Kentucky GOP Chairman Calls For Governor Steve Beshear's COS, Adam Edelen, To Resign.
Read the excerpts below, or more from H-L:
GOP chairman: Edelen should resign
By John Cheves
The chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky on Wednesday called for Adam Edelen to resign as Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s chief of staff ... .
Steve Robertson, the GOP chairman, also called for Attorney General Jack Conway to investigate Edelen’s activities in the governor’s office.
Robertson cited Herald-Leader stories showing that Edelen friend and business partner Ralph Coldiron complained to Edelen in e-mails last fall that he was hurting financially. Later, Beshear gave Coldiron a job in the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. Beshear also raised the pay for that job from $80,000 to $100,000, although state law said that only the Commercial Mobile Radio Service Board could set Coldiron’s pay, something that a Beshear spokesman said the governor did not know.
Edelen and Coldiron were partners in a land-development company with top Frankfort lobbyist Bob Babbage, who failed to disclose his business ties to the governor’s chief of staff in a mandatory financial disclosure form last year. The men recently dissolved that business after the Herald-Leader reported on it.
“This administration came to office on the promise to ‘clean up Frankfort’ and strictly follow personnel and hiring laws in state government,” Robertson said in a prepared statement. “I now call on Adam Edelen to resign his position and the attorney general’s office to launch an immediate investigation into Edelen’s illegal activity.”
... Beshear spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said: “We do not wish to engage in such partisan shouting matches.”
A spokeswoman for the attorney general said Conway has not received an actual request to investigate from Robertson, but if he does, he will handle it according to his usual investigative procedure.
Below is the press release:
Republican Party of Kentucky
For Immediate Release
January 14, 2009
Contact: Andi Johnson
502-875-5130
Statement by Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Calling for Resignation of Governor Steve Beshear's Chief of Staff Adam Edelen
Asks Attorney General's Office to Launch Investigation
FRANKFORT – Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson today issued the following statement:
"This Administration came to office on the promise to "clean up Frankfort" and strictly follow personnel and hiring laws in state government.
Emails on state government servers now prove that the Governor's Chief of Staff Adam Edelen was behind the illegal hiring of Ralph Coldiron at an inflated salary. Edelen conducted personal business using state government resources and then unilaterally hired his business partner at an illegal and unjustified salary.
In order to protect Edelen, a spokesman for the Governor now claims the Governor was 'unaware of the law' but is silent as to whether the Governor was aware of Edelen's activities. Ignorance of the law is not a defense to breaking it.
I now call on Adam Edelen to resign his position and the Attorney General's office to launch an immediate investigation into Edelen's illegal activity."
###
GOP chairman: Edelen should resign
By John Cheves
The chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky on Wednesday called for Adam Edelen to resign as Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s chief of staff ... .
Steve Robertson, the GOP chairman, also called for Attorney General Jack Conway to investigate Edelen’s activities in the governor’s office.
Robertson cited Herald-Leader stories showing that Edelen friend and business partner Ralph Coldiron complained to Edelen in e-mails last fall that he was hurting financially. Later, Beshear gave Coldiron a job in the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. Beshear also raised the pay for that job from $80,000 to $100,000, although state law said that only the Commercial Mobile Radio Service Board could set Coldiron’s pay, something that a Beshear spokesman said the governor did not know.
Edelen and Coldiron were partners in a land-development company with top Frankfort lobbyist Bob Babbage, who failed to disclose his business ties to the governor’s chief of staff in a mandatory financial disclosure form last year. The men recently dissolved that business after the Herald-Leader reported on it.
“This administration came to office on the promise to ‘clean up Frankfort’ and strictly follow personnel and hiring laws in state government,” Robertson said in a prepared statement. “I now call on Adam Edelen to resign his position and the attorney general’s office to launch an immediate investigation into Edelen’s illegal activity.”
... Beshear spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said: “We do not wish to engage in such partisan shouting matches.”
A spokeswoman for the attorney general said Conway has not received an actual request to investigate from Robertson, but if he does, he will handle it according to his usual investigative procedure.
Below is the press release:
Republican Party of Kentucky
For Immediate Release
January 14, 2009
Contact: Andi Johnson
502-875-5130
Statement by Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Calling for Resignation of Governor Steve Beshear's Chief of Staff Adam Edelen
Asks Attorney General's Office to Launch Investigation
FRANKFORT – Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson today issued the following statement:
"This Administration came to office on the promise to "clean up Frankfort" and strictly follow personnel and hiring laws in state government.
Emails on state government servers now prove that the Governor's Chief of Staff Adam Edelen was behind the illegal hiring of Ralph Coldiron at an inflated salary. Edelen conducted personal business using state government resources and then unilaterally hired his business partner at an illegal and unjustified salary.
In order to protect Edelen, a spokesman for the Governor now claims the Governor was 'unaware of the law' but is silent as to whether the Governor was aware of Edelen's activities. Ignorance of the law is not a defense to breaking it.
I now call on Adam Edelen to resign his position and the Attorney General's office to launch an immediate investigation into Edelen's illegal activity."
###
Labels: Keeping them honest, Kentucky politics
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 3:16 PM
1 Comments:
Color me not impressed with Steve Robertson. He defended real corruption in the Fletcher Administrtion, called it a 'witch hunt.' But here he's calling for resignations without any law breaking. I grant you, Edelen should probably for the good of the Beshear Administration go, but not because Mr. No Integrity Steve Robertson asya so.
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