Posted on 01/12/2005 6:51:36 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
GOP senator who vowed to quit turns independent
THE PADUCAH SUN
PADUCAH - State Sen. Bob Leeper said he will stay in the Senate until at least this summer but will change his political registration from Republican to independent.
He said not being a part of the Republican caucus will allow him to think issues through more clearly "without the political spin" of the party leaders.
"I want to make it clear that the change in no way is a reflection on the Republican Party's philosophies," Leeper said. "I continue to support what they believe in."
Friday, Leeper became frustrated when Senate Republicans voted to seat Dana Seum Stephenson as the senator from the 37th District, even though two judges ruled that she did not meet constitutional qualifications.
A Senate committee, with a majority of Democrats, voted to seat Virginia Woodward, Stephenson's Democratic opponent on Nov. 2, who was declared the winner by default.
Leeper proposed a compromise by calling for a new election, but Senate President David Williams would not allow that alternative to come to the Senate floor for a vote. Leeper then announced his intention to resign.
Leeper said he received more than 200 telephone calls and e-mail messages since Friday, most commending him for his willingness to stand up against the party leaders and urging him not to resign.
"Those comments most definitely influenced my decision," he said in an interview late yesterday.
Another factor in Leeper's decision: If he had resigned, a special election couldn't be held until next month, and the 2nd District -- McCracken, Marshall and Ballard counties in Western Kentucky -- would have been without a senator for most of the five-week session that begins Feb. 1.
Leeper said his dissatisfaction is with the Republican leaders in the Senate -- Wil-liams and Majority Leader Dan Kelly. He said they abuse their power by pushing issues and policies to benefit the party, not the state.
After he changes his affiliation, Republicans will still have a majority in the Senate, 22-15-1. However, that will be one short of the 23 needed to pass constitutional amendments, the budget and tax increases and approve some procedural matters.
Leeper said he doesn't know whether Williams will change his committee assignments. He is on the powerful Appropriations and Revenue Committee and serves as vice chairman of the Transportation Committee.
After the session ends, Leeper said, he'll take a vacation to gather his thoughts and assess his future. His term ends in December 2006.
"I want to determine if I still have the will to continue ... and if I can be effective for the people of my district," he said. If he decides to resign, he'll do it in the summer.
"That would give plenty of time to schedule a special election before the next session."
So that's what he meant when he vowed to quit.
After the session ends, Leeper said, he'll take a vacation to gather his thoughts and assess his future.
It does not sound that this man knows what he thinks -- he has plenty of company in America in that regard.
Doo Hwut ?
Alaska has term limits in its state senate and legislature and special interest groups have bemoaned the fact that they have great problems on where to lean their influence becasue all members are fairly co-equal -- and that they have no lasting influence because their man is gone in a few short years.
I will say that the man has stepped aside as a republican and that is ok but his wanting to continue to run is not. He will split the republican vote and put a dem in for his selfish purposes.
Honestly, I sympathize with Senator Leeper. He was a conservative Democrat who was made several promises when he agreed to swtich to the GOP in 1999. Since then, the Senate President, David Williams, renegged on all those promises, despite Senator Leeper staying true to everything he had previously said.
Senator Leeper is a very nice man, perhaps that is why President Williams found it so easy to take advantage of him. I think Senator Leeper was stuck in a quagmire. He enjoys serving his constituents and is one of those few people that is in the General Assembly for all the right reasons. However, he has grown tired of the bullying of President Williams and never being able to get anything done, despite being in the majority party.
I think this is Senator Leeper's way of saying, "I'm fed up with the leadership, but I don't want my constituents to not be represented this session. I'm going to probably resign this summer unless something drastically changes, but I can't stay underneath the fingernail of this leadership team either." Say what you will, you have to respect Senator Leeper for this, even if it's not the smartest of political decisions. I truly believe his heart is in the right place.
I don't think he will run again. However, if he does, he will switch back to Republican a la Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire in 2000. The difference is that Senator Leeper probably is a more solid Republican philisophically than the Republican leadership in the State Senate. He has been and will remain extremely popular in his home district.
Well, he does sound like the KY version of Sen. Bob Smith, and that means he won't be around for long. I did not know that Williams is an autocrat. I met Williams at a Mitch McConnell campaign appearance in 1984. Didn't Williams run against former Sen. Wendell Ford, D-KY, himself in 1992?
Big difference in the fact that Leeper is sane, just fed up. LOL
Didn't Williams run against former Sen. Wendell Ford, D-KY, himself in 1992?
