Matt Bevin accuses Andy Beshear of ‘selling’ appointment to campaign contributor
Departing Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin alleged Wednesday that an appointee of Gov.-elect Andy Beshear had to pay to get the job.
Bevin did not name the appointee or offer any proof that his statement was true during a radio interview.
The Republican governor, whose term ends when Beshear, a Democrat, is sworn into office Dec. 10, also said abortion clinics will be “popping up” across the state when he no longer is Kentucky’s top elected official and that votes were “harvested” in urban areas in the Nov. 5 general election that led to his defeat.
Bevin’s comments came during interviews he gave to eight conservative radio talk shows across the state. He has been giving his take this week to selected media about his four years as governor and his future. He has ignored or declined all requests by the Lexington Herald-Leader for a one-on-one interview during his tenure.
Throughout his term, Bevin has used conservative radio talk shows to get his message out, largely bypassing newspapers in the Frankfort press corps.
On WKDZ in Cadiz Wednesday, Bevin said “probably the greatest legacy” of his administration is “ethical government, good government, where nobody has to buy their board seats at universities or the horse racing commission or whatever. Nobody has to buy contracts in the state or (is) allowed to buy contracts in this state. Nobody is expected to make a political donation to keep their job in an appointed position in Frankfort.
“That kind of nonsense has been swept out.”
He added: “I say to the governor coming in: Don’t go back to selling board seats. Don’t go back to selling jobs in this Capitol. I know it’s already begun, sadly. I’ve heard of one person who has been appointed who told the person whose place he is taking that he had to pay. He had to make campaign contributions to get his appointment.”
Bevin did not elaborate. His communications office did not respond to questions from the Herald-Leader.
Beshear tried to stay above the fray.
“Gov.-elect Andy Beshear is committed to setting a new tone in Kentucky where we leave attacks and insults in the past,” said his spokeswoman, Crystal Staley, in an email. “And he is calling on everyone from across this commonwealth to help us prove that we can treat each other with dignity and respect, find common ground and move forward together.”
Bevin also made other comments critical of Beshear.
On Talk104’s morning show in Bowling Green, Bevin predicted “there’s going to be abortion clinics popping up all over ... because that’s the deal with the devil this incoming governor made.”
On the campaign trail this year, Bevin tried to make abortion a major issue, playing up his strong anti-abortion stance. Beshear said he supported Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
He also noted on the Bowling Green show that Rocky Adkins, the House Democratic leader whom Beshear appointed this week to be his senior advisor, will be in line for a huge pension increase.
Bevin said Adkins has been paid only about $30,000 a year as a state lawmaker but will see his pension increase to “six figures or very high five figures” once he has served in his new post.
The Herald-Leader reported in February that thanks to a pension-sweetening law the General Assembly passed for itself in 2005, nearly two dozen past and present legislators collect or expect to get lifetime pensions above $50,000 a year — roughly twice the state’s per capita income. And that’s on top of whatever retirement plans they’ve made elsewhere in their full-time jobs.
“The system is rigged against the taxpayer,” said Bevin.
Bevin also told at least two radio stations — WKDZ and 55KRC in Cincinnati — that Beshear beat him in this year’s race for governor by slightly more than 5,000 votes because Democrats “harvested votes” in urban areas.
Vote harvesting is generally defined as collecting absentee or mail-in ballots in order to influence an election. The practice is illegal in some states, but Kentucky allows absentee ballots to be returned by designated agents.
“The left, those who think of a different ideological bent, they are getting so good at harvesting votes in the urban communities,” Bevin said on the Cincinnati station. “They were able to go into urban communities where people are densely populated on college campuses and public housing projects.”
He said the problem was severe in Northern Kentucky, Louisville and Lexington.
Bevin initially questioned the outcome of the Nov. 5 election, claiming there were several voting irregularities. He never offered any proof and later conceded.
Bevin did tell host Leland Conway during an interview on WLAP in Lexington and WHAS in Louisville that he wished Beshear well, noting that he and his family will remain in Kentucky.
Bevin and Beshear are to participate together this weekend with their families in the annual Christmas tree lighting in front of the Capitol.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 3:47 PM.
