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Home | Office Holder | Ernie Fletcher
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Fletcher graduated from the University of Kentucky and joined the United States Air Force to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. When poor eyesight derailed those plans, he earned a degree in medicine for a chance to earn a spot as a civilian on a space mission. He entered private practice as a physician as well as conducted services as a Baptist lay minister. He became active in politics and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1994. When he first ran for Congress, but lost to incumbent Scotty Baesler. When Baesler resigned to run for the Senate, Fletcher again ran for the congressional seat and defeated Democrat Ernesto Scorsone. He soon became one of President George W. Bush's advisors regarding health care legislation, particularly the Patients' Bill of Rights. Fletcher was elected governor in 2003 over Ben Chandler. Early in his term, Fletcher achieved some savings to the state by reorganizing the executive branch. He proposed an overhaul to the state tax code in 2004, but was unable to get it passed through the General Assembly. When Republicans in the state senate insisted on tying the reforms to the state budget, the legislature adjourned without passing either, and the state operated under an executive spending plan drafted by Fletcher until 2005, when both the budget and the reforms were passed. Later in 2005, Attorney General Greg Stumbo, the state's highest-ranking Democrat, launched an investigation into whether the Fletcher administration's hiring practices violated the state's merit system. A grand jury returned several indictments against members of Fletcher's staff, and eventually against Fletcher himself. Fletcher issued pardons for anyone on his staff implicated in the investigation, but did not extend the pardon to himself. The investigation was ended by an agreement between Fletcher and Stumbo in late 2006, however, it continued to overshadow Fletcher's re-election bid in 2007. After turning back a challenge in the Republican primary by former Congresswoman Anne Northup, Fletcher lost the general election to Democrat Steve Beshear. |
