Sat Feb 11 2012
A judge will consider on Wednesday a request for an injunction that would prevent a long-time trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems from seeking re-election.
Mark Powell, of Glasgow, filed suit against Bobby Henson last week in Franklin Circuit Court. Judge Thomas Wingate will consider the motion at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Powell wants Wingate to determine if Henson can run for a fourth term.
In 2008, the General Assembly passed a law that limits the number of consecutive terms a member can serve to three. Previous rules capped term limits at five.
Ballots have been mailed to 128,000 members of the retirement system and are due back on March 1.
“Time is of the essence,” according to the suit.
Henson, of Frankfort, is one of six candidates seeking two seats on the board of trustees. He declined to comment on the suit.
Powell also asked Wingate to prevent KRS from counting the ballots until he’s ruled if Henson can seek re-election.
Powell and KRS officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The eight-member panel includes five elected by state, county and state police members and three appointed by the governor. They oversee the retirement system, which is facing a $17 billion shortage.
Henson has been a board member since 1998 and has 30 years of fiscal and administrative experience in the Transportation Cabinet. He holds an accounting degree from Eastern Kentucky University.
In 2009, Attorney General Jack Conway issued an opinion that said the new term limits are not retroactive and Henson could serve five consecutive four-year terms.
Powell disagrees and according to the suit he wants the term-limits to be applied retroactively. If not, it would take years for the intended changes to have an impact, he argues in the suit.
“It therefore makes little policy sense to conclude that the legislature was and is only concerned with the consecutive terms of yet to be elected individuals and not the sitting members of the board.”
The KRS election has been heated, with candidates seeking endorsements and placing advertisements. The candidates say the election is important because of the lack of funding for the pension system.
Some candidates are also under scrutiny because Gov. Steve Beshear currently employs them.
Five other candidates are also seeking a seat on the KRS board, including:
>Billy Hunt, a retired state employee who worked at the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System and was a budget analyst.
>Charles Wells, former executive director of the Kentucky Association of State Employees.
>Alex Rose is a retired state employee and has 33 years of experience at the Department of Revenue as a commissioner, general counsel, legislative liaison and spokesman.
>Susan Smith, of Frankfort, has 30 years of experience in human resources management and teaching.
>Bill Ryan is also a special assistant at the Personnel Cabinet. He previously worked as an advertising executive at WHAS in Louisville and Pepsi-Cola.
Comments
By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service Be polite.
Inappropriate posts may be removed.
State-Journal.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Login above or Register to comment.
0 Total Comments Home | Back
Copyright Frankfort Publishing Co., LLC 1995-2011. All Rights Reserved.
Content may not be republished without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
Content may not be republished without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
Dix Communications