The Kentucky Enquirer and Winchester Sun both weighed in today regarding the Secretary of State’s race and came to the same conclusion as every other paper endorsing in this race. Trey Grayson is the obvious choice for Secretary of State, both because of his superior qualifications and his opponent’s not ready for primetime status. Below are excerpts from both papers.
We believe he has earned a second term. Grayson has a good reputation as an ethical adminstrator and has run clean elections and improved the office’s service to corporations. We see him as a rising star in Kentucky politics and heartily endorse his bid against Democratic challenger Bruce Hendrickson, who doesn’t have the experience for the job.
In a normal election year, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson would have a commanding lead over a clearly less-qualified, less-known challenger.
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Grayson, meanwhile, is in a tight race with Bruce Hendrickson, a science teacher and former mayor of Pineville. Northen Kentucky native Grayson gets our wholehearted endorsement, not just because he’s done a fine job in his first term, but because Hendrickson is excruciatingly less-well suited to the post.
Just when we thought the endorsement were coming to a halt, the Maysville Ledger-Independent gave Trey one of his strongest and most heartfelt recommendations of this election season. It really captures the essence of Trey, a man of great intelligence and stature who treats every Kentuckias with the respect they deserve.
Just a little more than four years ago, a young man walked unannounced into the offices of The Ledger Independent in downtown Maysville. It was pouring down rain and he was more than a little soggy.
He was also alone — no handlers, no campaign managers to make sure he said the right thing, no assistant taking phone calls and urging him to hurry on to the next appointment.
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Despite our fondness for Grayson, we doubted his ability to take on Kentucky’s political machine and win. We were wrong. Perhaps mostly because of the winds of political change which swept through the state in 2003 but also a bit because his sincerity and determination to serve came across to voters, Grayson won and took office as secretary of state.
And while politicians more often than not disappoint, us that has not been the case with Grayson.
One of Trey’s greatest strengths while working in Frankfort for the past four years has been his ability to work across party line to get things done for Kentucky. Today, his dedication to this cause paid off as two top Northern Kentucky Democrats endorsed Trey’s bid for re-election.
Below is an excerpt from Pat Crowley’s article in The Kentucky Enquirer. Click here to read the rest.
COVINGTON - The Democratic mayors of Northern Kentucky’s two largest cities - Covington and Florence - endorsed Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson today.
…Even though there is a Democrat in the race Covington Mayor Butch Callery and Florence Mayor Diane Whalen are Grayson. They even agreed to put “Grayson” campaign signs in their yards.
“I’d like to think that with most of my supporters, party affiliation doesn’t matter,” Grayson said during a press conference announcing the endorsements. “When it comes to good government these two folks are excellent public servants and I’m very pleased they are willing to publicly endorse my campaign.”
Secretary of State Trey Grayson launches the second television ad of his campaign today.
The second ad highlights Secretary Grayson’s endorsements from Kentucky newspapers. Grayson has received endorsements from:
The Louisville Courier-Journal
The Lexington Herald-Leader
The Kentucky Post
The Elizabethtown Enterprise
The Kentucky Standard
LEO Weekly
“It is an honor to receive the endorsements of these newspapers,” Grayson said. “These endorsements continue to build our momentum and communicate to Kentuckians our positive record of accomplishments.”
In their endorsement of a second term, the Elizabethtown News-Enterprise gives Hardin County readers the facts on Secretary Grayson’s exemplary job performance. The list of newspapers that have endorsed Trey’s re-election gets longer by the day.
Below is an excerpt from the editorial. For the full content, click here.
Grayson has modernized the secretary of state’s diverse operations, worked to ensure the credibility of elections in the state, revived civic education in our schools, and become involved in trying to restore some sense to the national presidential primary election process. His experience in the position for four years provides a competive advantage over his Democrat opponent, Bruce Hendrickson.
We are happy to celebrate what is our most favorable endorsement of this election season. The Lexington Herald-Leader has asked Kentucky to “Keep Grayson” while pointing out that our opponent is “unprepared for the job”. They go as far as saying it would be a “disservice” to the Commonwealth if Trey were not to be re-elected.
