Fearing wealthy donors might unduly influence Supreme Court races, a Kentucky lawmaker is pushing a longshot proposal that would create a public financing system for would-be justices on the state's highest court. State Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, says the legislation is needed in the wake of a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, known as the Citizens United case, that paved the way for corporations, unions and wealthy individuals to contribute as much as they want to independent political groups to support candidates and causes. Proponents of public finances for justices contend that unscrupulous donors could have a broader impact on the Supreme Court with seven seats than on the state Legislature with 138 seats. They insist justices should be shielded from that
Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.
