TOUGH CHOICE FOR ATTY. GENERAL

To say that corruption in Kentucky is a problem is an understatement, not
to mention a statement of the especially obvious. The state is clearly fed
up with the partisan politics, the nepotism and the shady road construction
contracts - among other topics.

But such knowledge and exasperation doesn't get us anywhere without action.
And the action in question here should involve electing and designating a
public official who will initiate and follow through on difficult
investigations of corruption in Frankfort and everywhere else in the state.

The state official who takes up this cause is known as the attorney
general, and the office is up for election this year as Ben Chandler steps
down to run for governor.

The man for the job is Gatewood Galbraith, a Lexington attorney and
well-known figure in Kentucky politics, who is running as an independent.

Galbraith is first and foremost the right candidate for the office because
of his known commitment to political independence and disdain for partisan
politics. In a state where the two political parties constantly vie for
control not just of office, but of contracts and pork-barrel funding for
special interests, an independent-minded attorney general will be part of
the solution.

In the Kernel editorial board's discussion of the attorney general race,
Republican Jack Wood also came up as a worthy candidate in the race, and
some of our votes will go his way. After he and his own party have snubbed
each other in the race, there can be little suspicion that he will feel
beholden to party leaders.

Greg Stumbo, the Democrat in the race, also seems a viable candidate. He
has extensive experience as an attorney and long tenure in the state
legislature.

But it is also his status in Frankfort politics - currently House majority
leader - that gives cause for concern. It may well be that he will have to
investigate the same people he has worked alongside for years, should he be
elected. This, of course, creates too many conflicts of interest.

Also a priority on Galbraith's platform is the prescription drug epidemic
currently overwhelming Kentucky. His plan to reorganize the war on drugs in
this state has a fresh appeal that Stumbo, at least, can't match with his
emphasis on the status quo and stepping up the existing strategy.

"Increasing certain facets of the war on drugs is absolutely futile,"
Galbraith said in a meeting with the Kernel editorial board. While his plan
to ask pharmaceutical companies such as PurduePharma for $2 billion to
underwrite efforts at fighting the epidemic sounds a little excessive, it
is clear that the people who produce these drugs should help prevent their
abuse.

His positions on marijuana use are well known; he uses it openly, and has
long campaigned for decriminalizing the drug. Although he's in favor of
enforcing laws on hard drugs, he wants to turn out large numbers of
non-violent drug offenders from prisons, many of them to rehabilitation.
This is a far better attempt freeing up space and funds than Gov. Paul
Patton's recent fiasco with releasing hardened criminals for lack of funds
to keep them.