Cheap Tricks In GOP Primary
By Brian Yates (04/01/03)
After managing to disqualify Hunter Bates from running for Lieutenant Governor in Kentucky, Steve Nunn is now attempting to disqualify fellow Republican Ernie Fletcher from running for Governor.
In a lawsuit decided last Wednesday, Oldham County Circuit Judge Paul Rosemblum ruled that Bates wasn’t qualified to run because he hadn’t lived in Kentucky the required six years before the general election. Bates had been working in Washington for Senator Mitch McConnell since 1997. During court hearings, Bates argued that he remained a Kentucky resident because he had always voted in Kentucky, owned property in Kentucky, and maintained his attorney’s license in Kentucky.
The original lawsuit, brought by a U of L student, had Steve Nunn’s fingerprints all over it. Of course the student, Curtis Shain, denied that Nunn had anything to do with it…a claim made even more outrageous when the suit was joined by Nunn’s running mate, Bob Heleringer. The new lawsuit didn’t even try to hide the Nunn-marks. It was filed directly by Heleringer and attempts to keep Fletcher from naming a new running mate. Heleringer’s suit claims that Fletcher “either knew or should have known” that Bates was not a resident when he filed candidacy papers in early December.
The reason Nunn is making this a huge issue is simple: Fletcher is a run-away leader is the polls, and Nunn would rather face off with Rebecca Jackson than Ernie Fletcher. The issue of Hunter Bates’ residency is moot as well. He was ruled ineligible to run, and promptly withdrew from the race. The “controversy” should be over, and yet Nunn forces it onward.
The key question to be answered is this: can a candidate replace his or her running mate after filing candidacy papers? By doing the minute amount of research required to find this answer (which apparently no one at the Steve Nunn for Governor office was able to do), we find that candidates can be replaced. According to the Kentucky Constitution, “If a vacancy occurs in a slate of candidates…because of death, disqualification to hold the office sought, or severe disabling condition which arose after the slate formed a campaign committee, the remaining member of the slate may designate a replacement for the vacant candidate.” So clearly, Hunter Bates may be replaced. He was certainly the victim of a “disqualification to hold the office sought” and therefore may be replaced.
Of course, the editorial board of the Courier-Urinal was in full gloating mode on Friday as they took the Rosemblum decision to mean that “conservatives…have seen that their argument about ‘strict construction’ of the Constitution are all wrong.” (And they’re all big meanies as well!) Finally the New York Times wannabes at the local rag actually had something to use against Satan himself, United States Senator Mitch McConnell. According to the CJ, McConnell committed a “sophomoric error,” an “amateur boo-boo” and opened “Dr. Fletcher to attacks on his reliability and competence.” The problem with this assessment, especially the “strict construction” part of their argument is this: no one ever attempted to flout the Constitution. Bates, Fletcher, and their lawyers felt that, under Kentucky law, Bates was a resident.
When Judge Rosemblum decreed differently, Bates immediately withdrew.
For those of you thinking that this situation may mean the end of a Fletcher gubernatorial victory; if they handle it correctly it should not pose a problem. Steve Nunn meanwhile, is close to overplaying his hand. If he continues to try to win the primary in the courtroom rather than in the polls, he’s going to get bitten. As we’ve seen throughout the Steve Henry era, the Lieutenant Governor is not exactly the most crucial role in state government. Bates will be replaced, and that might not be the worst thing either. He came off sounding like Al Gore’s stepson during the GOP debate here at U of L. This is just not as big an issue as some people want to make it, and eventually voters are going to get sick of hearing about it. Unless Steve Nunn has just completely given up on beating Fletcher head-to-head in the polls, he might just want to forget lawsuits and get back on the campaign trail.
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