Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008

Wilkie flogs leadership as he exits House

By Larry DaLe Keeling

HERALD-LEADER COLUMNIST

FRANKFORT --

At least one position in House Democratic leadership will be open next year.

In a Tuesday e-mail copied to other leadership members, Majority Whip Rob Wilkey rather scathingly criticized the way the chamber's Democratic leaders handled this year's General Assembly session, accused them of failing to support Gov. Steve Beshear and announced his intention to leave the legislature at the end of the year.

Referring to the obvious rift in House leadership that proved problematic during this year's General Assembly session, Wilkey wrote, "I thought we didn't serve anyone very well ... I also thought there was a conscious effort to embarrass this governor during this session. It worked. He could have done a better job of building a relationship with the House, but I also feel he was misled into believing that we would work with him. We didn't."

In an interview Wednesday, Wilkey said his decision to leave the House was made easier by this year's leadership conflicts but was not caused by them. He said his decision was based on the "continuing challenges" of trying to balance his legislative duties with the needs of his family (particularly "my daughter and son who need me") and his regular job.

His employer, Commonwealth Brands Inc., a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco Limited, did not ask him to quit the House, Wilkey said. But he added that his position as a company officer and senior legal counsel required a lot of his attention.

Wilkey plans to complete his term and said he will not resign his position in leadership before his term ends.

Considering some of the things he said in his e-mail, that could produce some tense leadership meetings in coming months. But that would be nothing new, since Wilkey and Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark often seemed openly at odds with the other three Democratic leaders during the session.

In the e-mail, Wilkey expressed his hope that House Democrats "think long and hard about re-electing some members of this leadership group."

And he also gave some insight into what many observers described as the "dysfunctional" nature of this year's session. After noting that the Democratic leadership worked well as a team in 2007, Wilkey described a very divisive situation in 2008.

"Something went wrong as we approached this session," he wrote. "I was not consulted as a member of leadership with many decisions, or was outvoted. I believe there were conferences among some members of leadership about important decisions to which I was not privy. I don't think I was the only one excluded from these deliberations.

"This whole session became some kind of effort to assure re-election by members of leadership, instead of assuring re-election of our members -- and, more importantly, what would be best for the state."

Later in the e-mail, Wilkey wrote, "Leadership should be about selfless service to the members and our state. ... It should not be about re-election to leadership. ... It should not be about perpetuating my position or stroking my ego."

Wilkey plans to ask Secretary of State Trey Grayson to remove his name from the November ballot. Since he was unopposed for re-election, the two parties' leaders in his district will have an opportunity to select candidates for the seat in the same manner they do for special elections.

Despite the lack of teamwork this year, Wilkey's departure will be a loss for House Democrats, including the leaders who differed with him. He brought smarts, a quick wit, toughness and integrity to those perpetual confrontations with Senate Republicans.

Since Rep. Greg Stumbo returned to the House in January, there has been much speculation that the former attorney general and former House majority floor leader would find a way to return to a leadership position.

Wilkey's departure opens at least one path for Stumbo to do so, although I would expect him to have his eyes on something higher than majority whip. And the dissatisfaction over this year's dysfunctional session could lead to other shakeups in the House's Democratic leadership.

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