Local

Staff reshuffling in the office of Gov. Steve Beshear (D-Lexington) continued today, with the announcement that communications director Dick Brown will be replaced by Jay Blanton.

Blanton comes to the position after a nearly four year tenure as executive director of marketing and public relations for the University of Kentucky. Prior to that job, he served as deputy communications director for Louisville's Democratic mayor, Jerry Abramson.

He also worked with the public relations firms Guthrie-Mayes and Preston-Osbourne.

The switch in the office comes seven months into Beshear's first term as governor and just a week since an earlier change by Beshear brought Adam Edelen in as chief of staff.

Former U.S. Rep Carol Hubbard (D-Lowes) speaks on Monday in Murray: Politicker Photo

MURRAY -- Speaking to Democratic activists at the Purchase Area Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Murray on Monday night, former U.S. Rep and state Senator Carroll Hubbard (D-Lowes) put his race for the 1st state Senate district on a list of three key races he said could help swing the Republican-controlled state Senate back to the Democrats.

In addition to his own bid, Hubbard said wins by Democratic challengers Steve Newberry in the 9th district and Kathy Groob in the 23rd district would push the minority party in the Senate to within one seat of a majority.

Republicans currently hold a 22 to 15 advantage over Democrats in the Senate, with one independent. Democratic wins in Hubbard's proposed targets would push that advantage down to 19 to 18.

Then, Hubbard suggested, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear (D-Lexington) might take over the rest of the work in putting the Senate back in Democratic hands.

Presumptive Republcian presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) appeared at a McCain Victory Fundraiser in Louisville on Saturday night that nearly broke the state's fundraising record.

The event's $2 million take nearly topped a state record, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, falling just short of the $2.1 million raked in by at a 2007 GOP fundraiser featuring President George W. Bush.

The $2 million in contributions collected will now be divided between the campaign of the guest of honor, the Republican Party of Kentucky, and national Republican organizations.

The lexicon in the office of Governor Steve Beshear (D-Lexington) may be changing with the arrival of Adam Edelen, who took the helm as Beshear's new chief of staff last week.

In an interview with PolitickerKY.com conducted last Friday, Edelen says he is bringing the lessons of his experience in the private sector with him into Beshear's office, noting he wants the administration to become more "customer service oriented" in its dealings.

"It's important to note I am not a political professional. I would bristle at the term," Edelen said. "I am a businessman who has been involved in politics and not the other way around."

Edelen joins Beshear's staff after a stint heading Kentucky's Office of Homeland Security. With Beshear already having faced a fair share of struggles in his first 6 months in office - including stalls in the legislature on his proposed expanded casino gaming and tobacco tax initiatives - Edelen has his work cut out for him in the high-pressure chief of staff role.

Still, the 33 year-old University of Kentucky graduate - who began his career working as an aide to former Democratic Governor Paul Patton - says his business training and his close relationships with many of Frankfort's prominent faces will help him push Beshear's agenda forward.

In the interview below, Edelen says he plans on helping Beshear "invert the pyramid" of traditional leadership models by having the governor bring his policies to the people of Kentucky more frequently, with the expectation that Beshear will be increasingly visible across the state

The special session in the Kentucky state legislature seems to have passed without a hitch, as Governor Steve Beshear (D-Lexington) signed pension reform legislation this afternoon, ending five days of overtime for state legislators in Frankfort.

"The quick action by House and Senate leadership has brought about the intended results I outlined when I first challenged the General Assembly on May 29 to act on this issue," said Beshear, in a statement released after he signed the bill.

The pension legislation sailed through the state legislature during the session, passing the Democratically-controlled House 98-0 on Wednesday and the Republican-controlled Senate today, 35-1.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville): Getty Images PhotoLOUISVILLE - Dubbed by organizers a "museum on wheels to highlight the failures of the Bush administration," a bio-diesel powered bus touring communities with vulnerable incumbent members of Congress rolled into Louisville last night for a two-day stay. The visit culminated in a rally today near U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Louisville) district office, when local activists targeted the four-term incumbent for his connections to the Bush presidency.

"We are all here so we can show people what the legacy of George W. Bush has been," said Kentucky AFL-CIO president Bill Londrigan in remarks made to a small crowd gathered around the bus. "And to let everybody know who his friends and his cohorts in his effort to destroy his country have been."

The event and tour were organized by Americans United for Change (AUC), a group receiving support from several national labor unions - including the AFL-CIO. The group previously ran a 2005 campaign protesting against the privatization of social security, and the "Bush Legacy" rolling exhibit is its latest endeavour.

Reaction to the United States Supreme Court's decision in the D.C. v. Heller case emanated from prominent Republicans in Kentucky quickly today, after the high court overturned a Washington, D.C., law banning handgun ownership in a 5-4 decision.

"Today the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the individual right of law-abiding citizens of the District of Colombia to protect themselves in their own homes," U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) said in a statement. "This landmark ruling will ensure that regardless of where citizens reside, the government will respect their rights that are guaranteed by the Second Amendment."

In the court's majority opinion, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia concluded "the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense.

Everything seems to be going as planned during this week's special legislative session in Frankfort, with pension legislation sailing through the House today on a 98-0 vote.

The draft legislation - agreed to by House and Senate leaders as a pre-condition for Gov. Steve Beshear's (D-Lexington) calling of the session - passed through the House's state government committee with ease on Monday.

The bill will now move to the Republican-controlled state Senate. Passage of the legislation is expected by Friday - the last scheduled day of the five-day special session.

With over four months remaining before the general election, Kentucky's Republican fundraising committees are showing a decided fundraising advantage over their Democratic counterparts.

Polwatchers reports the Republican Party of Kentucky is sitting on over $1.1 million in on-hand cash as of the end of May. The Democratic Party of Kentucky, meanwhile, is holding less than a quarter of that figure, with over $234,000 in the bank.

The major advantage shown by the RPK gives state Republicans a boost, though Democrats are ahead in cash among state legislative fundraising organizations. The House Democratic Caucus Committee holds over $125,000 in funds, ahead of the Democrats' Senate equivalent and state Republicans' House and Senate organizations.

Gov. Steve BeshearFRANKFORT -- With progress on the passage of pension reform legislation moving quickly during this week's special legislative session, Gov. Steve Beshear (D-Lexington) told a joint session of the state legislature that successful policy making over the next five days could foster hope for cooperation in the divided state government.

"I am optimistic about the future," said Beshear. "A quick and successful special session can signal the beginning of a new era in Frankfort, one where cooperation on critical public policy is the norm and where politics and partisanship are reserved for campaigns."

Today, the draft pension legislation agreed upon by House and Senate leadership prior to the anticipated five-day special session met a successful vote in the House state government committee. It could now find its way to a Senate vote by Thursday.

The progress comes after negotiations on pension reform collapsed in the last days of the regular legislative session. For Beshear, that stumble was one of several during the session on priority legislation. His initiative to significantly raise the state tobacco tax failed to pass muster with the Republican-controlled state Senate while a vaunted constitutional amendment on expanded casino gaming failed to see a vote even on the floor of the Democratic state House.