Senate GOP leader: Republicans ready to ‘rein in’ Beshear’s authority after job moves
Upset with what he calls Gov. Andy Beshear’s “hyperpartisan firing” of a state agriculture official, a key Kentucky Senate leader says the Republican-dominated legislature next year will “rein in” the Democratic governor’s authority.
“If you have the power to do something, that doesn’t mean you should do it,” said Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, of Beshear’s removal of Warren Beeler as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy.
“He has gone too far with his power, especially with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the State Fair Board and now this,” Thayer said.
Beeler, of Caneyville, was appointed in January 2016 by then-Republican Gov. Matt Bevin to the $95,000-a-year job of heading the office that provides grants, incentives and low-interest loans to help farmers and agribusinesses innovate and grow. Beeler contributed $500 to Bevin’s unsuccessful re-election bid last year.
Beshear informed Beeler last week of his dismissal.
“Gov. Beshear appreciates Mr. Beeler’s work but like every governor before him will appoint a new executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy,” said Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley.
Since the office was founded by then-Democratic Gov. Paul Patton in 1998, each governor has chosen the office’s director.
Beshear did not say why he wanted Beeler out. His is a non-merit position, a managerial job in state government for a gubernatorial appointee.
Several Republican leaders complained on social media over the weekend when news of Beeler’s dismissal broke.
“It is extremely frustrating to hear that the governor has chosen to remove Warren Beeler from his role in the Office of Agricultural Policy,” said House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect. “He is an outstanding example of servant leadership and made it his mission to take the politics out of agricultural policy. By taking this step in the midst of a pandemic, the governor shows either a lack of comprehension or an outright disregard of the unprecedented challenges our farm families and rural Kentuckians face today.”
State Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, a Republican, said Beeler “is loved by Kentucky Democrats and Republicans. He has done a fantastic job and there is not an ounce of partisanship in him. This is a shame anytime, but especially during the State Fair.”
U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Tompkinsville, said he was sad to learn that Beeler had been fired. Comer, when he was state agriculture commissioner, appointed Beeler in January 2013 to be agricultural policy director in the Department of Agriculture. Beeler had worked in the department for more than 14 years.
Beeler said in a phone interview Tuesday that he was notified last Friday of his dismissal.
“I loved the job but I really have no hard feelings,” he said. “I’m grateful I had a chance to be in that position.”
Thayer acknowledged that Beshear has the power under the law to pick his own head of the agricultural policy office but the lawmaker said that doesn’t mean he should do it.
In the last three gubernatorial administrations, Thayer has filed a bill in the legislature to move the agricultural policy office from the governor’s office to the state Department of Agriculture. “I think it should be done to remove the politics from it,” he said.
Thayer’s measure, Senate Bill 25, in this year’s law-making session, languished in committee.
“I never could get the agricultural community to back it but I think that will change in the 2021 General Assembly with the firing of Beeler, who has done a great job” said Thayer. “This governor is going way too far in his personnel moves.”
Beeler said he has no opinion on the legislation. “I’m not a policy guy. I’ve heard arguments about that from both sides.”
Thayer also questioned the Beshear administration’s handling of job contracts for Rich Storm as state fish and wildlife commissioner and David Beck as president and chief executive officer of the State Fair Board.
Beck accepted a shorter term from the administration but Storm did not and was fired. A lawsuit is expected.
The two contracts, which initially offered two-year extensions, were unanimously approved by the agencies’ boards months ago. Some members of the boards and Attorney General Daniel Cameron maintain the boards have exclusive authority over the decision, but Beshear disagrees.
Thayer said the Kentucky Republican Party is “united in limiting this governor’s executive authority. That will be a big focus of the 2021 session.”
Marisa McNee, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said it is Thayer who is playing politics.
“Damon Thayer was Matt Bevin’s biggest supporter and now he’s trying to keep his appointees in office.,” she said. “Maybe Damon Thayer should spend a little less time on politics and a little more time on helping Kentucky families.”
