‘The public service begins’: KY’s new constitutional officers sworn in as General Assembly begins

The Commonwealth of Kentucky’s five newest constitutional officers took the oath of office Tuesday, kicking off a busy day in Frankfort that coincided with the first day of the 2024 General Assembly.

“This is a moment, a line of demarcation, where the politics and campaigns are over and the public service begins,” said ceremony emcee Scott Jennings, a Republican operative.

The officials taking the oath of office — all Republicans — were:

• Attorney General Russell Coleman
• Secretary of State Michael Adams
• Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell
• Auditor Allison Ball
• Treasurer Mark Metcalf

The commonwealth’s constitution requires they take office the first Monday in the January after their election, which was Jan. 1. Tuesday’s event was a public ceremony to make the occasion.

Ball previously served two terms as treasurer, and Adams begins his second term as secretary of state. The remaining three are first-time statewide officeholders.

Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, both Democrats, were sworn into office in December, as constitutionally required.

Beshear, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, State Senate President Robert Stivers and State House Speaker David Osborne were on hand for the ceremony.

Stivers, R-Manchester, encouraged the new officials to maintain a sense of “awe” and “excitement” as they assume their roles.

“If you don’t have a certain sense of awe and respect, and if you don’t have a certain sense of excitement ... it’s time to go home,” Stivers said. “We, as constitutional officers and the General Assembly, have been invested with a trust by the commonwealth of Kentucky.”

With her 2-year-old daughter, Marigold, on her hip, Ball said taking the oath for the third time was “more meaningful today than it ever was ... because I know now what it really means to serve Kentucky.”

“You know the passion I have for serving Kentucky, and I want to bring that now to the auditor’s office,” she said.

Adams, who emerged from Election Day as the top vote-getter, spoke of creating a Kentucky that wouldn’t lose the next generation to other states, a generation “uninterested in litigating the culture wars of the 80s.”

“Sometimes, Kentucky can be slow to progress, agonizingly so. At our worst, we resist modernity,” Adams said. “But at our best, we are truly something to behold, a positive example for our southern neighbors and the rest of our country.”

Legislative sessions in even-numbered years are 60 days, and the top priority is passage of the two-year budget, as required every other year. The General Assembly meets for 30 days in odd-numbered years.

Beshear presented his budget in late December, which included significant teacher pay raises and the implementation of universal Pre-Kindergarten, though the GOP-controlled legislature is unlikely to fulfill the governor’s wish list.

The governor will give his State of the Commonwealth address to a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate at 7 p.m. Wednesday, which will be aired and streamed live on KET.

This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 1:44 PM.

Tessa Duvall

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-334-0430

Tessa has been the Herald-Leader’s Politics and Public Affairs Editor since March 2024, after acting as Frankfort Bureau Chief since joining the paper in August 2022. A native of Bowling Green and a graduate of Western Kentucky University, Tessa has also reported in Texas, Florida and Louisville, where she covered education, criminal justice and policing.