Frankfort —
FRANKFORT — The Executive Branch Ethics Commission met in a lengthy closed session Monday but its executive director won’t say if the commission discussed complaints filed by the two major political parties against candidates of the other.
John Steffen would not comment on the status of complaints against members of Steve Beshear’s administration by Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson alleging pressure on state employees to contribute to Beshear’s re-election campaign; on a complaint by Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon that Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Richie Farmer, alleging he used state funds for personal use; nor on a third by Republican candidate for Secretary of State Bill Johnson alleging current Secretary of State Elaine Walker violated the law by registering homeless persons without known addresses to vote.
All were filed subsequent to the commission’s previous meeting.
“I can’t comment on anything that may have been discussed in executive session,” Steffen said after the meeting. But he confirmed “we did have a couple of subpoenas filed today.” He cautioned reporters, however, “not to read too much into that” because they could apply to previous on-going investigations.
But Steffen said earlier that the commission has little latitude other than to conduct a preliminary investigation into complaints which meet certain criteria: complaints which name both the complainant and the alleged violator, which cite specific statutory or ethical violations and describe the acts which constitute that violation, and which are notarized and “signed under penalty of perjury.”
Both Robertson’s and Logsdon’s complaints seem to meet the criteria. The law prevents the commission from commenting on specific complaints or investigations to protect innocent persons falsely charged by those seeking to do them damage.
But Robertson and Logsdon both announced they were filing their complaints and released copies to reporters which reported the allegations.
One thing seems certain, however: if the commission is investigating those complaints, the public won’t likely know until after the Nov. 8 election. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 2.
Robertson’s complaint also incorporates a complaint by Dennis Gardner, a former employee of the Office of Highway Safety in the Transportation Cabinet in which Gardner alleges employees were pressured to contribute to Beshear’s campaign. It’s unclear if the commission is looking into that allegation as part of Robertson’s complaint. His complaint also alleges that Charles Geveden, Deputy Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and Jerry Graves, then in the Finance Cabinet, solicited state employees to give to the campaign.
Kentucky Revised Statutes, Chapter 121.150 (22) says: “No candidate, slate of candidates, or committee, nor anyone on their behalf, shall solicit a contribution of money or services from a state employee, whether or not the employee is covered by the classified service provisions of KRS Chapter 18A (merit system law). However, it shall not be a violation of this subsection for a state employee to receive a solicitation directed to him as a registered voter in an identified precinct as part of an overall plan to contact voters not identified as state employees.”
Steffen said the commission can conclude a complaint does not merit further investigation and terminate it without publicly acknowledging it ever existed. However, he said, in cases like these where complainants and alleged offenders have already been named in press accounts, the commission would typically notify both by letter that the investigation has been terminated.
The commission also rejected a request by the Kentucky League of Cities for an exception to a law barring gifts to state officials of more than $25 in value. The KLC wanted to present a gift to its former president — and now secretary of state — Elaine Walker.
The commission honored outgoing state Auditor of Public Accounts Crit Luallen by presenting her its Livingston Taylor Ethics Award, named for a former Courier-Journal reporter. Luallen’s office conducted several high-profile audits of quasi-government agencies which exposed numerous conflicts of interest and instances of questionable spending.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi
.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
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The Executive Branch Ethics Commission would not comment on investigations into ethics complaints filed against Gov. Steve Beshear, lieutenant governor candidate Richie Farmer and Secretary of State Elaine Walker.
Ethics commission quiet on investigations
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