EXCLUSIVE — The office of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and a senior adviser to him appear to have flouted state law in connection to taxpayer-backed awards to counties, a watchdog group says.
Senior adviser to the governor Rocky Adkins was pictured on Oct. 31, 2023, at an official event to announce millions of dollars in infrastructure investments, including for high-speed internet access and cleaner water projects, in Wolfe and Powell Counties, WYMT reported. However, because signs for the Beshear campaign were behind the podium as Adkins handed out oversized checks, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust is calling for an investigation into whether the governor's administration used "state resources for political purposes" in violation of state rules, according to a complaint filed Thursday with Kentucky's Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
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"Adkins worked directly for the governor, whose campaign the employee was promoting while handing out government funds," FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold wrote in the complaint. "This scenario is even more insidious because it suggests that government funds may be awarded based upon support of a campaign."
Arnold added that the ethics commission "certainly must take action on such a blatant violation and impose a penalty commiserate with the infraction."
The complaint comes more than a week after Beshear coasted to reelection over Republican gubernatorial challenger Daniel Cameron, the Bluegrass State's attorney general and a former top aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). While campaigning for governor in 2019, Beshear ran on a desire to "clean up state government with new, comprehensive ethics reforms" and "act with honesty and integrity."
"Stronger ethics laws = more accountable legislators," Beshear posted on X, formerly Twitter, in July 2019.
Kentucky ethics rules hold that employees may not "use official state time or other state resources, such as state vehicles, equipment, or personnel for political campaigning or personal activities or for any purpose not related to the responsibilities of a state agency."
Moreover, employees are instructed to "not engage in any political campaign related activity while in their offices or on duty," meaning "that if non-merit employees volunteer to work on campaigns, they must do so after office hours or take leave time through the use of compensatory time, annual leave, or leave without pay," according to the ethics commission.
"A fundamental principal in governmental ethics is that government employees are prohibited from using any taxpayer-funded resource for political purposes," FACT wrote in the complaint. "Not only does this protect taxpayer funds, but it critically protects the integrity of government actions and the public’s confidence in a fair and impartial government."
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The Executive Branch Ethics Commission of Kentucky did not return a request for comment.
Beshear's office and Adkins didn't either.