Monday, February 19, 2018

Committee reorganizes for 2018, which may be busy

The Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee has elected new officers for 2018, a year that could be a busy one for the committee, with more than 200 candidates for Kentucky judgeships.

Judge Anthony Wilhoit
The new chair and president of the Committee is former Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Wilhoit, who has served as vice chair and chair in the past. He succeeds Kate Hendrickson of Maysville, who remains on the Committee. Cecile Schubert of Richmond and Al Cross of Frankfort were re-elected vice chair and secretary, respectively. Retired Judge Charles Boteler, a former chair who now lives in Louisville, was elected treasurer. He succeeds Jon Fleischaker of Louisivlle, who remains on the Committee.

Following an internal review, the committee will soon send letters to judicial candidates asking them to sign an agreement regarding their campaign activities, as it has in the past. Names of those signing the agreement will be publicized. For judgeships with more than two candidates, primary elections on May 22 will reduce the fields to the top two vote-getters.

For a list of Kentucky judicial candidate filings, click here. This list includes candidates for commonwealth's attorney in multi-county districts, who file with the secretary of state. Those races are partisan and not part of the committee's purview; all races for judgeships are nonpartisan, making them fundamentally different from elections for legislative and executive positions.