Yes, and did horribly. He got 35% of the vote. People also seem to have forgotten, prior to ascending to the Senate Presidency in 1999 (thanks to Bob Leeper and Dan Seum switching to Republican), Williams was probably the most liberal Republican in the General Assembly, along with State Representative Steve Nunn. He is a very good politician, or he would have been one of the top targets in a RINO hunt years ago. Since becoming President, he has spoken much more conservatively because he sees that truly is the state's views.
As a lifelong Kentuckian and Republican, I have to say that Senator Leeper is right on that point though.
I remember this. This woman had lived in KY all her life, moved to IN, literally across the river. She even voted as a Democrat there and then moved back and was living there for 3 years when she ran. It seems KY has some absurd 6 year continuous residency requirement.
A Senate committee, with a majority of Democrats, voted to seat Virginia Woodward, Stephenson's Democratic opponent on Nov. 2, who was declared the winner by default.
How does a body with an absurdly large Republican majority form a committee with a majority of Democrats? Well, by law they were chosen "by lot". Amazing how the laws of probability work out.
Leeper proposed a compromise by calling for a new election, but Senate President David Williams would not allow that alternative to come to the Senate floor for a vote. Leeper then announced his intention to resign.
Well, if the woman is not qualified, then she couldn't run in the runoff, could she?
Sounds to me like he's still a Democrat at heart. They didn't challenge her qualifications until the day before the election. It should be said that her father, Dan Seum was a Democrat who is now a Republican. He switched the same year as Leeper (aptly named). Bet you 10 to one this is personal.
Well, let it be said that Dana Seum Stephenson was a Democrat more recently than Bob Leeper. Honestly, both were very conservative Democrats that are more at home in the Republican Party.
They didn't challenge her qualifications until the day before the election.
Senator Leeper had nothing to do with the challenge to her qualifications. That came from Virginia Woodward, Stephenson's opponent, someone whom Senator Leeper would never support. (Woodward may be the most active liberal in the state!)
It should be said that her father, Dan Seum was a Democrat who is now a Republican. He switched the same year as Leeper (aptly named). Bet you 10 to one this is personal.
I don't think there are any personal problems between Senators Seum and Leeper. They have done several joint fundraisers together and seem to get along fine. I think Senator Leeper just truly believed (like most people) that Dana Seum Stephenson was not constitutionally eligible to hold this seat and that the best answer was to have a special election.
Just to note, as well, Senator Seum, although very conservative, did switch parties for personal reasons, from what I understand. He had a long-standing feud with the prior Senate President, Larry Saunders, a Democrat. The two had even run against each other in previous primary elections before redistricting allowed them both to serve. Senator Leeper, on the other hand, switched parties as many in Western Kentucky did, for ideological reasons. Conservative Democrats still exist in Western Kentucky, but they are increasingly realizing that, just like Ronald Reagan, their party is leaving them. Slowly but surely, Western Kentucky is becoming Republican, even though the people's views have never changed.
Well, I am mistaken, for I had thought that David Williams was a real conservative. And I know real conservatives are few and far between.
No need to be embarrassed. David Williams has been able to convince a lot of people of that with his actions since 1999. He's as shrewd of a politican as they come.
I disagree strongly with the requirement. Three years is more than enough time to establish residency, especially for someone who had lived in Kentucky for so long. I don't know why she even moved to Indiana, knowing her name would get her an easy political career in Kentucky. I think Leeper had the best solution for those of us who believe in playing by the exact letter of the rules.
To be fair, she claims she never stopped her residency (this is undermined by her having voted in IN, but so be it) and this dispute is to be resolved by the state Senate. And they did. It probably isn't right, but there it is.
This whole thing was a result of the Democrats overplaying their hand. The judge should have just declared the seat vacant until such time as the legislature called a special election. It still would have gone to the state Senate where the Democrat-majority committee should have said the same thing.
This little stunt by Leeper, though, is petulant and I just feel like when he says "Republican leadership" he means something a lot more specific.
I read that she went to IN to get in-state tuition at IUSE. Well, she was considered a resident by Indiana for that time. I guess she wasn't smart enough to go to Louisville.
You're right. When he says that he actually means "David Williams." He feels as though Williams has lied to him, bullied him, and abused him. And, he may be right.
That 'absurd requirement' is also know as the Kentucky Constitution.
Trust me, something can be absurd and in the Kentucky Constitution simultaneously. LOL However, I'm not sure I really disagree with this provision. It wouldn't bother me if it was something more along the lines of four years, but six is fine too.
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