GOVERNOR RACE SHOULD SCARE YOU INTO VOTING

It's absolutely fitting that on Halloween we are talking about Kentucky's
gubernatorial race, which has been one weird, creepy deal from the start.

Voters have never seen a race quite like this one, and they probably don't
ever want to see one again. They must be spooked by the prospect of
actually casting a vote in what has never really been much of a race. The
electorate is expected to stay away from the polls in record numbers on
Tuesday.

Talk about whistling past the political graveyard.

Here's a quick look at the most recent developments:

- - Just when you thought the campaign of Republican Peppy Martin couldn't
get any more bizarre, she used last week's statewide televised debate to
roll out this gem: 80 percent of the county sheriffs and 30 percent of the
state cops are dealing dope.

Priceless. Way to go after that law enforcement vote, Peppy.

Oh, wait. She didn't really mean it. She said as much last Tuesday during
her appearance on the local cable access show Northern Kentucky Live.

"That was just a wakeup call," Peppy said. "I have really no idea what the
figures are. I hope they're a lot less.

"But I will tell that it is a great concern in every county in this state,
and (Gov.) Paul Patton runs the state government, and he is the one to
answer for it.

"What don't you call Paul Patton (on) why he hasn't done more to watch over
the drug dealing in this state," she said.

So, she admits to using unreliable and unconfirmed information to damage
the reputations of hundreds of law enforcement officials.

Peppy has begged and pleaded to be taken seriously as a candidate. The
media have tried, but episodes like this make it impossible to imagine her
running the state.

Gov. Peppy Martin. Now that's scary.

- - Reform Party candidate Gatewood Galbraith has grown up from his last
gubernatorial campaign four years ago. He has a much better platform, has
campaigned harder and is even riding around in a bus.

"In my last campaign I slept in the back of my car," Mr. Galbraith said
last week. "Now I'm traveling in style. This bus is nice, man."

Alas, Mr. Galbraith's campaign is suffering from a marijuana hang over.
Despite his efforts to roll out a credible campaign, his platform in the
1991 and 1995 Democratic primaries to legalize marijuana will always stick
with him. And the voters of this state just aren't going to buy making pot
legal.

The Democrats use the pot platform to occasionally jab Mr. Galbraith, as
earlier this week when he said Mr. Patton was going to lose.

"I think Gatewood is once again lost in that purple haze of his to say
something so ludicrous," said Kim Geveden, Mr. Patton's campaign manager.

- - Even the front-runner, Democratic incumbent Mr. Patton, has run scared
this campaign season -- but not because he is really afraid of losing.

Mr. Patton is frightened that a low turnout will hurt his power and ability
to push legislation through the General Assembly, especially since the GOP
now controls the state Senate.

So just to get some buzz going, Mr. Patton spent the early part of the
campaign talking about legalizing casino gambling in Kentucky and raising
the gas tax, two positions he has backed away from as Election Day draws
near.

And how about the news that came out last week about Lt. Gov. Steve Henry
and Miss America Heather Renee French of Maysville dating and campaigning
together?

Did that just happen to "leak" out to give the Patton/Henry ticket more
publicity? Stranger, scarier things have happened, especially in this
year's race.

Class Act

Fort Thomas Democrat Connie Beiting was disappointed earlier this year when
Mr. Patton didn't appoint her Campbell County property value administrator.
The governor appointed Marian Guidugli Dunn, a Democrat running in
Tuesday's election against Republican Kevin Gordon.

Mrs. Beiting, who worked in the PVA's office for a few years, could have
done what a lot of people in politics do when they don't win or get
something they want. But she didn't pout, act bitter or become vindictive.

In fact, Mrs. Beiting has endorsed Mrs. Dunn and written letters to
newspapers touting her candidacy.

The Beiting name has always been well known and well respected in Campbell
County politics. Mrs. Beiting showed one of the reasons why.

Henson Jumping In

Independence Democrat Jaimie Henson will end months of speculation Friday
when she formally announces her bid to run against state Sen. Jack Westwood
of Erlanger.

Democrats think Mr. Westwood is vulnerable, at least in part because he
hasn't seemed to attract a lot of early support and money from area
Republicans.

But Mr. Westwood does have more than $30,000 in the bank, which is a good
war chest to have going into a contested race. And a lot of Republican
donors have been sitting back and saving their money, waiting to see
whether Mr. Westwood drew an opponent.

Well, he has one now. So look for the cash to start to tumble in.

Fletcher Helps Out

U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher, the Lexington Republican who represents
Kentucky's 6th District, will appear at state Rep. Paul Marcotte's Nov. 7
fund-raiser.

The two served in the Statehouse together in 1995 and 1996, before Mr.
Fletcher left to run for Congress.

Mr. Marcotte, a Union Republican, has announced he will seek a fourth term
in Frankfort next year.