Grayson Upset Over Exclusion From Ethics Plan

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson is not pleased with a provision of Governor Steve Beshear’s ethics reform executive order signed Tuesday.Grayson issued a statement expressing frustration with the governor for not including the Secretary of State in the rotation of constitutional officers who make recommendations for appointments to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.Grayson’s spokesperson Les Fugate says he’s not sure why the secretary was excluded.“Many ethics situations that arise actually tie into elections and the Secretary of State is the chief elections official for the commonwealth so it seems to us like it’s a no brainer that you would want to include us," said Fugate.The Secretary of State was included in the rotation in the state Senate’s version of the ethics reform bill that failed to win passage in the 2008 General AssemblyThe governor’s order includes the attorney general and state auditor in the rotation.Fugate declined to speculate on whether the omission was political. Grayson is a Republican. The governor, attorney general and auditor are all Democrats.