Joe Gerth Concludes Richie Farmer Is David Williams' Applause Line; But Steve Beshear Could Be "Christian Laettner".
Farmer is Williams' applause line
By Joe Gerth
Senate President David Williams reached his hand out to a reporter one day last week and started making small talk while a group of reporters and cameras gathered around his running mate, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer.
It was an odd situation because it's generally Williams who draws the media attention. Other politicians are the ones left standing one-on-one with a reporter who hasn't joined the gaggle.
But as of late, Farmer has been under fire for his spending as agriculture commissioner and at home as his wife filed for divorce just a month and a half before the GOP primary.
And this was a rare opportunity for reporters, who rarely make it past Bill Clary, Farmer's spokesman at the Department of Agriculture, to ask him directly about things.
We're still yet to see if Farmer, who seemingly has led a charmed political life to this point, can survive it.
Williams chose Farmer for the ticket because of who he is and not necessarily what he's done in his 7-plus years as the state's agriculture commissioner.
Who he is, is Richie Farmer, the basketball star — the point guard from the mountains who electrified the Sweet 16 in leading Clay County to the boy's state basketball championship in 1987.
He then electrified the state in helping the University of Kentucky nearly upset top-ranked Duke University in what many believe the greatest college basketball game ever played.
He was elected to be state agriculture commissioner, largely on his name, and then in 2007, won a second term. That year, he received the largest number of votes of anyone on the ballot, despite the fact that then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the top Republican candidate lost decisively.
That's why Williams picked Farmer.
At a political forum last winter by the pro-healthcare group 847K, the largest applause came when the person reading Williams' biography mentioned that his running mate was Farmer.
But Farmer's reputation has taken a few hits as of late.
He was forced to contribute six days of his salary to a charity after it was reported that he refused to take a cost-saving furlough that every other state worker in Kentucky had taken.
And there were the thousands of dollars in cars that he purchased for the agriculture department fleet – including a new SUV that he uses — even as the state faced tough economic times.
He defended that, saying that the vehicles were needed and that his new SUV was not bought specifically for him, he merely swapped it for his older state-issued vehicle, which remains in the fleet.
And then there was the $350 a night suite he rented in Lexington for the Sweet Sixteen tournament – on tax payer expense – something he has defended as important to promoting Kentucky agriculture products.
Most recently, one newspaper wrote a story in which some people criticized Farmer for renting a room in Louisville for the Kentucky State Fair, even though he lives just 50 miles away in Frankfort.
The campaign has complained that the story was unfair because the agriculture commissioner has many responsibilities at the fair, everything from attending horse shows to overseeing inspections of rides.
Billy Ray Smith, the last Democrat to hold the office, told my colleague Tom Loftus that when he had Farmers' job, he spent most, if not every night during the state fair in Louisville.
Williams even joked last week about the media attention being paid to Farmer – and the fact that he has been able to avoid the media glare.
"When we started (the campaign) I thought you were shooting 3-pointers and I was taking charges," Williams told Farmer at an event in Louisville. "You’re taking some charges yourself … and I’ll tell you, Richie, when they’re talking about you, they’re leaving me alone."
Despite the jokes and his defense of Farmer, Williams can't be happy with what seems to be an unending string of dramas facing his running mate.
Farmer's been able to avoid public backlash over questions over how he has spent campaign money in the past and how he ran his office early in his term – to the point where he's the main applause-line even at events he doesn't attend.
While none of this is likely to affect the Williams-Farmer ticket's chances in the GOP primary, additional questions could cause the ticket problems against a well-funded Democrat in the fall.
Think Gov. Steve Beshear in the role of Christian Laettner.
Joseph Gerth's column appears on Mondays. He can be reached at (502) 582-4702 or at jgerth@courier-journal.com. His mailing address is 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431.
By Joe Gerth
Senate President David Williams reached his hand out to a reporter one day last week and started making small talk while a group of reporters and cameras gathered around his running mate, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer.
It was an odd situation because it's generally Williams who draws the media attention. Other politicians are the ones left standing one-on-one with a reporter who hasn't joined the gaggle.
But as of late, Farmer has been under fire for his spending as agriculture commissioner and at home as his wife filed for divorce just a month and a half before the GOP primary.
And this was a rare opportunity for reporters, who rarely make it past Bill Clary, Farmer's spokesman at the Department of Agriculture, to ask him directly about things.
We're still yet to see if Farmer, who seemingly has led a charmed political life to this point, can survive it.
Williams chose Farmer for the ticket because of who he is and not necessarily what he's done in his 7-plus years as the state's agriculture commissioner.
Who he is, is Richie Farmer, the basketball star — the point guard from the mountains who electrified the Sweet 16 in leading Clay County to the boy's state basketball championship in 1987.
He then electrified the state in helping the University of Kentucky nearly upset top-ranked Duke University in what many believe the greatest college basketball game ever played.
He was elected to be state agriculture commissioner, largely on his name, and then in 2007, won a second term. That year, he received the largest number of votes of anyone on the ballot, despite the fact that then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the top Republican candidate lost decisively.
That's why Williams picked Farmer.
At a political forum last winter by the pro-healthcare group 847K, the largest applause came when the person reading Williams' biography mentioned that his running mate was Farmer.
But Farmer's reputation has taken a few hits as of late.
He was forced to contribute six days of his salary to a charity after it was reported that he refused to take a cost-saving furlough that every other state worker in Kentucky had taken.
And there were the thousands of dollars in cars that he purchased for the agriculture department fleet – including a new SUV that he uses — even as the state faced tough economic times.
He defended that, saying that the vehicles were needed and that his new SUV was not bought specifically for him, he merely swapped it for his older state-issued vehicle, which remains in the fleet.
And then there was the $350 a night suite he rented in Lexington for the Sweet Sixteen tournament – on tax payer expense – something he has defended as important to promoting Kentucky agriculture products.
Most recently, one newspaper wrote a story in which some people criticized Farmer for renting a room in Louisville for the Kentucky State Fair, even though he lives just 50 miles away in Frankfort.
The campaign has complained that the story was unfair because the agriculture commissioner has many responsibilities at the fair, everything from attending horse shows to overseeing inspections of rides.
Billy Ray Smith, the last Democrat to hold the office, told my colleague Tom Loftus that when he had Farmers' job, he spent most, if not every night during the state fair in Louisville.
Williams even joked last week about the media attention being paid to Farmer – and the fact that he has been able to avoid the media glare.
"When we started (the campaign) I thought you were shooting 3-pointers and I was taking charges," Williams told Farmer at an event in Louisville. "You’re taking some charges yourself … and I’ll tell you, Richie, when they’re talking about you, they’re leaving me alone."
Despite the jokes and his defense of Farmer, Williams can't be happy with what seems to be an unending string of dramas facing his running mate.
Farmer's been able to avoid public backlash over questions over how he has spent campaign money in the past and how he ran his office early in his term – to the point where he's the main applause-line even at events he doesn't attend.
While none of this is likely to affect the Williams-Farmer ticket's chances in the GOP primary, additional questions could cause the ticket problems against a well-funded Democrat in the fall.
Think Gov. Steve Beshear in the role of Christian Laettner.
Joseph Gerth's column appears on Mondays. He can be reached at (502) 582-4702 or at jgerth@courier-journal.com. His mailing address is 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431.
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