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From the KDP: Herald-Leader: ‘Did Gov. Bevin Have the Right to Fire Lt. Gov. Hampton’s Top Staffers?’

Berry Craig
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Kentucky Democratic Party                   

Lexington Attorney: “All this is a matter that I believe the Kentucky Supreme Court will have the final say on.”

Hampton’s former chief of staff: ...The issue will have to be decided in court.

In case you missed it, the Lexington Herald-Leader is previewing how the bitter feud between Matt Bevin and Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton could quickly turn into a nasty and extended legal battle.

The Herald-Leader reports that Hampton’s former chief of staff, who filed an appeal with the state Personnel Board after being fired by the Bevin administration, said that whatever decision the Personnel Board makes on his appeal, the issue will have to be decided in court.

Additionally, Mark Wohlander, a Lexington attorney and former assistant federal prosecutor who is reviewing the dismissals, said: “All this is a matter that I believe the Kentucky Supreme Court will have the final say on.”

Earlier this week, the Louisville Courier Journal’s Joe Gerth highlighted how the Bevin administration “may have broken the law” when it sent out “purely political attack” about Andy Beshear after he opposed the governor’s new lawsuit because it would slash health care protections for people with pre-existing health conditions.

Kentucky Democratic Party spokesperson Marisa McNee said. “It’s clear this nasty GOP civil war is only going to get worse. Matt Bevin is already the most unpopular governor in the entire country and an extended legal battle with his own lt. governor is the last thing he needs. The last three weeks are a good reminder of the dysfunction and chaos caused by Matt Bevin over the last three years.”

Herald-Leader : Did Gov. Bevin Have the Right to Fire Lt. Gov. Hampton’s Top Staffers?

Lexington Herald-Leader

By Jack Brammer


  • It is believed the firing of Hampton’s staffers is the first time a governor’s office has dismissed employees of a lieutenant governor. State courts have never considered the issue.

  • Hampton maintains that the firings of her two staffers were unauthorized and that (Bevin Chief of Staff Blake) Brickman “has clearly overstepped his boundaries.”

  • “When one considers the statutory duties of the lieutenant governor as set forth in KRS 11.400, it would appear that the Kentucky Legislature also contemplated that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor would require a staff, and a budget to operate her office.” Steve Knipper, one of two staffers fired, maintains in his appeal of the firing.

  • Knipper, in documents filed with his appeal to the Personnel Board, gives his take on the authority of the governor… Knipper said whatever decision the Personnel Board makes on his appeal, the issue will have to be decided in court.

  • Mark Wohlander, a Lexington attorney and former assistant federal prosecutor who is reviewing the dismissals, said he thinks the Kentucky Constitution and law prohibit the firing of Knipper and Southworth. “All this is a matter that I believe the Kentucky Supreme Court will have the final say on,” he said.

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