PENCE DETERMINED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN WAR ON DRUGS

One Goal, He Says, Is To Reduce The Backlog At State's Crime Laboratories.

When Steve Pence was inaugurated last week as lieutenant governor, he
already had a second job - as secretary of the Justice Cabinet, overseeing
prisons, state police and juvenile justice.

Pence said he plans to run the Justice Cabinet the same way he did as U.S.
attorney for Kentucky's western district from 2001 until April, when he
quit that post to become Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's running mate.

"You put good people in positions around you, and you give them authority,
hold them accountable and don't interfere," Pence said.

Pence said his focus will be on fighting illegal drug crime, and he plans
to pull together law enforcement, education and rehabilitation efforts
statewide - though he needs time to work out specifics.

"The devil is in the details," he said. "Before we make an announcement,
we're working to put the right pieces in place."

Pence said as part of that effort, he plans to try to reduce a backlog of
work at the Kentucky crime laboratories, which are struggling with a
caseload that doubled from 20,000 in 1989 to 40,000 in 2001. Delays in
testing drugs, DNA and other substances have stalled prosecution of some
criminal cases.

Pence said he is familiar with the problem and is working with state
police, who operate six forensic laboratories around the state, to see what
can be done. "I know the situation has to improve," he said.

Pence's dual role as lieutenant governor and a cabinet secretary is not
unprecedented.

Former Gov. Paul Patton served about 16 months as economic development
secretary while he was lieutenant governor under Gov. Brereton Jones.

Patton said in an interview he thinks Pence's appointment to the cabinet is
a good idea because the lieutenant governor has no official duties other
than to be available in case the governor dies or resigns.

"I think it's very important that the lieutenant governor be assigned
important responsibilities," Patton said. "Otherwise, you won't get capable
people to take the job."

PENCE'S GOAL of fighting drug crime also is the top priority of Attorney
General-elect Greg Stumbo, a Democrat who takes office Jan. 5.

Pence said he doesn't foresee any conflicts, although the two are from
opposite political parties and both are viewed as possible candidates for
higher office someday.

"I think he wants to solve these issues, too," Pence said. "He'll have a
seat at the table."

Stumbo said he doesn't expect partisan conflict to get in the way. "I don't
view this as a political issue."

Still, some observers said Republicans won't be inclined to give any
advantage to Stumbo.

"I guess that will be the interesting aspect, to see how the justice
secretary interacts with the attorney general in the war on drugs," said
Owensboro defense lawyer Allen Holbrook. "I'll be curious to see where that
ends up."

Politics aside, Holbrook - who jousted with Pence in the corruption trial
of former House Speaker Don Blandford, the case known as BOPTROT - said he
expects Pence to do a good job.

Pence was one of the lead federal prosecutors in the BOPTROT investigation
and the convictions of legislators and lobbyists. Holbrook defended
Blandford, who was convicted in 1993 of extortion and racketeering.

"He was a fine and fair government prosecutor when I had dealings with
him," Holbrook said of Pence.

One of Pence's former colleagues from the BOPTROT investigation, Joe
Whittle, will be working with him as general counsel at the Justice
Cabinet. Whittle, a former U.S. attorney, helped oversee the FBI investigation.

Pence's deputy secretary will be C. Cleveland Gambill, a federal magistrate
in Louisville and former federal prosecutor in Louisville who also worked
on the BOPTROT case.

Lawyer Steve Reed, a former U.S. attorney in Louisville who served as
general counsel for Jones, said Pence has assembled a strong team.

"I think he'll do well," Reed said of Pence. "It's important that he have a
way to serve beyond just the figurehead post of lieutenant governor."

Steve Henry, as Patton's lieutenant governor, also did a brief stint as a
cabinet secretary after Patton took office in 1995, overseeing the former
Human Resources Cabinet while it was split into the Health Services and
Families and Children cabinets.

Henry said Pence will need a strong deputy secretary because even
ceremonial demands of the lieutenant governor's job will require some time.

Henry said it's possible to do two jobs, but Pence shouldn't underestimate
the demands of public appearances such as speeches, plant openings and
welcoming dignitaries and corporate executives to Kentucky. "In today's
world, the first person they ask for if the governor can't be there is the
lieutenant governor," Henry said.

Kentucky governors in recent decades have handed increasing amounts of
responsibility to their lieutenant governors, starting with Bert Combs, who
delegated a number of duties to Wilson Wyatt after they took office in
1959, said state historian James Klotter.

Wyatt, a popular former mayor of Louisville, was vying with Combs for the
Democratic gubernatorial nomination, so Combs cut a deal with Wyatt to give
him more responsibility if he ran as lieutenant governor, Klotter said.

Wyatt "became very active in the administration and since that time, most
governors have given their lieutenant governors some duties - unless
politics intrudes," Klotter said.

For example, before 1995, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor
didn't run as a slate - meaning a governor could wind up with someone from
the opposite party as lieutenant governor.

Louie Nunn, a Republican who served from 1967 to 1971, had Wendell Ford, a
Democrat, as his lieutenant governor and "didn't want to yield powers to
him," Klotter said. Ford succeeded Nunn as governor in 1971.

PENCE WILL DRAW only one salary - the $91,075 he earns as lieutenant
governor - and said he's not interested in the trappings of the elected
office, some of which were stripped away as a cost-cutting measure during
the 2003 legislative session.

"I don't need a cook," Pence said, a reference to some of the staff cut
from Henry's time as lieutenant governor.

Pence, who lives with his wife, Ruth Ann Cox, and children in suburban
Jefferson County, said he expects to put in long hours in Frankfort, and "I
probably will need a place to spend the night up there."

The legislature took away funds for the lieutenant governor's mansion, a
house on Wapping Street in Frankfort, but the law says the state has to pay
for upkeep and "I assume I'll be allowed to stay there," Pence said.

Cox, a lawyer, said the family plans to keep their home in Anchorage as
their primary residence. Cox works in Louisville and their children, ages 9
and 5, attend the Anchorage Public School.

Pence has three older children, two in college and one in high school in
Louisville.

Cox said she expects her focus will remain on her family and her job, but
she does have several issues she would like to advance as wife of the
lieutenant governor.

Cox said she's interested in services for children with disabilities,
particularly autism, and child care for working mothers. Both areas have
suffered from recent state budget cuts.

Pence said he believes the justice job gives him a chance to attack
Kentucky's illegal drug problems including cocaine trafficking, clandestine
methamphetamine labs and abuse of prescription drugs.

"I think we're going to make a difference - not only in the Justice Cabinet
but in this war on drugs," he said.