.
Alas, the 2010 political races are on!
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