ONE-ON-ONE
- April 2002
by Ed G. Lane
'A Two-Party System Will Make Kentucky
a Better State'
Ellen Williams, chair of Kentucky's Republican Party, Offers her analysis
of the state's political scene
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Ellen Williams
Ellen Conaway Williams was first elected chairman of the Republican
Party of Kentucky in 1999 and was re-elected in 2000 without
opposition. During her tenure, the party has gained considerable
strength throughout the state, now controlling the State Senate
for the first time in Kentucky history.
A graduate of the University
of Kentucky, Williams began her political career in 1982 as
a staff assistant to former Kentucky Congressman Larry Hopkins.
The following year, she was named as the executive director
of the Young Republican National Federation.
Williams was actively
involved in the 1984, 1988 and 1996 presidential elections and
in 1991-92 served as the executive director for the Republican
Party of Kentucky.
Williams resides in Anderson
County with her husband, Greg, and their sons, Sam and Joey.
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Ed Lane: How is the Republican Party faring in Kentucky?
Ellen Williams: The Republican
Party is alive and well, and actually thriving. This decade will be
very important. The future of the Republican Party is driven by issues;
not so much party registration but a philosophy. If you think back
to 1990 and the last census, Kentucky had a congressional redistricting
process that was drawn by the Democrats for the Democrats. Today five
of Kentucky’s six congressmen are Republicans, and both United
States Senators are Republicans. Twenty of 38 members of the Kentucky
State Senate are Republicans, 34 members in the House are Republicans
and our numbers in the courthouses across the state are increasing,
particularly in Western Kentucky. The Republican philosophy –
a belief in less taxes, and a smaller role for government – is
really what the people of Kentucky want. The compassionate conservative
message of George Bush resonated and will continue to resonate in
Kentucky.
EL: For the first time in
the state’s history, the Republican Party controls the State Senate.
How well is President David Williams managing the Senate?
EW: David Williams has done
a great job in the Senate. He’s the first Republican to ever
hold that position. He’s been a lightening rod. When you’re
the first president of the Kentucky Senate to be a Republican, you
end up with two groups of people that are pretty strongly opposed
to you: the editorial board of the (Lexington) Herald-Leader and the
editorial board of the (Louisville) Courier Journal. Under his leadership,
the Republicans have stopped an enormous amount of tax increases proposed
by the Democrats and the governor. Just in this session alone, the
Senate helped pass a telemarketing bill that is probably one of the
strongest in the nation. As David said, you can now hang a “do
not disturb sign” on your telephone at dinner. Approximately
200,000 persons have called the attorney general’s office and
asked to be put on the no-call list. It’s a huge issue and it’s
a great bill that the two-party process and the committee system in
Frankfort made better.
EL: Is the Democrat Party
adjusting to the reality that there is a two-party system and that Democrats
don’t control everything?
EW: There’s no doubt
about it. There is a cultural change in Frankfort. In the past, the
governor would propose a bill and the lobbyists would make sure it
marshalled through both bodies. Now, when the governor proposes a
bill, a lot of different kinds of politics come into play. Not just
the politics of the issues, but the dynamics of the personalities
in the two parties. Jody Richards (Speaker of the House) says that
the House and Senate are spending a lot more time discussing the substance
of the issues.
EL: How would you characterize
the relationship between David Williams and Governor Paul Patton?
EW: Well, they don’t
go to dinner together on the weekends. Their relationship was not
as strained this session as it was last session. David and our Senate
leadership met with the governor several times this session to talk
about some of his priorities, different initiatives, and the budget.
I have not seen as much partisan politics, once we got past redistricting.
David and the governor, I think, are working together pretty well.
EL: Several Kentucky newspapers
have criticized David Williams’ performance as president of the
Senate. Why are editorial writers attacking his leadership?
EW: If the filter for what
goes on in Frankfort and what David Williams does is the Courier Journal
and the Herald-Leader, then the general public is not going to get
an accurate portrayal of his behavior. If the only thing people have
to judge him on is commentary in the Courier Journal and the Herald-Leader,
I think that’s highly unfair. He is the first person to serve
as Senate president when the Kentucky legislature has two-party government.
There’re no rules on what you’re supposed to do when you
become Senate president, and David Williams has really had to impose
some discipline. There was no order on the Senate floor. He’s
put order and decorum back into it. The Republicans have a really
slim majority, 20 to 18, so there’s not a lot of wiggle room
and we all have to work together. David Williams has done a good job
and the Democrats have not cut him any slack. They want to try to
make him mad, they try to get him angry. They’ve succeeded a
couple of times, but his anger has been justified if you really got
the true picture of the behavior of Ernesto Scorsone, who has just
been childish in his antics on the Senate floor.
