A Democratic leader in the Kentucky House says an ethics complaint filed against her is meritless and politically motivated, citing a clearance she received from a top ethics official.
Longtime Jessamine County GOP activist Bob Barney filed the complaint with the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission on Friday. Barney alleges state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington improperly benefited from a legislative lobbyist when she co-purchased a Frankfort residential property this summer with lobbyist Sarah Bowling.
State law prohibits legislators from accepting anything of value from a registered lobbyist. Barney’s complaint claims that “by splitting the cost of the property,” Stevenson “received something of ‘value’” from Bowling and that “this is a violation of the law.”
However, Stevenson said that interpretation of Kentucky’s statutes and ethics code — and the nature of the purchase — is off base, citing an existing advisory opinion from the same ethics commission and guidance they received in advance from its executive director.
“This complaint has no merit, period,” Stevenson said in an email. “It’s driven solely by election-year politics, and I have no doubt it will be cleared if not dismissed quickly.”
Read the rest at Louisville Public Media.
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