Noise & Notes

Given a position over his father, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is listed as one of the speakers at the Republican National Convention that will officially make former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney the party's nominee.

From CBS News:

In an effort to reach out the libertarian and Tea Party-minded members of the Republican Party, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the son of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, will also have a speaking role.

The Louisville Metro Council could override Mayor Greg Fischer's veto of contentious changes to the landmarks ordinance this week, but one member says the administration is twisting lawmakers' arms.

The legislation amended several provisions of the four-decade-old law that governs historic site declarations, but Fischer agreed with preservationists that the changes politicized the process and violated the separation of powers between the council and mayor's office.

Since city and county governments merged in 2003, there have been four mayoral vetoes of council measures and lawmakers have never mustered the necessary two-thirds vote to override.

Councilman Kelly Downard, R-16, who voted for the landmarks bill, says lawmakers have bipartisan agreement this time and should overturn the mayor's decision in part because Fischer is overstepping his bounds.

"The vote Thursday is not going to be about the ordinance again, it's going to be about overriding a veto. So there are other issues that come into play beyond the merits of the ordinance itself," he says. "And I'm hoping we end up with the 18 votes that we need. I just think (Fischer's) attempting to usurp some power of the council and I'm not exactly sure why. This is not a major issue for him to pull out the veto power."

Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate Jim Gray made a few stops in Kentucky on Monday to tout his party's small government message

Gray is a former California judge who is running on the libertarian presidential ticket with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Gray was in Mt. Washington earlier today visiting a small business and also made an appearance on 84 WHAS radio.

He told talk show host Mandy Connell that his party is fighting to be included in the nationally televised debates, but that is it an uphill battle.

"By the end of September if we’re polling well enough to be in the debates then we will be. There are three for the president, one for the vice president and honestly I cannot wait to debate against Joe Biden," he says.

National surveys have shown the Libertarian ticket carrying six percent of the vote against President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, which is quietly raising concern among GOP officials that the Johnson-Gray ticket could be a spoiler for Romney.

In the world of grassroots community organizing, few are as confrontational or effective as Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together (CLOUT) at bringing issues to the forefront.

The coalition of churches and neighborhood groups holds an annual call-to-action assembly that gathers over 1,500 residents to discuss and extract policy actions. It is a somewhat controversial event in part because of the assembly's format of calling public officials before the group and demanding a definitive answer on their ideas.

In Louisville, that model has worked with certain leaders such as Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens, who pledged to review the school systems disciplinary policy. But others—namely Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer—feel the style is too rough and they have decided to avoid the group altogether.

I talked with CLOUT Co-President Chris Kolb, about organizing versus protest movements, the growing frustration among residents with elected leaders and whether the organization's style is effective or not.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scheduled to make a stop in Indiana to campaign for GOP Senate contender Richard Mourdock at a fundraiser.

From the Evansville Courier & Press:

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has vetoed the contentious landmarks ordinance a week after the Metro Council passed the bill.

The legislation amended several provisions of the four decade old law, and allowed a majority vote in the council to overturn a decision made by the city's landmarks commission. Despite stiff opposition from preservationists and outcry from a handful of lawmakers it passed the council by a 16-7 vote.

In a letter to city lawmakers, Fischer agreed with preservationists, who argued the ordinance politicized the process and violated the separation of powers between the council and mayor's office.

"The positive impacts of our current, nationally recognized landmarks law far outweigh the need to change this four decade precedent for our city," he says. "Additionally, the citizens of Louisville have clearly told me that they fear the landmarks process potentially could be politicized through Metro Council involvement.I cannot support a law that allows a simple majority of the Metro Council to overturn the standards based review of the Landmarks Commission."

The author of a controversial landmarks ordinance is optimistic that Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer will not veto the legislation.

After months of debate, the council voted to change the city’s longstanding process to declare historic sites. But a group of preservationists is urging the mayor to reject the ordinance, arguing that it violates the state constitution and encroaches upon the executive branch’s authority.

Councilman David Yates, D-25, who introduced the measure, says the mayor isn’t likely to veto the law.

"If you veto it then you lose the improved legislation. We hopefully don’t have to go that route and I don’t think that would be his intention. But I can’t speak for him," he says.

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., addressed final approval of the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project by the federal government.

The Federal Highway Administration announced Wednesday it will allow Kentucky and Indiana to charge motorists a fee to use Interstate-65 (Kennedy Bridge) and the two new spans that are schedule to be built.

Details on tolling are still being worked out, but Yarmuth sidestepped that portion of the press release and rather focused on looking forward to the first phase.

From Yarmuth's office:

"This is the final signature needed from the federal government to begin construction of the Bridges Project," Yarmuth said. "I received personal assurances from Transportation Secretary LaHood and President Obama that the federal approval process would be expedited, and they have followed through on those commitments. Nothing else stands in the way of construction, and I look forward to breaking ground on the East End Bridge later this month."

In Kentucky's Third Congressional District race, Republican challenger Brooks Wicker continues to trail Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth by a huge fundraising margin.

According to federal election financing records Wicker filed another abysmal fundraising total while Yarmuth increased his contributions. The GOP challenger raised a mere $2,600 during the second quarter compared to $184,000 raised by the Yarmuth campaign.

In the first quarter Wicker raised $3,000 while Yarmuth garnered $80,000.

Wicker campaign spokesman Josh Weill says the campaign got a late start, but points to fundraising events with Papa John's founder John Schnatter as a sign that things are starting to turn around.

"We’re never going to out spend John Yarmuth. That’s not going to happen. We don’t need to have more money than he does. We just need to have enough and I feel confident that we will have enough when the time comes,” he says.

In a surprise statement, Congressman Geoff Davis, R-Ky., resigned Tuesday.

Last December, Davis announced that he would not be seeking re-election for a fifth term in Congress citing a need to spend more time with his family. Today's announcement echoes that sentiment and comes fives months ahead of schedule.

In a statement on his website, Davis says he will step down effective immediately and cites family health concerns.

Recently, a family health issue has developed that will demand significantly more of my time to assist.  As a result, I cannot continue to effectively fulfill my obligations to both my office and my family.  Family must and will come first.