ICONIC KENTUCKY POLITICAL FIGURE GATEWOOD GALBRAITH DEAD AT 64

Gatewood Galbraith, an iconic Kentucky political figure and perennial
candidate who won many hearts but never enough votes, died early
Wednesday, just two months after running his fifth campaign for governor.

He was 64. Mr. Galbraith died at home in his sleep, surrounded by
family after suffering pneumonia that was complicated by chronic emphysema.

Although widely popular for his wit and unconventional stances, Mr.
Galbraith's political life was led outside of Democratic and
Republican party machinery, which meant he nearly always trailed in
fund-raising totals. Mr. Galbraith ran unsuccessfully for governor
five times. He also made failed bids for agriculture commissioner,
U.S. representative and attorney general.

Between campaigns, Mr. Galbraith worked independently as a criminal
defense attorney, and he often quipped, "losing statewide elections
doesn't pay worth a damn."

Known universally by his first name, Gatewood was a recognizable
figure around Lexington and the state, partly because of his imposing
height and signature fedora and partly because of his outspoken
proposals to legalize marijuana and outlaw mountaintop-removal coal
mining.

For a brief time Wednesday morning, news of his death was one of the
top trending topics nationally on Twitter.

"He's the most colorful individual I've known in Kentucky politics in
my life," said Terry McBrayer, a lawyer, lobbyist and longtime friend
of Mr. Galbraith who ate breakfast with him frequently at Hanna's on
Lime. "He didn't have a harmful bone in his body. He was a genuinely
good person."

Mr. Galbraith, 64, was found at home in his bed by family members
Wednesday morning, according to a report by Fayette County Coroner
Gary Ginn. The Lexington Division of Fire was called at 8:42 a.m., and
Mr. Galbraith was pronounced dead at 9:19 a.m.

"I think he died sometime early this morning in his bed," Ginn
said.

Ginn said a family member told him that Mr. Galbraith had been sick
for about a week. Mr. Galbraith's cold-like symptoms were complicated
by chronic asthma and emphysema, Ginn said.

Dea Riley, Mr. Galbraith's running mate in the 2011 gubernatorial
campaign, said she last talked to him on Monday: "He had a terrible
cold," she said. "He said it was the sickest he had ever been in his life."

Mr. Galbraith was best known for advocating the legalization of hemp
and marijuana, which he insisted would help Kentucky's economic
development, in addition to what he thought were the health benefits
of smoking cannabis. He became friends with another advocate, country
singer Willie Nelson, who campaigned with Mr. Galbraith in 1999.

His autobiography, The Last Free Man in America Meets the Synthetic
Subversion, described a bucolic childhood in Carlisle, where he caught
the political bug as a young boy when he saw a July 4 speech by Gov.
Bert Combs.

Despite his win-loss record, Mr. Galbraith earned the respect of his
foes, including Gov. Steve Beshear, who trounced him in the 2011 election.

"Jane and I were shocked and saddened to learn of Gatewood's passing,"
Beshear said Wednesday in a statement. "He was a gutsy, articulate and
passionate advocate who never shied away from a challenge or potential
controversy. His runs for office prove he was willing to do more than
just argue about the best direction for the state - he was willing to
serve, and was keenly interested in discussing issues directly with
our citizens. He will be missed."

Mr. Galbraith spent the latter part of his childhood in Lexington,
where he attended the University of Kentucky and the UK School of Law.
He was married twice and is survived by three adult daughters.

State Sen. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, a former prosecutor, said Mr.
Galbraith was one of the best trial attorneys she ever saw, and often
handled legal cases for the indigent without being paid.

"He had a kind heart," Stein said. "Lexington and Kentucky will not be
nearly as interesting without Gatewood."

He filed for bankruptcy in 1993, and died still in debt for unpaid
state and federal taxes.

'Unforgettable'

Despite his financial woes, Mr. Galbraith spent long hours on the
campaign trail around Kentucky. His political philosophy melded a
smorgasbord of views, including ardent support for personal freedoms
such as gun rights and medical marijuana alongside unbridled contempt
for the big-money politics of both Republicans and Democrats as
practiced in Kentucky and around the U.S.

He reserved special ire for Republicans, most recently calling former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
"aliens, not conservatives. They never met a bloated police state they
didn't like."

But his political foes never seemed to hold a grudge. On Wednesday,
McConnell said he was "saddened" to hear of Mr. Galbraith's death.

