Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Beshear's Pick For Lt. Gov - Who will it be?
When current Lt. Gov Mongiardo decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, he effectively eliminated himself from being Beshear's running mate in 2011. Why? Because Beshear has to declare his running mate before he can start raising funds for the election. Beshear would have to wait until the end of next year to keep Mongiardo on the ticket and he isn't going to wait that long. So Beshear has to pick a new running mate for 2011. The question is who will it be?
Abramson brings all kinds of baggage to the race. First he is the Mayor of Louisville. While it might bring additional votes in Jefferson County, I imagine it will be more than offset by losses in the rest of the state which hates Louisville. He also brings problems with organized labor. Abramson has always screwed the police and firemen unions throughout his term. They hate him and will be glad to see him beaten.
I understand why Abramson wants to be Lt. Governor. He is running out of time and it provides him with a platform to launch a state wide gubernatorial campaign. Something that would be impossible as the Mayor of Louisville. But for the life of me, I have no idea why Beshear would select him.
I imagine Beshear's best possible pick would be State Auditor Crit Luallen. She has done her job. The only time you see her name in the paper is when some audit uncovers bad book keeping. She has not been an attention whore like AG Conway and has a solid record as auditor. She would bring strength to his ticket by allowing him to talk about how they can team together to trim the waste from state government.
On the other hand, I have no idea why Crit would run with Beshear. Why would she join a ticket when re-election is not a forgone conclussion. Beshear has not been all that effective as governor. He promised gambling and said he would get it. He hasn't even come close to delivering on that promise. He hasn't save hundreds of millions of dollars with his efficiency study and he has crammed the state government with all kind of his crony friends.
For me, the worst part of his administration has been his inflexibility. He hasn't tried to come up with any new ideas. All he does is re-hash gambling. He keeps swinging the same hammer when he needs to find a new tool. Which is why I believe he will be vulnerable to a well financed opponent. Why would Crit get on board such a campaign?
I just don't think Crit is going to jump on that train. For that matter, I don't think any of the top Democratic names outside of Abramson will come aboard. Which is why I think Beshear is forced to try and woo Abramson onto the ticket. If he doesn't get the mayor, then he will be force to settle on some unkown entity like Secretary Helen Mountjoy or Rep. Tommy Thompson.
Apparently the favorite is Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson. Personally, I hope Beshear picks Abramson for two reasons. One, it would finally get rid of the "Mayor for Life" and allow some new blood into Louisville politics. Secondly and more importantly, it would be a horrible pick for Beshear.The biggest political guessing game in the Capitol these days is the answer to this question: Who will be Gov. Steve Beshear’s running mate in a 2011 re-election bid?
The most frequently mentioned names are Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, state Auditor Crit Luallen, Education and Workforce Development Secretary Helen Mountjoy of Owensboro, and state Rep. Tommy Thompson of Owensboro, who ran for lieutenant governor in 1995.
Abramson brings all kinds of baggage to the race. First he is the Mayor of Louisville. While it might bring additional votes in Jefferson County, I imagine it will be more than offset by losses in the rest of the state which hates Louisville. He also brings problems with organized labor. Abramson has always screwed the police and firemen unions throughout his term. They hate him and will be glad to see him beaten.
How well will his antipathy to unions play in rural Kentucky? In fact his shenanigans with unions are so bad that Bill Londrigan, president of Kentucky AFL-CIO, has come out and asked Beshear not to pick Abramson. I have little doubt that Abramson will be more of drag on Beshear's re-election than a boost. Especially in areas outside of Jefferson County.Tony Harris, head of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77 in Louisville, said he has “mixed feelings” about Abramson becoming lieutenant governor.
“I’d be excited to see him leave as mayor of Louisville but sorry for the state,” Harris said.
I understand why Abramson wants to be Lt. Governor. He is running out of time and it provides him with a platform to launch a state wide gubernatorial campaign. Something that would be impossible as the Mayor of Louisville. But for the life of me, I have no idea why Beshear would select him.
I imagine Beshear's best possible pick would be State Auditor Crit Luallen. She has done her job. The only time you see her name in the paper is when some audit uncovers bad book keeping. She has not been an attention whore like AG Conway and has a solid record as auditor. She would bring strength to his ticket by allowing him to talk about how they can team together to trim the waste from state government.
On the other hand, I have no idea why Crit would run with Beshear. Why would she join a ticket when re-election is not a forgone conclussion. Beshear has not been all that effective as governor. He promised gambling and said he would get it. He hasn't even come close to delivering on that promise. He hasn't save hundreds of millions of dollars with his efficiency study and he has crammed the state government with all kind of his crony friends.
For me, the worst part of his administration has been his inflexibility. He hasn't tried to come up with any new ideas. All he does is re-hash gambling. He keeps swinging the same hammer when he needs to find a new tool. Which is why I believe he will be vulnerable to a well financed opponent. Why would Crit get on board such a campaign?
I just don't think Crit is going to jump on that train. For that matter, I don't think any of the top Democratic names outside of Abramson will come aboard. Which is why I think Beshear is forced to try and woo Abramson onto the ticket. If he doesn't get the mayor, then he will be force to settle on some unkown entity like Secretary Helen Mountjoy or Rep. Tommy Thompson.
Posted by at 8:34 PM in Kentucky Politics
