Grayson talks 2011 and differences with Beshear

BOWLING GREEN -- Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R-Richwood) has been one of Governor Steve Beshear's (D-Lexington) more vocal critics in recent months. On Saturday, Grayson told PolitickerKY.com he has been encouraged to challenge Beshear when the Democrat's first term ends in 2011, and the idea does intrigue him.

"Today, already a few people have talked to me about that," said Grayson of the 2011 race, while outside of Saturday's Kentucky Republican convention in Bowling Green. "I'm not going to deny interest."

"I will figure out what the next steps are," Grayson added. "I don't have any plan, now, or any kind of timetable."

Grayson also said he would continue to "focus" on his current position.

Still, while in that position, Grayson has taken several opportunities to target the governor and his policies, adding fuel to the fire of speculation about his future.

Most recently, Grayson spoke out against Beshear's restructuring of the appointment process for vacancies on the Executive Branch's Ethics Commission.

Beshear issued an executive order deeming that the governor appoints his choice to the first vacancy on the commission, a second vacancy will be chosen by the governor from a list of three submitted by the attorney general, and a third vacancy will be chosen by the governor from a list submitted by the state auditor.

Grayson objected to his office's omission from this system - an omission that ensured only Democrats currently have direct influence on the process.

"I'd like to think it's an oversight," said Grayson. "But, I am the only Republican constitutional officer. Politics maybe played a role in the issue."

Grayson added that Beshear "had to make a conscious decision to exclude the Secretary of State."

The Secretary of State did add that he "applauded" Beshear for making the executive order on ethics - an area where little progress was made in the state legislature this year.

Still, Grayson pointed to the composition of the board governing the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance - an entity incorporating his office - as support for his objection about the content of Beshear's order.

"As a Constitutional Officer and the chief election officer, the legislature got it right when they set up KREF," said Grayson. "The ethics commission appointment would be analogous."

"I had a lot of positive feedback from folks saying that makes a lot of sense," Grayson continued.

At a mid-April Lincoln-Regan day dinner in the 4th Congressional District, Grayson targeted Beshear's first few months in office as "a miserable failure." On Saturday, he added Beshear's governing style may have contributed to little movement on both pensions and ethics legislation, saying the governor had not been "effectively engaged" during the legislative session.

"As governor, he has not been as strong a leader as I would have thought he would have been," Grayson told PolitickerKY.com.

Grayson did suggest that his relationship with the governor was "fine," and that he often felt that the Governor was "legitimately reaching out" to work with his office.

"During the session we saw each other a lot. I really personally like the guy," said Grayson.

Still, when asked if Beshear may view him as future competition. Grayson speculated that could be the case.

"He might. I'm term-limited. Lots of people talk about it," said Grayson. "People encouraged me to look at the race, so he could think of me as a rival."

He also suggested this perception should not impact the functioning of the Executive Branch.

"We're in politics so rivalries are a reality of life, but we shouldn't let rivalries get in the way," said Grayson.