Kentucky high court mulls campaign-finance dispute

By The Associated Press

06.08.02

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The criminal case growing out of the 1995 gubernatorial election is about hiding campaign spending, not free-speech rights, a prosecutor told the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Assistant Attorney General Janet Graham said Andrew "Skipper" Martin and Danny Ross were trying to avoid spending caps by putting Ross on the Teamsters Union payroll during the campaign. Ross' job was "a sham," Graham said yesterday.

Sheryl Snyder, who represents the defendants, said the new campaign-finance law in 1995 unconstitutionally restricted the "garden variety" political activity among people during a campaign.

"In the real world of running for office, people who want to make expenditures want to talk to the candidates," Snyder said.

Martin was Patton's campaign manager and has been his chief of staff since Patton became governor in 1995. Ross was Patton's labor liaison in the office of lieutenant governor who left for a brief time to work for the Teamsters. He has been Patton's labor contact since 1995.

Lon Fields and Robert Winstead were officers in Teamsters Local 89.

The four were indicted for conspiring to skirt campaign-spending restrictions. The 1995 election was the first conducted under the state's partial public financing law, whereby each candidate could get $2 for each $1 raised privately if they would abide by a $1.8 million total spending limit.

A special judge assigned to handle the case tossed out the indictments because the law was too vague on what constituted knowing violations and whether ordinary free-speech rights were restricted. A panel of the Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reinstate the indictment.

Graham said the case was simpler than that. "This case is about hiding the salary of a campaign worker."

Graham said the four should be tried to determine the facts of the case and constitutional issues could be decided on appeal.

Snyder said the law was blatantly unconstitutional, citing the fact that the General Assembly changed it in 1996, after the election. Snyder said people should not have to go through a trial under a law that is wrong to begin with.

In theory, the 1995 election could be voided if finance laws were found to have been violated, but that is unlikely. Patton said this week the issue should have been settled long ago.

"I'm not a lawyer, but the legislature thought that law was unconstitutional and changed it," Patton said. "Two of the four judges that have already ruled on it think it was unconstitutional. The lawyers that I've talked to think it was unconstitutional. I hope that's the ruling of the court."

There is no timetable for the high court to rule, but it typically takes several months.