"He was a truly memorable character who loved our state and its
people," McConnell said in a statement.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray said "Gatewood gave us political passion and
conviction in a colorful and unforgettable character. He gave us his
point of view, unvarnished, unfiltered, with the best wit and humor we
could ever imagine."

In the 2011 election against Beshear and Senate President David
Williams, Mr. Galbraith touted a plan to give every high school
graduate a $5,000 voucher for books, tuition and fees at any Kentucky
college. He also campaigned to modernize Kentucky's antiquated tax
system and put an end to no-bid personal service contracts.

As politics became more packaged and homogenized, Mr. Galbraith often
attracted supporters with his bold stances and the entertaining ways
he described them. For example, he often ranted against the
"petrochemical-pharmaceutical-military-industrial-transnational-corporate-fascist-elite
SOBs."

During his 1995 campaign for governor, he was arrested after
disrupting the July 4th parade, which was honoring the anniversary of
the founding of the United Nations. The parade theme, he said,
"demeans the sacrifices of generations of American patriots who risked
everything they had to create this free nation."

During the 2011 campaign, he called himself an "explorer for the truth
in a jungle of political overgrowth."

In that campaign, Mr. Galbraith was able to pull disenchanted voters
from both sides, beating Williams in more than half the precincts in
Fayette County and winning 9 percent of the statewide vote.

McBrayer said he urged Mr. Galbraith to run for lesser office and get
elected instead of shooting for major offices that required massive
fund-raising.

"He was either real far ahead of his time or behind, but he was never
on time," McBrayer said. "He didn't care so much about winning; he
enjoyed running, he enjoyed discussing the issues. He always laughed
to me, 'When I get elected governor, you're going to have to run it
for me.'"

Beth Hanna, owner of Hanna's on Lime, said Mr. Galbraith took a walk
through downtown neighborhoods as part of his fitness routine, and
would come to the restaurant for breakfast, wearing a fedora and
talking to other regulars. In earlier years, Mr. Galbraith was an avid
runner as well.

"He always had a great story to tell. He always had great ideas,"
Hanna said. "It was a nice banter. Nobody ever got upset. The views
were right, left, middle."

For about the past 10 years, Wood Simpson played chess with Galbraith
two or three times a week.

"Despite the fact that he never had much money, he used to go downtown
on Sunday mornings and hand out dollar bills to the homeless and leave
them with a few words of encouragement," Simpson said. "So he taught
me to be more compassionate and to help the less fortunate. Gate's
enormous heart and his beautiful soul are now everywhere in Kentucky,
in the great mountains, in the small towns and in all the good people,
everywhere."

'Thrilled to be a father'

While there were many public faces of Mr. Galbraith, his status as a
devoted father and grandfather was less well known. Galbraith is
survived by three daughters, Summer Sears Galbraith, Abby Sears
Galbraith and Molly Galbraith; grandson Connor Gatewood Moldt; and
granddaughter Ella Sears.

"I would get ... either phone calls or messages just telling me he was
thinking about the people in his life who were most important to him
and that he loved me more than anything," said Molly Galbraith. "He
did the most amazing job of telling us how much he loved us and how
proud he was of us and that he couldn't be more thrilled to be our
father."

His ex-wife, Susan Sears, said "there is nothing that brought Gatewood
more joy ... more contentment, more peace, more love or more pride
than these three daughters and ... two grandbabies."

His family said in a statement that details would be forthcoming about
"arrangements for celebrating Gatewood's life, and a way for everyone
to honor his passion, his gifts, and his legacy."

"The family greatly appreciates the outpouring of love and support for
Gatewood," the statement said.

Both the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Senate held a
moment of silence Wednesday in Mr. Galbraith's honor.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo ran against the Lexington lawyer twice over
the past decade - once in a race for attorney general and in the 2007
governor's race.

Mr. Galbraith and he would spar in debates but would always walk out
as friends, Stumbo said in a rare speech on the floor of the House.

"One of the most admirable things that could ever be said about
someone is that they had the courage to stand up for what they
believe," Stumbo said. "Whether you agreed with Gatewood or you didn't
agree with him, I think we can all say we admire the courage that he
had advocating his convictions."

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Wednesday at Milward-Broadway.

Herald-Leader staff writers Greg Kocher, Valarie Honeycutt Spears,
Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave contributed to this report.