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Three members of the Louisville Metro Council—Democrats David Tandy and Jim King and Republican Hal Heiner—are seeking their party’s nomination in next year’s race for mayor.

That has some wondering what, if any, impact it could have on the legislative process as primary election day approaches.

WFPL’s Gabe Bullard has more on how the three councilmen plan to balance their campaigns with their roles as legislators….

When he announced his candidacy for mayor this year, Jim King said he wanted to keep the competition out of the council. Months later, he says that’s still the plan.

“We don’t talk mayoral politics at City Hall.”

In fact, King says running against colleagues in and out of his party has enhanced the race, making the competition more cordial.

“We certainly have mutual respect for each other, and so I know for my part, I can’t imagine running negative ads against a colleague,” he says.

One of King’s Democratic opponents, outgoing council President David Tandy, agrees. He doesn’t believe the race will

get in the way of council business, even though things may get heated outside of the chamber leading up to the primary.

“There are times when you scrimmage each other before the game,” says Tandy. “The players will scrimmage each other and go after it vigorously, but at the end of the day, we’re all on the same team.”

“There’s a level of respect there, and I really don’t see that creeping into council operations,” says Councilman Hal Heiner.

As a Republican, Heiner has had political differences with Tandy and King on council matters. If he ends up facing one of his colleagues in the general election, Heiner agrees with King that the discourse should stay civil as the campaign heats up.

“I’m hoping that’s the case,” he says. “There is a high level of respect between the members of the council and my hope is that will carry through the next year.”

But not everyone on the council believes that’s likely to happen.

“The potential for that position being a naïve position, it seems to me, is very real,” says Democratic Councilman Tom Owen.Owen ran for mayor while serving on the old city’s Board of Alderman in 1998.

“The potential for using the council for the advancement of a political identity or to be identified with a political issue or to use an issue to embarrass an opponent who might also be on the council,” he says. “I just think we’re being naïve if we deny that potential.”

Owen doesn’t question the candidates’ dedication to running a friendly race. But with three council members campaigning on their legislative records, Owen says it’s possible that campaign disagreements could come up during council business.

“I just think there is a tendency in the heat of a campaign that a candidate legislator would be frayed and might, in a weary moment, say something, that upon further reflection, he or she wishes they could delete from the record,” says Owen.

But potential campaign tensions in the chamber wouldn’t likely be limited to candidates on the council. With six Democrats and two Republicans seeking the mayor’s office, some council members are supporting outside candidates. Tina Ward-Pugh, for example, supports Democrat Tyler Allen.

Ward-Pugh decided not to seek the council presidency next year in part because of her endorsement of Allen in the mayor’s race.

But even though she recognizes the race’s potential for tension in the council, Ward-Pugh doesn’t think infighting is a foregone conclusion, even as other council members prepare to endorse the candidates of their choice.

“I believe the rest of the council members are going to step up and do their part to ensure that it doesn’t happen,” she says.

Ward-Pugh says council and campaign issues will overlap, but she has faith in her colleagues to put progress over politics

“No matter who wins or loses, we’ve all got to work together the next day, and that’s what’s important,” says Ward-Pugh.

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Three members of the Louisville Metro Council—Democrats David Tandy and Jim King and Republican Hal Heiner—are seeking their party’s nomination in next year’s race for mayor.

That has some wondering what, if any, impact it could have on the legislative process as primary election day approaches.

WFPL’s Gabe Bullard has more on how the three councilmen plan to balance their campaigns with their roles as legislators….

When he announced his candidacy for mayor this year, Jim King said he wanted to keep the competition out of the council. Months later, he says that’s still the plan.

“We don’t talk mayoral politics at City Hall.”

In fact, King says running against colleagues in and out of his party has enhanced the race, making the competition more cordial.

“We certainly have mutual respect for each other, and so I know for my part, I can’t imagine running negative ads against a colleague,” he says.

One of King’s Democratic opponents, outgoing council President David Tandy, agrees. He doesn’t believe the race will

get in the way of council business, even though things may get heated outside of the chamber leading up to the primary.

“There are times when you scrimmage each other before the game,” says Tandy. “The players will scrimmage each other and go after it vigorously, but at the end of the day, we’re all on the same team.”

“There’s a level of respect there, and I really don’t see that creeping into council operations,” says Councilman Hal Heiner.

As a Republican, Heiner has had political differences with Tandy and King on council matters. If he ends up facing one of his colleagues in the general election, Heiner agrees with King that the discourse should stay civil as the campaign heats up.

“I’m hoping that’s the case,” he says. “There is a high level of respect between the members of the council and my hope is that will carry through the next year.”

But not everyone on the council believes that’s likely to happen.

