Turner’s primary challenger once fired from state job

Local News

November 16, 2009

Anonymous The Commonwealth Journal Mon Nov 16, 2009, 01:10 PM EST

Herald-Leader reported yesterday that a state House candidate mounting a Republican primary challenge to a sitting lawmaker was once fired from his state corrections job for allegedly falsifying travel records.

Terry D. Gilreath of Pulaski County was fired in October 2004 by then-Corrections Commissioner John Rees, who accused Gilreath of committing fraud upon the state.

However, the state later agreed to void the termination in a settlement that required Gilreath to drop an appeal of his firing. He also agreed not to seek future employment with the Department of Corrections.

Rees’ dismissal letter to Gilreath was obtained by the Herald-Leader from the state Personnel Board through an Open Records Request.

Gilreath, who is running for the 85th House District seat in the May primary against fellow Republican incumbent Tommy Turner of Somerset, said he is “very concerned” that the 2004 letter from the corrections commissioner was made public.

“I’m innocent. I was never proven guilty of anything,” he said. “I know my political opponents are behind this. … It sounds like my opponent is feeling the heat. I expected a dirty trick like this.”

Turner, who has represented the district that includes Laurel and Pulaski counties since 1999, said he has heard about the 2004 charges against Gilreath, “but I’ve not put them out and am not raising them in this campaign.”

State Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson said he has not talked to Gilreath about his 2004 dismissal.

“But obviously it is very disturbing,” Robertson said. “I will contact him and we will discuss whether his running is the appropriate thing to do.”

In the Oct. 4, 2004, dismissal letter, Rees said Gilreath had submitted a travel voucher in Sept. 2, 2003, for $1,044.40 and received a state check for it. Gilreath endorsed the check and deposited it in his bank account, the dismissal letter said.

On Oct. 1, 2003, Gilreath submitted a duplicate of the travel voucher with a minor change in the total for $1,044.20.

Gilreath received a state check, endorsed it and put it in his bank account.

Rees also accused Gilreath of falsifying mileage claimed on his travel vouchers between July 2003 and April 2004.

Gilreath denied the charges and appealed the dismissal to the state Personnel Board. The appeal was settled in 2006.

Gilreath agreed to dismiss his appeal and not to apply to the corrections department for employment. He later got a job with the Administrative Office of the Courts as project coordinator for new justice centers and retired in June 2008.

Gilreath, 49, of Science Hill, filed last December with the state Registry of Election Finance to raise money for the state House race. His last quarterly financed report on Sept. 30 showed him with about $1,700 on hand.

Gilreath said he is running against Turner “because I don’t agree with his legislative record, especially his support for raising taxes 14 times since 2006.”

Turner said he never has voted for a tax increase.

“I guess anything my opponent says and does shouldn’t surprise me,” Turner said.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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