Ken Winters as Education Cabinet Secretary?

This morning the Herald-Leader reports, "With five weeks to form a government, Gov.-elect Steve Beshear plans a series of announcements starting today on key appointments in his administration." Ryan Alessi's article does not mention the Education Cabinet Secretary but did mention GOP state Sen. Lindy Casebier of Louisville and Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville as being receptive to discussions.

Yesterday, a Frankfort insider told KSN&C that Beshear was talking to Ken Winters about the education post. Senator Winters (R) presently serves in District 1 which includes Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Trigg, & Lyon counties an area Fletcher failed to carry.

From Governor-elect Steve Beshear's perspective, this is a good move. First, the Education Secretary is one of those "best jobs in Frankfort." Long on meetings and speeches; short on actual responsibility.

The source also opined that Winters has had about enough of Senate President David Williams' stranglehold on the Senate and would be open to moving on; thus opening a vulnerable seat in west Kentucky.

The move reinforces Beshear's promise to run a bipartisan administration, and in the process, lays the groundwork for a more cooperative legislature. Republicans presently hold a 21-16 majority in the Senate.

The Courier-Journal reported that Beshear, who defeated Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher by a margin of 18 percentage points in Tuesday's election, said repeatedly during the campaign that he planned to help find and support good Democratic candidates to run for Republican-held seats in the General Assembly.

Asked about that ...Williams said that if Beshear meddles in legislative races, he'll face problems.

"The governor will find it a very complicating factor if he wants to sit down with you and at the same time plot your imminent demise," Williams said...

Of course, Williams will spend every waking moment trying to cling to power no matter what Beshear does.