‘We are on the same team.’ Beshear calls for unity in inaugural speech as KY governor
Andy Beshear became the 63rd Governor of Kentucky Tuesday, and in his inaugural address called for Kentuckians to reject national divisions and pledged to unify the commonwealth in the midst of a political moment steeped in hostility.
“Americans have been disagreeing about things since the founding of our nation, even the structure of our government creates conflict,” Beshear said from a platform in front of the Capitol on a cold, gray day. “But it’s only when we view those who disagree with us as the enemy that our differences become irreconcilable or insurmountable. Kentuckians have more in common — regardless of what party we belong to — than any national divisions that can pull us apart. We are on the same team.”
Beshear was then publicly sworn in by Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. on a Bible gifted to his parents for their wedding in 1969. It was the same Bible his father, Steve Beshear, the 61st governor, used as he rose up the ranks of political office in Kentucky from attorney general to lieutenant governor to governor. The Beshears are the first father and son to hold the state’s highest office in Kentucky history.
In the middle of his speech, Beshear revealed that he reorganized the state board of education Tuesday morning and appointed new members and that he plans to restore voting rights to over 100,000 former felons via executive order on Thursday — two of his highest priority campaign pledges.
“My faith teaches me to treat others with dignity and respect,” Beshear said. “My faith also teaches forgiveness. That’s why on Thursday, I will sign an executive order restoring voting rights to over a hundred thousand men and women who have done wrong in the past but are doing right now.”
The stage, backed by heavy red curtains and red and blue bunting, contained a mix of past and current elected officials, including several former governors: Julian Carroll, John Y. Brown Jr., Ernie Fletcher, Martha Layne Collins, Paul Patton, the elder Beshear and the most recent governor, Matt Bevin, the man who arguably propelled Beshear to office.
Beshear’s speech was riddled with pledges to reshape the tone of politics in Frankfort, an indirect indictment of Bevin, whose penchant for belittling his political opponents and allies alike overwhelmed the conservative policies he helped usher into law.
But that message extended beyond state politics. In his speech, Beshear lamented the division in national politics — an attempt to distance himself from partisan rancor hours after Democrats in Washington D.C. unveiled articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, the culmination of an inquiry into whether Trump abused his power when he asked the President of Ukraine to open an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden.
Beshear has avoided talking about Trump or impeachment over the last few months, saying he was focused on Kentucky instead. He continued that effort Tuesday.
“We succeed when we focus, right here in Kentucky, on making life better for our people instead of allowing national divisions to distract us from the work at hand,” Beshear said. “We succeed when we stop treating each other as the enemy. That is when our government is at its very best, that is when we get Kentucky at its very best.”
Beshear’s calls for unity match the challenge of his moment — he is the lone Democrat surrounded on all sides by Republican control in Frankfort. His campaign was riddled with lofty policy promises, such as a $2,000 teacher pay raise, protecting expanded Medicaid and the recruitment of high paying jobs. Many of those promises will require the cooperation of the Republican super-majorities in the House and Senate.
Also standing in his way is an unbalanced budget, squeezed by rising pension costs and Kentucky’s Medicaid program. Last week, the state budget office projected at least $1.8 billion in new spending obligations over the next two fiscal years, casting a cloud on many of the pledges Beshear made to the education community that formed the backbone of his campaign.
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said Beshear’s inaugural speech “set a nice, pleasant tone” on major issues like education and the state’s opioid crisis.
“We agree that these and other issues are important,” Stivers said. “The question is where does the money come from for issues like increased teacher pay?”
Beshear did not mention in his speech the things he has said would help pay for his promises — expanded gambling and legalizing medicinal marijuana.
Gloomy budget projections did not keep the teachers away. A group of teachers served as the grand marshals of the parade and the crowd was dotted with red — the color that has come to symbolize Kentucky’s education community.
In her speech, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman highlighted her background as a teacher and reminisced about participating in the teacher protests at the Capitol in 2017. She is the first educator to serve as lieutenant governor since Martha Layne Collins.
“I want to take a minute to underscore what that means,” Coleman said. “It means that starting today, public education is a top priority. That the voices of our classroom educators — the people on the front lines — will take a prominent role in shaping public policy.”
Beshear’s day started early. At 12:00 a.m. he took part in a private swearing-in ceremony, officially making him governor. From there, the pomp of the inauguration started with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast and stretched into the night with two public balls.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 3:43 PM.