EL: Jefferson County Judge
Executive Rebecca Jackson has indicated that she is a potential candidate
for governor in 2004. What other Republicans are potential gubernatorial
candidates?
EW: State law makes it a little
difficult; no one can be a declared a candidate for governor until
the day after the 2002 November election. At that point in time, a
person can file their candidacy for governor with a lieutenant governor
candidate. You have to file as a slate. Rebecca has filed an exploratory
committee. Representative Steve Nunn, Louis Nunn’s son, has filed
one. State Senator Virgil Moore has filed his papers. Ernie Fletcher,
the Sixth District congressman, is looking at the race very seriously.
Judge Joe Lambert, chief justice of the Supreme Court, is a name that
has been mentioned. Senate President David Williams, many people say,
appears very gubernatorial. There may even be other Republicans that
we still don’t know of. A lot of people think this could be the
time for a businessman or a non-politician, but whoever, the governor
is going to have a big job to do – building our economy, luring
more industry to Kentucky, reforming the tax structure and some of
our laws, and dealing with unionization of state employees and other
major issues.
EL: How would you rate George
W. Bush’s performance as president?
EW: Fabulous. I’ve always
thought he was great. We all worked hard for him here in Kentucky.
Obviously, Kentucky thought he was good, because 57 percent of the
voters voted for George Bush and his votes came in quick and early.
After 9/11, the country saw a president who is confident, compassionate,
does have a vision and knows what the country needs. He’s in
touch with the working men and women of this nation and Republicans
are really proud of him.
EL: How strong are the President’s
ratings in Kentucky at this time?
EW: He’s stronger now.
His name i.d. is obviously high, and his job approval is sitting at
75 to 85 percent today, which is almost unheard of.
EL: Kentucky’s five Republican
U.S. representatives (Ed Whitfield, Ron Lewis, Anne Northrup, Hal Rogers,
Ernie Fletcher) and one Democrat (Ken Lucas) are up for reelection this
year, as is U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. How strong is the opposition
from Democrats for these positions?
EW: Pretty strong. Republicans
don’t take any of our seats for granted. Ernie Fletcher has no
Democrat opponent and got a pass in this election. I think a lot of
that had to do with the Democrats being afraid that with opposition,
Ernie would mount the kind of campaign that he always does, which
is smart, tough and aggressive. It would turn out a lot of voters
and impact the Lexington mayor’s race and Senator Alice Kerr’s
State Senate race. Senator McConnell is working hard; you just don’t
win a statewide race in Kentucky as a Republican by more than two
or three, maybe four points. So, McConnell’s at work. I talked
to him today and he’s on his way to Owensboro. He’s raising
money and will continue to raise money. And the same with all our
members of congress. The battle is going to be in the state. You’ve
got McConnell, you’ve got the congressional races, but the battle
ground is again going to be for control of the State Senate.
EL: Do you feel the Democrats
are putting a lot of emphasis on Senate races because they’d like
to regain control of the Senate?
EW: Democrats hate not controlling
the tax dollars of Kentucky. So, the Senate race is really where that
hand-to-hand combat is going to occur. Redistricting changed a lot
of the districts. It forced two retirements on the Democrat side,
created virtually three open seats, and 12 to 13 competitive races.
The Democrats feel so strongly about the State Senate that Governor
Patton and some of his folks went down into Senate President David
Williams’ senate district – which is the most Republican
district in Kentucky. It’s 64 to 65 percent Republican, very
conservative along the Tennessee border – and recruited a Republican
to oppose David in the Republican primary.
EL: Although the mayor’s
race in Lexington/Fayette county is non-partisan, two Republican candidates
– Ann Ross and Scott Crosbie are running against two Democrats
– Teresa Isaac and Jim Gray. How do you see this race shaping up
in the general election?
EW: Lexington needs a competitive
race and I know three of the candidates will be well funded. They
all bring different perspectives to the job. I’m a huge Scott
Crosbie fan. I think Scott brings to the job a lot of energy, he brings
his experience as being at-large on the council, he’s got a good
business background and a fresh perspective. He is not part of that
old “good old boy” network that Jim Gray and Teresa Isaac
are. Scott Crosbie can come in and make the kind of changes and provide
the kind of leadership that Lexington needs to really take off and
become the greatest city that it can become.
EL: Presently what percentage
of Kentucky’s registered voters are Democrats and Republicans?
EW: Republicans are doing
better. It used to be, as Nicki Patton (State Democratic chairman)
would always say, two to one, Democrats to Republicans. Well, that
gap is narrowing and it is about one and a half to one. We’ve
just had another bump in Republican and Independent registrations.
