Andy Beshear’s friends raise $601,976 for his inauguration. See who gave the most.
Supporters of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, had raised $601,976 in private donations to pay for his Dec. 10 inaugural celebration as of the end of 2019, according to a report filed Wednesday at the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
Of that total, roughly one-fourth — $134,500 — came from political action committees.
The top PAC donors included a number of industries and companies that are regulated by or do business with state government or major employers in the state that have a financial interest in decisions made in Frankfort, such as the Kentucky Hospital Association ($25,000), Charter Communications (Spectrum) ($15,000), Ford Motor Co. ($15,000), UPS ($13,000) and Deloitte ($10,000).
The top individual donors included two of former Gov. Steve Beshear’s appointees to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees: board chairman Britt Brockman, a Louisville ophthalmologist who gave $15,000, and board member Claude “Skip” Berry, an Eminence construction executive who gave $10,000. Steve Beshear, Andy’s father, served from 2007 to 2015.
More top donors included eye-wear magnate Larry Roth ($10,000) of Great Neck, N.Y., co-owner of Thoroughbred racing stable LNJ Foxwoods; the Goodman family ($50,000) of Austin, Texas, which owns Mount Brilliant Farm in Lexington; Jay Salyers ($12,600) of Bradenton, Fla., a travel marketing executive with the Miles Partnership; Clarence Mitchell ($10,000) of Prospect, founder of defense contractor Mitchco International; and brothers Albert and James Chao ($10,000) of Houston, Texas, chief executive officer and chairman, respectively, of plastic jug manufacturer Westlake Chemical Co.., which has a Calvert City operation that was approved for tax incentives under Steve Beshear’s administration.
Other top donors were Shannon Cales ($10,000) of Louisville, owner of NuLease Medical Solutions, which provides addiction treatment to Medicaid clients, among others; William Young ($10,000) of Lexington, president of storage company W.T. Young LLC; Richard Sturgill ($10,000) of Paris, president of Pine Mountain Lumber; Shyam Rajadhyaksha ($10,000) of Columbus, Ohio, chief financial officer for DLZ, a consulting firm that has worked on construction projects for the state of Kentucky; Steve Wilson ($50,000) of Louisville, CEO of 21C Museum Hotels, which has collected millions of dollars in state tax incentives; and William Butler ($10,000) of Covington, president of Corporex, a real-estate investment firm that also has an interest in tax incentives.
Beshear’s inaugural committee reported spending $486,792 as of Dec. 31, for musicians, food, rental equipment, production costs and reimbursement to KET for broadcasting the event, among other expenses. The committee paid the Kentucky Democratic Party $12,953 for “payroll and inaugural expenses.” It posted an ending balance of $115,183.
The chairman of the inaugural committee is Louisville banker Thomas K. Elliott, a longtime Democratic Party activist whom Steve Beshear named to the Kentucky Retirement Systems Board of Trustees during his own administration. Former Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, later removed Elliott during a restructuring of the KRS board, leading to a tense meeting with Kentucky State Police officers on hand to prevent Elliott from taking his seat at the table.
Also on Wednesday, supporters of new Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed a finance report disclosing $25,000 they had raised as of Dec. 31 to pay for his separate inauguration costs. (Cameron formally was sworn into office earlier this week at a midnight ceremony at the University of Louisville School of Law.) Cameron’s inaugural donor list — including lawyers, lobbyists and business executives — showed contributions ranging from $125 to $400 each.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 10:10 AM.