“The potential for that position being a naïve position, it seems to me, is very real,” says Democratic Councilman Tom Owen.Owen ran for mayor while serving on the old city’s Board of Alderman in 1998.

“The potential for using the council for the advancement of a political identity or to be identified with a political issue or to use an issue to embarrass an opponent who might also be on the council,” he says. “I just think we’re being naïve if we deny that potential.”

Owen doesn’t question the candidates’ dedication to running a friendly race. But with three council members campaigning on their legislative records, Owen says it’s possible that campaign disagreements could come up during council business.

“I just think there is a tendency in the heat of a campaign that a candidate legislator would be frayed and might, in a weary moment, say something, that upon further reflection, he or she wishes they could delete from the record,” says Owen.

But potential campaign tensions in the chamber wouldn’t likely be limited to candidates on the council. With six Democrats and two Republicans seeking the mayor’s office, some council members are supporting outside candidates. Tina Ward-Pugh, for example, supports Democrat Tyler Allen.

Ward-Pugh decided not to seek the council presidency next year in part because of her endorsement of Allen in the mayor’s race.

But even though she recognizes the race’s potential for tension in the council, Ward-Pugh doesn’t think infighting is a foregone conclusion, even as other council members prepare to endorse the candidates of their choice.

“I believe the rest of the council members are going to step up and do their part to ensure that it doesn’t happen,” she says.

Ward-Pugh says council and campaign issues will overlap, but she has faith in her colleagues to put progress over politics

“No matter who wins or loses, we’ve all got to work together the next day, and that’s what’s important,” says Ward-Pugh.

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Democrat Tom Owen will seek the Louisville Metro Council presidency next year.

If elected, Owen would become the fourth consecutive Democrat to hold the position. Current President David Tandy is running for mayor, as is his fellow Democratic councilman Jim King and Republican councilman Hal Heiner.

Owen says he’s running as someone who is not involved in the upcoming mayor’s race and who has an understanding of the issues the council will take on in 2010.

“We are dealing with budgetary, we’re dealing with fiscal pain. We’re dealing with a mayor who will be leaving office at the end the year and does have his attention increasingly focused, I believe, on being a candidate for another office,” he says.

Owen further says he wants to keep the mayoral politics out of the council and steer the body away from partisan fighting.

“I’m not a miracle worker,” he says. “But to the extend possible, I would like to see the council take a step or two above what I have seen a great deal of, and that is gotcha politics.”

A spokesperson for the Republican caucus says a member of the GOP will likely run against Owen. A candidate has not yet been chosen, but Councilman Ken Fleming is being encouraged to run. The election is next month.

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A crowded field of Republicans could be vying for a chance to take on Democrat John Yarmuth for the Third District congressional seat.

This week, two candidates, businessmen Larry Hausman and Jeff Reetz, announced preliminary plans to enter the race. Hausman is raising money through an exploratory committee, but says he will make a decision in January. Reetz also says he’ll file to run next month. For now, he says he’s focusing on fundraising.

“Well it depends on who you talk to but I think, in general, what our target is going to be is somewhere in the $2 million range for the general election,” he says.

Three others, Marilyn Parker, Todd Lally and Bob DeVore Jr. have announced their intentions to run. As of Wednesday afternoon, only Lally had filed official paperwork with the secretary of state.

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Three weeks into the filing period for next year’s primary elections, the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office has seen hundreds of registrations from candidates.

The filing period to be on primary ballots began on the 4th, and officials say there’s been a flurry of paperwork. Secretary of State spokesperson Les Fugate attributes the increase in filings to three factors. First, there are more city and county elections in 2010 than there were in 2008. Second, more Kentuckians are interested in national politics. And third, many of the offices up for election are in charge of hiring.

“So we see a lot of people interested in jailers, and judge executives, county clerks, and those types of positions where they’ll have the opportunity to have jobs for people in this difficult economy,” says Fugate.

Fugate says this year’s registrations could surpass the previous record set in 2006. He’s still waiting on many high-profile candidates to file the appropriate paperwork.

“For many, they’re just choosing a time that is best for them to get some publicity when they file, so it’s really a determination on that kind of a front,” he says. “And others, since they’ve been raising money for so long, the actual filing of the paperwork doesn’t really matter.”

The filing period closes on January 26th.

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The filing period for Kentucky elections is underway today (Wed). That means anyone seeking the office of Louisville mayor can now officially file the paperwork to be on the ballot for next year’s primaries.

Prior to this week, candidates could file letters of intent, which allowed them to raise money for the race. Five Democrats and a left-leaning independent are vying to fill Mayor Jerry Abramson’s shoes, but only two Republicans have declared their candidacy.

WFPL’s Gabe Bullard has more on how GOP candidates might fare in the fight for an office that’s been dominated by Democrats.