September 11 was a horrible thing, but in many ways it’s revitalized
Americans and made us think long and hard about our government and
the services it provides. In upcoming elections, you’re going
to see people make decisions based on the issues: Are you going to
raise taxes, are you going to lower taxes? Do you have the qualifications
and the ability to do this? Experience really counts right now. That’s
what we’re seeing in surveys, and that’s why George Bush’s
and Mitch McConnell’s approval ratings are very high.
EL: How difficult is it to
serve as chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky?
EW: Oh, it’s a piece
of cake (laughs). I like to say that I am everybody’s staff person.
It’s a real honor to be the party chairman with as many elected
Republican officials as we have. The Republicans have a tremendous
team in Kentucky led by Senators McConnell and Bunning and David Williams
at the state level. Our team is as good as the sum total of all of
its parts, and all of our parts work well together. We’ve all
known each other for 15 to 20 years and we all support each other.
As a mom with two little boys, it’s easy to be committed and
involved because what I’m doing impacts the lives of my family
and my neighbors.
EL: What is the state Republican
Party’s annual budget and how do you raise the majority of its
contributions?
EW: We raise our money four
different ways – through some telemarketing, a direct mail program,
events and a lot of one-on-one solicitation. People like to say the
Republican Party is the party of the rich. Well, the Republican Party
is really the party of the people, like me, who want to be rich. During
the last six months of 2001, we raised about $500,000. About 65 or
70 percent of that money came in small dollar increments of $10, $15,
$25, $35. That’s a really good indicator that the Republican
Party is down into Kentucky’s grass roots.
EL: Have you considered running
for statewide office?
EW: I don’t know what
I’ll do. I never thought I’d be party chairman, and here
I am. So I guess you never say never, but I have a lot of people that
I want to help this year and that’s where my efforts are focused.
EL: What are a few of the
key long-term goals that the Republican Party wants to achieve?
EW: Republicans want to keep
our Senate majority this year. We’ve got Senator McConnell’s
re-election, the re-election of our U.S. Congressmen. We’d like
to win back the fourth congressional district seat. We have a super
candidate – a businessman named Jeff Davis – who is going
to receive the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
A lot of the business people in Northern Kentucky are lining up behind
him. We want to keep and increase our numbers in the State Senate.
Beyond that, I’d like to increase strengths in the courthouses.
The Lexington/Fayette mayor’s and at-large council races are
very, very important. There’s the merger-reorganization of Jefferson
County government going on and the election of the first mayor of
its merged government.
EL: How are women doing in
Kentucky politics?
EW: For the first time in
the history of the state, both major political parties are chaired
by women. My counterpart is Nicki Patton. There are four women in
the Kentucky State Senate and all four are Republicans.
EL: Who are Kentucky’s
representatives to the Republican National Committee?
EW: Mike Duncan, a banker
in Inez, is Kentucky’s national committeeman. Mike is also treasurer
of the Republican National Committee. And that is a huge role for
a little state to have. It’s a position elected by the 150 members
of the RNC. So in addition to what Mike does in Kentucky, he’s
been a tremendous leader at the RNC. Kathy Bailey is Kentucky’s
national committeewoman, she is a national fundraiser for the RNC
and a big youth advocate. She’s putting together a children’s
charity. In January, President Bush selected me to be the chairman
of the 2004 Republican National Convention Site Selection Committee.
I lead a committee comprised of nine members – two elected from
each of RNC’s four regions, and the chairman. So we’ve sent
out requests for proposals to 20 cities. We hope to have the site
chosen by November of this year and ratified early next year.
EL: What efforts is the Republican
Party in Kentucky making to recruit more minorities – Hispanics,
African-Americans, Asian-Americans and others?
EW: President Bush is emphatic
on reaching out to the Hispanic population in this country, and we’re
doing that in areas around the state that have a growing Hispanic
population. Hispanics are Republicans – they’re pro-life,
they’re hard-working entrepreneurs. They’ve come to America
because they like what the American dream and opportunities are about.
And if you look in Bush’s White House, many of his high level
appointments are Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans.
So it’s a top priority for him and it’s not just lip service.
EL: What has been the most
rewarding aspect of your position as Republican Party chairman?
EW: I’ve really enjoyed
working with all the volunteers and our elected officials. And I’ve
enjoyed being part of a two-party government as it began emerging
at the state level. That’s probably meant the most to me, to
see government in Frankfort to be so good and so open and so different.
A two-party system will make Kentucky a better state and I’m
happy to play just a small part in that.
Ed G. Lane is chief executive of Lane Consultants Inc. and publisher
of The Lane Report.
edlane@lanereport.com
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