Attorney general: Bevin wrong to remove retirement systems chairman

In an opinion released Tuesday, Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear’s office said Republican Gov. Matt Bevin erred last month by removing Louisville banker Thomas K. Elliott as chairman of the Kentucky Retirement Systems board of trustees.

Elliott was reappointed last year by then-Gov. Steve Beshear to a four-year term. (Steve Beshear is Andy Beshear’s father.) Bevin is not entitled to remove a prior governor’s KRS appointee in the middle of a term, wrote Matt James, assistant attorney general. The opinion was requested by KRS executive director William Thielen.

Also, James wrote, Bevin erred because his recent KRS board appointment, Madisonville dermatologist William F. Smith, does not qualify as an investment or financial professional as the law requires of that post.

In a statement, Bevin spokeswoman Amanda Stamper called the attorney general’s opinion “non-binding” and “politically motivated.”

“Governor Bevin is committed to ensuring a fresh start for the people of Kentucky because they deserve to know how their hard-earned tax money is being invested,” Stamper said.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Attorney general: Bevin wrong to remove retirement systems chairman."