Larry Clark files election complaint against groups that opposed him

This from the Courier Journal:

House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, has filed a complaint with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance contending that that his Republican opponent last November and three pro-labor groups illegally worked together in an unsuccessful effort to unseat him.

The complaint, a copy of which was provided by a spokeswoman for Clark, names Republican Brian Simpson; the Jefferson County Teachers Association; Better Schools Kentucky, a political action committee controlled by the JCTA; and a political organization calling itself The Truth From American Workers Inc.

It alleges they committed various violations of Kentucky election law during a race in which they combined to spend $326,850 to beat him....

Emily Dennis, general counsel for the Registry of Election Finance, said she is not allowed to not confirm that a complaint has been filed and could not provide a copy of it.

Clark, long supported by labor unions, fell out with some of them in recent years. Brent McKim, president of the JCTA, said it tried to beat Clark in 2010 after years of backing him because he refused to work with them.

“We’ve been, historically speaking, very supportive of him over the years. We walked precincts for him, made phone calls,” McKim said. “We could not even get a meeting with him. He just ignored us.”

Jefferson County teachers union votes to ask that Sheldon Berman be retained

Board Members Express Doubt in a Revote

Wesslund Replaced as Chair

This from the Courier-Journal:

Jefferson County's influential teachers union has thrown its support behind ousted Superintendent Sheldon Berman, voting Thursday to ask the school board to extend Berman's contract, instead of letting it expire June 30.

The board of directors for the Jefferson County Teachers Association voted 18-9 Thursday afternoon to formally ask the school board to retain Berman, whose contract was not renewed last November.

Thursday's vote came after Linda Duncan, a school board member who represents District 5, and state Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, met with the teachers union and asked it to endorse Berman, JCTA President Brent McKim said...

“We've already discussed this — it's over,” said school board member Carol Haddad, who represents District 6. “We need to move forward — the community needs to know that we are moving forward.”

Joe Hardesty and Diane Porter, two other board members who voted against a contract extension for Berman, also said they did not favor revisiting their votes.

“A lot of thought went into my decision, so I would not be inclined to change my vote,” said Hardesty, who represents District 4...

[Steve] Imhoff, who represents District 2 and who was voted school board chairman by a 6-1 vote Monday night, said he has not talked to any board members about bringing the issue back up for consideration.