The two Republican candidates for Kentucky Attorney General spoke Wednesday in a forum at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce hosted by the Northern Kentucky Young Republicans.
State Senator Whitney Westerfield and Mike Hogan each gave an opening statement and fielded questions from various local officials about how they would address specific issues if elected in May and then in November.
The two candidates were very cordial to one another and often agreed on a number of issues.
Westerfield, a Hopkinsville native who is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke first about his part in helping draft the Heroin Bill, specifically the creation of a new charge called importation which is an automatic Class C felony for anyone caught with over two grams of heroin brought in from other states.
Westerfield criticized current Attorney General Jack Conway for not being present to all the issues that he said an attorney general must address.
“(Conway) has either been late to show up or not shown up at all. He continues to pick and choose the battles that he fights,” Westerfield said. “Last year, he didn’t fight for traditional marriage. Regardless where you stand on it, every single person in every part of Kentucky agrees that the attorney general should not pick and choose which thing he or she is going to support and defend one day.”
He also talked about how the Commonwealth needs an Attorney General that will fight back against the federal government and protect the state’s sovereignty, pertaining to EPA regulations on coal-powered energy.
Hogan, the Lawrence County Attorney, reminisced fondly about his time at Chase Law School at Northern Kentucky University and said it was hard to leave the area. Then he listed many reasons why the Democratic candidate, Andy Beshear, son of current Governor Steve Beshear, was not a good choice, including his lack of legal experience.
“If you wanted to hide something from Andy Beshear, you would hide it in a law book,” he joked. He said that he was too good to go to a Kentucky state college and instead opted to attend the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. He then pointed to his perfect courtroom record where he said he has never lost and which exemplified his experience as a prosecutor for 21 years.
“We need an Attorney General who is experienced and who isn’t going to pull punches with the Democrats down in Frankfort,” Hogan said.
He blamed the heroin crisis on doctors prescribing Oxycontin to patients for pain relief. He called needle exchanges “enabling” for addicts and said that doctors were defrauded by the drug manufacturers who have since pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in Virginia. He then pointed out that Beshear works for the law firm that is defending those drug manufacturers and said he found it offensive that he would raise campaign money while defending an agency he blames for the heroin crisis.
Both candidates denied that they intend on using the Attorney General seat as a stepping stone toward governor or other political office.
Kenton County Attorney Stacy Tapke asked what kind or role each would play with county attorneys. Hogan said that he would have an open-door policy and be present and available to county attorneys throughout the state.
“Attorney Generals have nothing for county prosecutors as far as I’m concerned,” Hogan said. “They do not lobby for our budgets or try to help us with our budgets. Any kind of increase they get, they put into the central office. I would go out into the field and talk to county attorneys to find out their needs.”
Westerfield agreed that the state needs an attorney general that will be engaged with county attorneys. He said that there needs to be more emphasis on cyber crimes, a major focus of his campaign.
“You’ve got a number different places where you need to focus but prosecuting is the lion’s share of your time,” Westerfield said. “You need to be engaged with the County and Commonwealth Attorneys Association and talk and consult about legislative priorities, budget priorities and requests and in the meantime, don’t be a stranger.”
There will be another forum later in the year where all the candidates including Democrats will be invited to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for a similar event.
Written by Bryan Burke, associate editor
Photo: Westerfield (left) and Hogan (center) at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (Via the Chamber)
