Beshear wins first round in legal battle over Fish and Wildlife chief’s job contract
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration won the first round Monday in a legal battle over the state Fish and Wildlife Commission’s ability to hire its own commissioner.
Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate denied the commission’s request for a temporary injunction to block the Beshear Administration from firing Rich Storm as fish and wildlife commissioner.
The commission has argued that it has sole authority in hiring Rich Storm as its commissioner and setting his salary. Beshear disagrees.
In an eight-page ruling, Wingate said the commission, which is being represented in court by Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office, did not show it had suffered immediate and irreparable injury.
He noted that the court may grant a temporary injunction “where it is clearly shown that the applicant’s rights are being or will be violated by the adverse party and the applicant will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage pending a final judgment in the action.”
Wingate said his ruling does not consider the overall merits of the case. He ordered the parties to appear before the court at 9 a.m. Oct. 7 for a status conference.
Plaintiffs in the suit are Tourism, Arts and Heritage Secretary Mike Berry, whose cabinet oversees the fish and wildlife department, and Finance and Administration Secretary Holly McCoy-Johnson, whose cabinet handles state funds.
Beshear noted that the judge cited a 2019 case, which Beshear lost as an attorney general to former Finance Secretary William Landrum III in Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration. Wingate said the finance secretary “has the final say on personal service contracts.”
“That’s why I have known the whole time that we have not just the ability, but the obligation, to the finance cabinet when irresponsible decisions are being made to try to step in and make responsible decisions,” said Beshear.
“Anybody who tells you you can’t learn from your losses is wrong.”
Elizabeth Kuhn, spokeswoman for Cameron, said, “We look forward to briefing the substance of this case and representing our client’s position that the commission has the sole ability to choose the commissioner.”
Wingate held a hearing on the injunction request Sept. 9.
The commission filed suit against the Beshear Administration to keep Storm.
The fish and wildlife board voted 7-0 Aug. 12 to pursue the lawsuit after weeks of contention between the board and the administration
The board in January of this year unanimously voted to give Storm, who became commissioner in January 2019 during the administration of former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, a new two-year contract at $140,000 a year.
The Beshear administration offered Storm only a one-year contract, noting that the legislature this year enacted only a one-year state budget. When Storm did not accept it, the administration stopped his salary July 15..
The lawsuit said the administration has had more than 900 contracts that extend beyond one year and that the money to pay Storm’s salary would not come from the state’s General Fund but from fees and federal funds.
Beshear, a Democrat, has called the board’s action “silly” and has mentioned news stories back to 2014 that documented ethical problems and financial irregularities at the fish and wildlife commission.
He has focused on a December 2018 audit by State Auditor Mike Harmon, a Republican, that said numerous laws had been violated at the department and “a cultural change” was needed.
The governor criticized the board for appointing Storm in January 2019 instead of going out of the department to hire its chief. Storm had been chairman of the commission and interviewed job applicants for the top position.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 3:18 PM.