It’s been 40 years since a Republican held the Louisville mayor’s office and there’s been only one mayor since the city and county governments merged in 2003—Democrat Jerry Abramson. He’s not seeking a third term in order to run for Lt. Governor in 2011.

And the two GOP candidates thus far hoping to fill the position are preparing their campaigns.

First, there’s developer Chris Thieneman.

“I’ve been thinking about this for years,” he says.

Thieneman gained notoriety leading the successful campaign against the library tax in 2007. He says that effort was conducted on a low budget, and he expects he can run a mayoral campaign with similar efficiency.

Last year, Thieneman declared his candidacy as a Republican in the primary for the Third District congressional seat held by Democrat John Yarmuth. He later dropped out and endorsed Yarmuth, then changed his mind again and sought the seat as a Republican. Thieneman says there won’t be any such about-face in the mayor’s race, but his willingness to distance himself from the GOP might be an asset.

“I’m not beholden to anyone, and that makes me an attractive candidate in the general election,” says Thieneman. “But I’m going to have a tougher time in the primary.”

“Chris and I are friends,” says Metro Councilman Hal Heiner.

Heiner is Thieneman’s opponent in the primary. He’s been raising money for the campaign longer than Thieneman and he has the support of many high profile Republicans in the area.

“I feel my seven years on the council is an advantage for a quick start,” he says.

Heiner and Thieneman both say they’re uncomfortable with, among other things, how the Abramson administration negotiates contracts and works with developers. They say Abramson hasn’t consulted with the council on development deals except to seek funding approval, though they acknowledge that he’s not required to, and they would take steps to limit executive power.

To further separate himself from Abramson, Heiner says, if elected, he will call for a full audit of the city to make otherwise closed records public.

“My goal in this run for government is to set a pattern and also laws in place, that for the next 50 or 100 years, we’ve set a culture in this government of openness, accountability and checks and balances that will last beyond whatever term I serve,” says Heiner.

But first Heiner has to get elected, which Republican mayoral hopefuls have struggled to do.

“A lot of it boils down to the economy,” says Filson Historical Society curator James Holmberg. “If people feel things are good for them and going in a good direction, they’re happy to stick with the party that’s in power.”

Holmberg says while the political makeup of city halls is often a reflection of the national and state political landscapes at a given time, a lot can happen in short order to sway local voters.

“Sometimes it was almost a reaction, like if there’d been a scandal, and people being people they tend then to want to go in the other direction,” he says. “Throw the bad guys out and go in a different direction.”

So Heiner and Theineman are positioning themselves as alternatives, hoping voter fatigue with Abramson and Democrats in general will win some converts. Mayor Abramson’s approval ratings have slipped in the last year, but they still hover above 50 percent.

Holmberg also points out that this is a historic election for merged government: subtracting Abramson’s popularity and adding the old county’s Republican-leaning history could level the field for the GOP.

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The filing period for candidates in next year’s elections begins Wednesday in Kentucky, and a near-record number of filings is expected.

Secretary of State’s spokesperson Les Fugate says his office has received an exceptionally high number of phone calls and letters from Kentuckians who are interested in running for office next year.

“On both sides of the political aisle, people seem to be more engaged, particularly with the issues that are going on in Washington currently,” he says. “The other big issue is the economy, and a lot of the races that are on the ballot this time are races that can hire individuals, and so there are a lot of jobs at stake for the person who wins.”

Fugate says the high interest is compounded by the fact that mid-term election years like 2006 and 2010 have more local elections and are typically busier years for filings than Presidential election years. But while Fugate expects thousands of filings, but he doesn’t think this year’s registrations will exceed the record set in 2006.

Depending on the office being sought, filings can be sent to the Secretary of State or the local county clerk through January 26.

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From Kentucky Public Radio’s Tony McVeigh.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says he has no choice but to continue fundraising for his 2011 re-election bid. The fundraising allegedly drew criticism from Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo, who’s also beating the bushes for cash to support his Democratic bid for the U-S Senate. Beshear says no harm intended.

“There’s never a good time for a governor to raise money for his re-election because there’s always other elections going on,” he says. “But, all of them have to sort of coexist at the same time, and we’re going to try to do our fundraising in a steady fashion over the course of the next year or so, so that we don’t unduly interfere with any other elections that are going on.”

Beshear continues to question the authenticity of the comments allegedly made by Mongiardo. The governor says he hasn’t heard the audio, anonymously posted on the Internet, but firmly believes it was doctored.

“You know, you can make something out of anything if you’re good enough,” says Beshear. “And the ingenuity of folks these days is unparalleled, in terms of what you can do. So, I’m not concerned about it and I’ve told him that and we’re just gonna move on.”

Spokespersons for Mongiardo agree and say the governor continues to have Mongiardo’s strong support.

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