Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin says he has a good relationship with Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton.
The governor’s comments came following an appearance in Lexington where state pay adjustments were announced.
“Have you ever heard me say one negative thing about her or her say one negative thing about me, no. It’s all rumors and things that you all gin up or hypothesize on. I have a great relationship with her. She’s an outstanding person. She’s been an excellent Lieutenant Governor. She’s a dear friend. She’s someone with an incredible intellect,” said Bevin.
Hampton took to Twitter the end of May to ask for prayers in battling what she termed “dark forces” following the firing of her deputy chief of staff.
The Bevin administration also fired her chief of staff earlier this year. The governor said non-merit employees in his administration are not protected from dismissal.?
Bevin says he remains intent on seeing lawmakers take up a pension reform bill for five universities and many quasi-governmental agencies in a special session.
He was asked if it’s possible scheduling and other factors could push back consideration of pension changes until the regular session in January.
“If it is, a whole lot of people are going to lose their jobs. A whole lot of these quasi organizations are going to feel a tremendous amount of pain. Some of them may not be able to withstand six months of the kind of increased payments that are going to be required of them. So, why would we do that? That would be crazy,” Bevin said.
Bevin said he understands summer months often include vacations, conferences, and family reunions. But, he added, service to the public, quote, “supersede all those things for me and every other person.”
The governor says there are enough votes to, again in his words, “get it done.”?
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