Bevin gave a parting gift to his head of state boards: five appointments of his own
In his last days as former Gov. Matt Bevin’s executive director of Boards and Commissions, a job that put him in charge of finding and vetting qualified candidates for gubernatorial appointments, Brett Gaspard got appointed by Bevin to five state boards.
Asked about Gaspard’s appointments Friday morning, Senate President Robert Stivers said it was “a tragic abuse of power and position to have done that in the way it was done in the waning days of the prior administration.”
Stivers, R-Manchester, said he would not vote to confirm any of Gaspard’s appointments.
Gaspard, of Walton in Boone County, defended the appointments Friday. “I discussed all of them with Gov. Bevin and felt I could contribute to them,” said Gaspard.
Asked if he felt he had an unfair advantage in getting gubernatorial appointments, Gaspard said, “I’ve been active in many communities with various boards and commissions. These appointments would be a natural thing for me.”
He said he had nothing to say about Stivers’ comments.
The appointments included a $5,000-a-year position on the board of the Kentucky Lottery Corp., an expenses-paid position on the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and Visitors Bureau and a seat on the board of the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television. The KET appointment pays $50 a meeting, plus expenses.
Other board appointments Gaspard got from Bevin are the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Council, which pays expenses, and the Kentucky Environmental Education Council, which also pays expenses.
All but one appointment came on Dec. 9, Bevin’s last day in office. His appointment to the Alzheimer’s Council was on Dec. 6. “I really wanted that one because my father suffered with Alzheimer’s,” Gaspard said.
Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who took office Dec. 10, put an end to three of Gaspard’s five appointments. Gaspard said Friday that was news to him.
On Feb. 21, Beshear signed an executive order to remove Gaspard from the Alzheimer’s Council, the environmental education council and the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television.
Gaspard said the Postsecondary Education Nominating Commission submitted his name to be on the KET board.
In his order, Beshear said Gaspard’s appointments to the three boards “on the eve of the change in administration represents an abuse of his position and raises grave ethical concerns.”
It could not be immediately learned what Beshear thought about Gaspard’s appointments to the lottery and Northern Kentucky Convention Center post.
Gaspard’s appointment to the lottery board requires Senate confirmation.
“I can’t say what any other members of the Senate will do, but I think that the way that was done and effectuated, I cannot stand on this floor with any credibility and support that process,” Stivers said.
Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, is the sponsor of Senate Resolution 219 to confirm Gaspard to the lottery board for a term expiring Nov. 28, 2023. He filed it March 2 and it was sent on March 4 to the Senate Economic, Development, Tourism and Labor Committee.
“I support Brett and disagree with President Stivers on this,” Schickel said.
Asked if he has any problem with the way Bevin appointed Gaspard, Schickel said “I just think Brett would be a good lottery board member.”
Bevin, a Republican, named Gaspard to head the boards and commissions office early in his administration in December 2015.
A news release at that time said Gaspard oversaw municipal contracts in the waste management business and was a volunteer advisor to various political candidates including U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie.
He also was chairman of the Boone County Republican Party and held volunteer roles with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky Taxpayers United and League of Kentucky Property Owners.
This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 3:23 PM.
