T
The420Guy
Guest
Even though he had said he wasn't going to run for office this
year, perennial candidate Gatewood Galbraith filed papers yesterday to
appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as an independent candidate for attorney general.
Galbraith, a Lexington defense attorney, dropped off 7,244 signatures and a
$500 check yesterday to the Secretary of State's office one day before the
filing deadline for independent candidates.
Flanked by two of his daughters, Galbraith told reporters in the Capitol
rotunda that he had intended to sit out this election until Democrats and
Republicans called and "drafted" him to run for attorney general after the
May 20 primary.
"Elected officials from both of those parties were so dissatisfied with
their candidates," he said, noting that both the nominees won their
primaries with less than 40 percent of the vote.
Because each of the major party candidates carry personal and political
baggage, Galbraith said this race provides his best chance to win an election.
Greg Stumbo, the Democratic House leader, has been involved in a paternity
case over a child he fathered out of wedlock. He also pleaded guilty to
public intoxication in 1991.
The Republican candidate, Jack D. Wood of Valley Station in Jefferson
County, had been suspended by the judicial-discipline commission twice
while serving as a southern Kentucky district judge in the 1980s.
"The chemistry of this race is just phenomenal. I could not pass it up,"
Galbraith said.
Galbraith ran for governor in 1991 and 1995 as a Democrat and ran for
Congress in Central Kentucky's 6th Congressional District in 2000 as a
Reform Party candidate. Most recently, he ran for Congress in 2002 as an
independent. He garnered 27 percent of the vote last year.
Galbraith said raising campaign funds has been his biggest barrier. But
already he has fielded donation offers from Republicans and Democrats and
expects to raise six figures, he said.
While he said he would make fighting corruption his main stance, he added
that a key component of his campaign will be to tout his independence.
The attorney general is supposed to be non-partisan, and both his opponents
have exhibited "extreme partisanship," he said.
Galbraith, who is perhaps most known for his public support of legalizing
marijuana, said he still uses the drug for medicinal purposes and has a
prescription from a doctor in Berkeley, Calif.
He said he does not support legalizing recreational uses of marijuana at
this time. But he added that, if elected, he would push for the state to
provide more treatment for drug addicts rather than jail time.
Meanwhile, the other two candidates say they hope the "Gatewood factor"
helps their chances.
Before the Fancy Farm picnic a week ago, Wood told reporters Galbraith
would take votes from Stumbo. "I'm a conservative. Both of them are
liberals," he said.
Stumbo, meanwhile, said the Gatewood factor would hurt Wood most because
those two will split the anti-Stumbo votes. "When you've been in the
legislature as long as I have, you make some enemies," Stumbo said at a
Murray fund-raiser two weeks ago. "So naturally some of those votes Wood
might have gotten would be 'no votes' against me."
Galbraith said he expects to get 50 percent of the vote from both parties'
voters. "This is a three-way race, folks," he said. "Thirty-four percent
wins it."
Pubdate: Tue, 12 Aug 2003
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2003 Lexington Herald-Leader
year, perennial candidate Gatewood Galbraith filed papers yesterday to
appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as an independent candidate for attorney general.
Galbraith, a Lexington defense attorney, dropped off 7,244 signatures and a
$500 check yesterday to the Secretary of State's office one day before the
filing deadline for independent candidates.
Flanked by two of his daughters, Galbraith told reporters in the Capitol
rotunda that he had intended to sit out this election until Democrats and
Republicans called and "drafted" him to run for attorney general after the
May 20 primary.
"Elected officials from both of those parties were so dissatisfied with
their candidates," he said, noting that both the nominees won their
primaries with less than 40 percent of the vote.
Because each of the major party candidates carry personal and political
baggage, Galbraith said this race provides his best chance to win an election.
Greg Stumbo, the Democratic House leader, has been involved in a paternity
case over a child he fathered out of wedlock. He also pleaded guilty to
public intoxication in 1991.
The Republican candidate, Jack D. Wood of Valley Station in Jefferson
County, had been suspended by the judicial-discipline commission twice
while serving as a southern Kentucky district judge in the 1980s.
"The chemistry of this race is just phenomenal. I could not pass it up,"
Galbraith said.
Galbraith ran for governor in 1991 and 1995 as a Democrat and ran for
Congress in Central Kentucky's 6th Congressional District in 2000 as a
Reform Party candidate. Most recently, he ran for Congress in 2002 as an
independent. He garnered 27 percent of the vote last year.
Galbraith said raising campaign funds has been his biggest barrier. But
already he has fielded donation offers from Republicans and Democrats and
expects to raise six figures, he said.
While he said he would make fighting corruption his main stance, he added
that a key component of his campaign will be to tout his independence.
The attorney general is supposed to be non-partisan, and both his opponents
have exhibited "extreme partisanship," he said.
Galbraith, who is perhaps most known for his public support of legalizing
marijuana, said he still uses the drug for medicinal purposes and has a
prescription from a doctor in Berkeley, Calif.
He said he does not support legalizing recreational uses of marijuana at
this time. But he added that, if elected, he would push for the state to
provide more treatment for drug addicts rather than jail time.
Meanwhile, the other two candidates say they hope the "Gatewood factor"
helps their chances.
Before the Fancy Farm picnic a week ago, Wood told reporters Galbraith
would take votes from Stumbo. "I'm a conservative. Both of them are
liberals," he said.
Stumbo, meanwhile, said the Gatewood factor would hurt Wood most because
those two will split the anti-Stumbo votes. "When you've been in the
legislature as long as I have, you make some enemies," Stumbo said at a
Murray fund-raiser two weeks ago. "So naturally some of those votes Wood
might have gotten would be 'no votes' against me."
Galbraith said he expects to get 50 percent of the vote from both parties'
voters. "This is a three-way race, folks," he said. "Thirty-four percent
wins it."
Pubdate: Tue, 12 Aug 2003
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2003 Lexington Herald-Leader
