WILL THE DEMOCRATS BE IN CHARGE OF OLDHAM COUNTY?

Recently I had the opportunity to read a “White Paper” authored by Doug Wampler of Oldham Ahead. Oldham Ahead is an organization whose focus is the preservation of a “rural legacy” for Oldham County. The paper gave an overview of the funding provided to political candidates during the 2006 elections. The funding was provided primarily by people with ties to the development industry. The paper can be viewed at oldhamahead.org.

The paper was a bitter reminder to me that the development industry has taken control of Oldham County. The development industry and those people with close ties to it were the major financial backers of County Judge-Executive Duane Murner. Frankly the developers should have the title of County Judge Executive and Murner should have the title of Deputy Judge. Since Murner’s election it has been clear that nothing has happened that was adverse to the financial status of developers. It is apparent that developers get every possible break on fees, zoning issues and even stormwater.

Just as sad is the fact that some of the Magistrates even received funding from developers. Of course, without the votes of the Magistrates Murner could not have done what he did. When it comes to funding the infrastructure of Oldham County the developers have been given very generous consideration.

Now that the elections of 2010 are upon us we are seeing the same pattern develop again but it appears to be worse. In the upcoming race for County Judge-Executive the developers have already begun to fund Paula Gish. Whether the Magistrates take money from the development and real estate industry remains to be seen.

A review of Paula Gish’s fundraising to this point is disgusting. Gish has scheduled a Women’s Fundraising Reception for September 17, 2009. The invitation for the fundraiser contained the names of twenty-two female sponsors. A review and analysis of that list is quite revealing.

Of the twenty-two women, thirteen have close ties to developer Bob Jones who is a democrat and former state representative. This is a clear indication that developers, especially Bob Jones, will likely have more influence in county government than is healthy for good government should Gish be elected. People simply don’t support candidates to that extent without expecting something in return. To believe that Bob Jones does not expect to have considerable influence on the government would be naïve in my opinion.

Further review of the list of sponsors reveals that fourteen of the twenty-two are Democrats, i.e., the majority of her support is coming from people who cannot even vote for her in the primary election as Gish is a Republican. Well, at least she is running as a Republican. Personally, I believe you are measured by the company that you keep. That would make her a democrat loyal to development. If she were to be elected, would the Democrats be in charge in Oldham County? Is that what the people of Oldham County want?

If Paula Gish wants to be Democrat, she should change her party registration and run as a Democrat. However, there are more registered Republicans in Oldham County than there are Democrats. That would present a problem for her in the general election.

It is my understanding that the only other announced candidate, Stan Clark, has decided to withdraw from the race. If someone else does not come forward to run, it is certain that the Democrats will, by default, be in charge in Oldham County. How can anyone deny that? Let us hope that some other Republican opposes Paula Gish in order that Republicans will have a choice in May 2009.

VOEGELE CONTINUES WITH BUCKNER MALL PORK FIASCO

In a recent article found in the Courier-Journal, Magistrate David Voegele once again displayed why his ongoing push for Oldham County to purchase the “Buckner Mall” on KY Highway 146 is likely the most ridiculous idea to come before county government in some time. Voegele made a strong commitment during his campaign for Magistrate to “Clean up Buckner” among other things. His lack of fiscal responsibility continues to shine through every time he discusses his ideas for this fiasco of a project.

Voegele can’t decide whether he wants to make the people of Oldham County believe he wants the Buckner Mall removed for aesthetic or safety reasons. It is clear that Voegele considers the property an eyesore and wants it removed at whatever cost necessary to taxpayers, not to mention the fact that some people would lose their livelihoods in this difficult economy. In the article, Voegele states that if the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet did in fact widen the road for safety reasons during future work, that they would do so on the other side of the road from the Buckner Mall. This is unacceptable to Voegele as he is far more concerned with removing the Buckner Mall at the expense of Oldham County taxpayers rather than let the state redesign the road as their engineers might recommend. Why should Oldham County taxpayers be forced to spend nearly $100,000 for a pork project dreamed up by Magistrate Voegele along a STATE HIGHWAY?

Voegele has supported several tax increases and higher fees during his time on Fiscal Court under the guise that county government must have the additional revenue to survive. Yet he continues to march forward on his mission to waste taxpayer money on another pork project. Will Magistrate Voegele ever get it?
Voegele’s campaign slogan was “Is it 2007 yet?” Many people now seem to be asking “Is it 2011 yet?” in regards to getting new leadership in this county. Let’s hope the future leaders of Oldham County can manage with more common sense and fiscal responsibility.

LAGRANGE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES SIGN

On Monday night, August 3, 2009, the LaGrange City Council voted to allow the controversial sign at the LaGrange City Hall to remain with modification to the lighting. The vote was 6 to 1. The only member of the Council to vote against the sign was Joe Davenport. Davenport stated that he was a good friend of Beaumont, whose name is on the sign, but that he believed that the sign was not in conformance with the guidelines of the Historical Commission.

Tom Williams represented the Historical Commission and Blake Haselton represented the Park Board. Williams stated that the sign did not meet the guidelines of the Historical Commission. Thus, he stated that the Council should deny the appeal. Haselton quoted part of the guidelines which state, “ It is the intent of this document to be a guide to
help in the completion of a project in a manner that is compatible with the historic nature of LaGrange.” Haselton’s quote appeared to make a positive impression on some members of the Council.

While Haselton’s quote was accurate, the fact is that the sign design was never presented to the Commission for approval. Therefore, the Commission never had the opportunity to use the guidelines as a guide. However, the Council has spoken and absent the Commission appealing the decision to the Circuit Court the sign will remain.

RACE FOR STATE SENATOR TO REPRESENT 26TH DISTRICT HAS POTENTIAL TO BE CONTENTIOUS

As we all know by now, the Democrats at the state level and leaders from the horse industry lobby are after Senator Ernie Harris because he voted against the video slots legislation. Some of them have been very forthright about that, including the Democratic leadership in Frankfort. What may surprise some people is the fact that some well known and active Republicans in Oldham County seem poised to help the Democrats achieve their goal. Apparently, the Republicans have a short memory regarding what Senator Harris has done for the county. Surely, this one issue could not be that important to them. There has also been talk regarding opposition from the alcohol industry to Harris’ re-election based upon his vote for higher alcohol taxes.

I suspect that there will be one or two Republicans run against Senator Harris in the primary election, perhaps with the idea of softening him up for a Democrat to run against him in the general election. Who might be his opponents?

I have heard that former state representative Jim Zimmerman, a Republican, has had contact with the governor’s office regarding his availability as a candidate. I have also heard that John Black, the former Mayor of LaGrange and former Oldham County Judge-Executive has been considering a change in his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican (following the path of his brother-in-law David Voegele). If that were to happen, I could see him as a potential challenger. Then, I would expect that State Representative Rick Rand (D) might vie for the Democratic nomination to oppose the Republican nominee in the general election. Rand held the seat before losing it to Harris.

In any event, I expect some local and county officials as well as some other influential Republicans and Democrats to support opponents of Senator Harris. While I have not always agreed with Senator Harris, I have not heard any name mentioned that I would support instead of him. I have often felt that Senator Harris allowed some people in Oldham County to have an undue amount of influence with him. I predict that some of those same people will now work to unseat him.
This will be one of several hotly contested races in Oldham County in 2010.