Committee welcomes Owensboro’s Martha Clark as newest member

Owensboro civic leader Martha Clark has been named to the Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee, a private, nonprofit, non-partisan group that safeguards the integrity of the judiciary in Kentucky judicial elections.

“We are very happy to have someone of Martha Clark’s stature join us,” said Committee Chair Anthony Wilhoit of Versailles, former chief judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission. “With most Kentucky judgeships on the ballot next year, we are also happy to have all major areas of the state represented among our 15 members.”

Martha Clark

Clark said, “I’m proud to assist the committee in furthering its goal of maintaining the independence and integrity of Kentucky’s justice system.”

Clark, a retired CPA, is active in many civic organizations. She is a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council and the Owensboro Symphony board, and co-founded Impact 100 Owensboro, a group that encourages women to become involved and remain involved in local philanthropy. It has raised $3 million for Owensboro-area nonprofits. She recently retired as administrator of the John B. and Brownie Young Memorial Scholarship.

The Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee was formed in 2005 because judges, lawyers and citizens had become concerned that judicial elections were becoming too much like executive and legislative elections, eroding the independence, image and integrity of the judiciary. The committee educates citizens about the nature of judicial offices and elections, encourages judicial candidates to run dignified campaigns and avoid making specific promises about how they might rule on any matter; and monitors judicial races, considers complaints of unethical campaigning and makes public statements when warranted.

The committee invites candidates to sign a pledge “to disavow false or misleading advertising and other campaign tactics that “impugn the integrity of the judicial system, the integrity of a candidate, or erode public trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.” The committee then publicizes which candidates have signed the pledge, and, if it issues a statement criticizing campaigning by a candidate who has signed the pledge, that is noted.

The committee has a self-perpetuating board and has made an effort to include members from various walks of life and political viewpoints, including civic leaders, attorneys, non-lawyers and retired judges. Its bylaws require that no fewer than 30 percent nor more than 60 percent of the members be practicing members of the Kentucky bar.

In addition to Clark and Wilhoit, the committee members are Howard Roberts, Pikeville, vice chair; Al Cross, Frankfort, secretary; Charles Boteler, Louisville, treasurer; Jane H. Baker, Glasgow; Stephen C. Cawood, Pineville; Bill Cunningham, Kuttawa; Jon Fleischaker, Louisville; William Fortune, Lexington; Kate Hendrickson, Maysville; Marcia Milby Ridings, London; Cecile Schubert, Richmond; Kathy Walker, Prestonsburg; and Elaine Wilson, Somerset.