Longtime judge and county commissioner battle in special House election in northeastern Kentucky

The two candidates in a March 8 special House election in northeastern Kentucky got hooked on politics in different ways.

Democrat Lew Nicholls of Greenup was a page in the state House when his late father served in the chamber in the early 1960s. Republican Tony Quillen, also of Greenup, was mesmerized by the stories he heard from local politicians while pumping their gas at his father’s Mayberry-type service station.

Nicholls became a district and circuit court judge. Quillen, a consultant with an engineering company, has been on the Greenup County Commission the past 18 years.

Now, the two are vying to become the next state representative from the 98th House District, which covers parts of Boyd and Greenup counties.

The winner will replace Democrat Tanya Pullin, who resigned to accept Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s appointment to become an administrative law judge in the state Department of Workers Claims.

The special election in the 98th District will be one of four on March 8 to fill House vacancies. Democrats have to win at least one to keep control of the state House. If Republicans win all four, the House will be evenly split — 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans — and decisions would have to be made on who would govern the chamber.

Republicans hope to gain control of the chamber in the fall’s general election, in which all 100 House seats will be up for grabs for two-year terms. Nicholls and Quillen also have signed up to face off in the November general election.

The race started heating up Friday when a Republican political group launched digital ads and a website attacking some of Nicholls’ decisions as a judge in child-abuse cases.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, the largest caucus of GOP state leaders in the country, said its website, NichollsNeglect.com, would stay online until the March 8 election.

Nicholls’ campaign manager, Elizabeth Cantrell Brooks, dismissed the attack as “outright lies” from “Washington special interests.”

“The people of this district know Lew,” Brooks said. “They know him as a distinguished and honorable judge who continues to serve and make a difference in our community. People of both parties respect him as a fair, honest public servant. These attacks are disgraceful, and the people of our district simply aren’t going to believe it.”

Nicholls said his interest in politics started when he accompanied his late father, Lewis Nicholls, to the state House during his term from 1960 to 1964.

“I learned you can make a difference,” said Nicholls.

As a state representative, he said, he would focus on finding jobs for the district, especially with the shutdown of AK Steel; fighting drugs, and enhancing education.

He noted that he started three drug courts in northeastern Kentucky.

Quillen said the political talk at his dad’s service station spurred him into politics.

“We had county school officials, state and local government people, all kinds of politicians visit the station,” Quillen said. “I learned to listen there.”

Quillen said his father, Joe Quillen, who is 89, has always encouraged him to jump into the political arena. “He told me it’s tough but to always put people above the politics.”

Like Nicholls, Quillen said he would focus as a state representative on job creation.

“That’s top priority,” he said. “Job creation is the key to addressing budget cuts, offsetting tax increases, growing our communities and helping our people live to the fullest extent possible.”

The two candidates are not that far apart on labor issues.

Nicholls said he would be a strong voice against “right-to-work” legislation that would prohibit unions from requiring employees to pay dues at a unionized workplace.

He said unions contribute to the quality of work completed in various jobs, and as his father said, “You get what you pay for.”

Quillen said on his website that he agrees with many of his party’s conservative positions on issues such as guns, anti-abortion and smaller government, but he “firmly” disagrees with his party on organized labor issues.

“I am and always have been a strong opponent of right-to-work and a strong supporter of prevailing wage,” he said.

The prevailing wage law generally sets higher wage rates for public works projects. Supporters of it, including unions, say it is needed to provide quality work in school construction. Its opponents contend that it needlessly drives up construction costs for schools.

Both candidates said they would have enough money to run successful campaigns.

Quillen raised $16,750 as of Feb. 5, with $7,000 of that coming from political action committees.

Nicholls took in $24,568 as of Feb. 5. A $10,000 contribution came from the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus Campaign Committee.

Voter registration in the 98th House District favors Democrats. It has 18,256 Democrats and 11,370 Republicans.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Longtime judge and county commissioner battle in special House election in northeastern Kentucky."