Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of Kentucky’s executive branch of government. 62 men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The position has been historically considered one of the most powerful state executive positions in the United States.
About Governor of Kentucky in brief
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of Kentucky’s executive branch of government. 62 men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor’s term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once before becoming ineligible for four years. Kentucky is one of only five U.S. states that hold gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years. The current governor is Andy Beshear, who was first elected in 2019. The officeholder is given broad statutory authority to make appointments to the various cabinets and departments of the executive branch, limited somewhat by the adoption of a merit system for state employees in 1960. Historically, power in Kentucky has been split amongst a variety of elected positions—including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney of Public Accounts, Public Treasurer, and several commissioners—but in the late 20th century, political power has centralized in the office of Governor. The power to pardon is not applicable to cases of impeachment, and in cases of treason, a gubernatorial pardon is only effective until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, which can grant a full pardon for treason. In all four Kentucky constitutions, the first power enumerated to the governor is to serve as commander-in-chief of the state’s militia and military forces. In 1799, a stipulation was added that the governor would not personally lead troops on the battlefield unless advised to do so by a resolution of theGeneral Assembly. In 1891, the 1891 constitution further required that, with each application for a pardon, the governor file a statement of the reasons for his decision…
which shall always be open to public inspection. This requirement was first proposed by an 1850 constitutional convention, but it was rejected at that time by a delegate to the convention. Since 1799 the governor has been permitted to call the state legislature into session if the two houses cannot agree on a time to adjourn for a period of up to four months if the legislature appears in special session. Since 1931, only 4 Republicans have served governor of Kentucky, and no Republican governor has ever been re-elected; the most recent past Governor, Matt Bevin, lost re- election. From 1895 to 1931, 5 Republicans and 6 Democrats held the governorship until 1851, with John Breathitt being the only Democrat elected during that period. The election of Republican William O’Connell Bradley in 1895 began the only period of true 2-party competition for thegovernorship. The power of the governor to enforce all laws, the power to fill vacancies in elected offices until the next meeting of the general assembly, and the ability to remit fines and grant pardons are all enumerated in the state constitution. The position has been historically considered one of the most powerful state executive positions in the United States. It has been dominated by a single party, though different parties were predominant in different eras. In the early 1900s, the Whig Party won every gubernatorial election until 1828.
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This page is based on the article Governor of Kentucky published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