A challenger must make the case that he would do a better job in an office than the incumbent seeking re-election.
Bruce Hendrickson hasn’t met that test in his race against Secretary of State Trey Grayson.
Grayson, a Republican from Northern Kentucky, has been impressive in his four years as secretary of state. Perhaps most important, his office’s role in conducting honest, accessible elections is unblemished.
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Grayson deserves to be judged by his public service. It would be a disservice to Grayson, and the people of Kentucky, to deny him another four years in office.
Endorsements are becoming daily occurrence for Trey as another major Kentucky newspaper weighs in on the Secretary of State’s race. This is clearly a lop-sided race when judging each candidate’s qualifications.
Republican incumbent Trey Grayson has done a good job in his first four years as Secretary of State. His actions have secured him our nod for re-election this November.
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Grayson has also continued to run the office in a bipartisan fashion as started by former Secretary of State John Y. Brown. We believe that is the best way to run government - when it is a benefit for both parties all residents win.
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We believe Grayson has proven to be a fine Secretary of State and feel he should be allowed to continue in that role for another four years.
The Republican incumbent, Trey Grayson, is an obvious choice. He has taken the office and done a lot with it, modernizing its services with new technology. He’s also pushed hard for civic literacy.
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Mr. Grayson is the kind of high achiever one likes to see in public service. Keep him there.
Ad Highlights Nationally Recognized Civic Education Program
(Fort Mitchell, KY) – Secretary of State Trey Grayson launched the first ad of his campaign today.
The first ad, titled “Faces of Kentucky,” highlights Secretary Grayson’s nationally recognized civic education program.In 2003, Grayson ran with the promise of restoring civic education to Kentucky’s classrooms.
Shortly after Grayson took office, he worked with a number of Kentuckians from the public and private sectors to create the bipartisan Civic Literacy Initiative of Kentucky (CLIK).This initiative serves as the blueprint to engage more citizens in democratic processes.
The non-partisan Center for Civic Education says that Grayson is leading the country in restoring civics to our classrooms, and because of his efforts other states are looking to Kentucky for guidance.
“We kept the promises we made in 2003 and are pleased to communicate this positive message of getting things done to a wide audience of Kentuckians,” Grayson said.
For more information about Secretary Grayson’s civic education initiative, visit http://civics.ky.gov. To view the ad, click here.
With just over three weeks before Election Day, we are honored to receive the endorsement of The Kentucky Post. We are hopeful this is just the tip of the iceberg.
This years’ race for Kentucky Secretary of State presents voters with two likeable but vastly different candidates.
The incumbent is Trey Grayson, a Northern Kentucky resident who is seeking a second term. He’s a polished, articulate product of Harvard and the University of Kentucky law school who has mastered the minutiae of an office that deals with everything from corporate filings to statewide elections.
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Grayson, on the other hand, has demonstrated his ability ot perform the job quite capably, and a willingness to go beyond that and advocate for changes to improve election processes in Kentucky and nationally. He has modernized the record-keeping and recording systems in the secretary of state’s office, expanded efforts to increase voter registration and civic education in Kentucky and stayed on top of the frequently-changing developments involving the federal law that emerged in the wake of the 2000 election debacle in Florida.
During this campaign he was called for an end to straight-ticket voting, urged the use of voting machines with a verifiable paper trail and suggested that the General Assembly consider the merits of a liberalized absentee balloting law. Nationally, he is a leader among the group of state election officials who are calling for a system of rotating regional presidential primaries as a better alternative to the existing process, which is heavily front-loaded and getting more so every cycle.
In an ordinary cycle a Trey Grayson would be a lock to win re-election. But this year, with Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher trailing badly in most polls, some within the GOP are beginning to fear that Grayson might drown in a Democratic tidal wave. We hope that doesn’t happen.
Kentucky is blessed with impressive young political leaders in both parties, and Grayson is one of them. His flirtation with a primary challenge to Fletcher last year may have been premature, but it doesn’t alter the fact that he’s got all the tools for a terrific poltical future. That future will be helped by his present election to a second term as secretary of state - a term he has earned by proving he can do the job well.