Girdler, Hines 'pleased' with settlement

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November 24, 2009

By HEATHER PYLES, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Tue Nov 24, 2009, 08:58 PM EST

Somerset — Two former county employees who recently came to a settlement in a lawsuit filed against Pulaski County Fiscal Court released a statement in response to magistrates’ reluctance to settle the case.

“My clients, Donnie Girdler and Lorie Hines, are very pleased with the settlement reached in the lawsuit against the fiscal court,” said attorney Joe Venters, who represented the two in the lawsuit, in a written statement to the Commonwealth Journal. “This has been a long and difficult process for both of them, and they feel vindicated by the result we were able to obtain.”

Former administrative assistant Hines and former deputy judge-executive Girdler filed suit against Pulaski County, Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock and the magistrates in July 2008 after their salaries were slashed by more than $10,000 during a fiscal court meeting.

The lawsuit claimed the court illegally amended county personnel policies, and that Girdler and Hines had been subject to discrimination for reporting information in good faith to the Kentucky State Police, the Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s Attorney and others.

“Donnie and Lorie attempted to bring about change in our local county government,” the statement read. “By working with various state agencies, Donnie and Lorie exposed wrongdoing and were illegally punished by the magistrates for doing so.

“That is the essence of a whistleblower claim,” the statement continued.

Both Hines’ and Girdler’s salaries were raised by $10,000 when they took their positions in the beginning of 2007, when Bullock’s administration began.

More details of the settlement came to light on Monday in the statement released by Venters. According to the statement, Girdler and Hines received $22,500 each from the county’s insurance company.

“In response to the statements made by (1st District) Magistrate Kenny Isaacs in a Nov. 11, 2009 Commonwealth Journal article, I can assure you that insurance companies do not pay $45,000 for lawsuits that are without merit,” said Venters in the statement.

During the Nov. 10 fiscal court meeting, Isaacs and the other magistrates unanimously passed a resolution expressing their disapproval of the settlement, which came about during a mediation session on Nov. 6.

“I think we can disagree with it, and I’d like to make a motion that we pass a resolution disagreeing with any kind of settlement with them,” said Isaacs during the meeting.

Girdler and Hines resigned from their positions in July and Sept. 2008, soon after their salaries were cut and the lawsuit was filed.

When Pulaski County Attorney Bill Thompson stated to the court during the Nov. 10 meeting that the settlement was solely the decision of the county’s insurance company, Isaacs responded by saying “I understand what the insurance company’s doing. It’s the bottom line, not what’s right or wrong, it’s their bottom line.”

The other magistrates also expressed their reluctance to settle with Girdler and Hines.

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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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