Tagged: Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw

Republican Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw is not interested in a run for Louisville mayor despite encouragement to take on Democratic incumbent Greg Fischer.

In April, Fischer announced his intentions to run for a second term in 2014, and Occupy Louisville member Ike Thacker told WFPL last week he plans to run for mayor as an independent.

No GOP challenger has voiced interest in the race thus far despite observers pointing out that Fischer barely won in 2010.

Some have tossed Holsclaw's name out there as a potential opponent, citing her overall popularity and 16 years in office.

Holsclaw says the GOP needs to field a credible contender and a woman needs to run for mayor, but she is seeking a fifth term as clerk next year.

"Right now, today I’m running for re-election for Jefferson County clerk," she says.

Asked if that means she would re-consider at some point, Holsclaw told WFPL she has the right to change her mind before next year’s filing deadline.

Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw is citing a letter from the county attorney that found no wrongdoing by her office in the wake of a scolding state audit two months ago.

Earlier this year, State Auditor Adam Edelen's office released a report that found poor record-keeping of charitable funds for groups such as the WHAS Crusade for Children and Metro United Way. It also cited other questionable practices that were against state law, such as Holsclaw paying out $99,200 in Christmas bonuses to employees last year and as well as shortchanging the Crusade by $1,300.

But an Oct. 31 letter from the Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell says his office found no need for action and defended the clerk’s activities. 

(Read O'Connell's letter and Edelen's response.)

Holsclaw has personally hired public relations professional Larry Bisig as her spokesman. He says the clerk has been a model of good government and was cleared of any wrongdoing and suggested that Edelen’s report is motivated by politics.

"In some ways I have to indicate the audit seems a bit mean-spirited, and possibly politically motivated in some areas," Bisig said.

"This is not political warfare. The governor’s race doesn’t start for 36 months. And I certainly hope that’s not the intention of the auditor."

Earlier this year, Auditor Adam Edelen released a report critical of the record-keeping of charitable funds in Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw's office, among other issues. Holsclaw later questioned whether the report was politically motivated.

Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw is criticizing Kentucky State Auditor Adam Edelen over a critical report and alleging the findings are motivated by his political ambitions.

Edelen’s audit of the clerk was released Wednesday and found Holsclaw’s office paid employees illegal Christmas bonuses and failed to fully document funds collected for local charities.

Among the audit’s findings was a check written by Holsclaw’s office to the Crusade for Children last year that was approximately $1,300 less than the amount collected. Besides poor documentation of the charitable fundings the audit showed that checks from the Crusade account went to breakfasts and lunches, fundraising awards and retirement party expenses.

It also found that around $99,000 in Christmas bonuses had been paid to employees last December, but the Kentucky Constitution prohibits that practice.

Holsclaw says previous state audits have not shown any accounting issues or wrongdoing, and she questions whether Edelen’s report is politically motivated.

"I can’t speak for this auditor. I don’t even know the man. I do know this; he has a reputation of being very ambitious," she says. "I will certainly say that I admire people who are ambitious. But I will not sit by and allow that to happen at the expense of the reputation of this office."