For Immediate Release: Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016

Contact: Jim Waters @ (270) 320-4376

(LEXINGTON, Ky.) — Voters handing Kentucky Republicans an overwhelming -- and historic -- majority in the state House of Representatives during Tuesday’s presidential election clearly indicated support for a more open, transparent and accountable government.

Perhaps nowhere was this clearer than in the 95th District where House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, lost his bid for reelection after snubbing his opponent Larry Brown’s request that he follow the example of several winners in Tuesday night’s campaign and sign the Bluegrass Institute’s Legislative Transparency Pledge.

“Voters made their support for more open, transparent and accountable government by rejecting the refusal of the entrenched House Democratic leadership to keep all transparency policies from moving forward in the Kentucky General Assembly,” Bluegrass Institute president Jim Waters said. “They recognize that the environment of transparency is critical to making significant progress toward reforming the commonwealth’s pension, education and health-care policies.”

Forty of the 100 state representatives now have signed the 67-word pledge, which vows support for “making the commonwealth’s legislative pension system fully transparent, including requiring the disclosure of the name, status and projected actual retirement benefits and benefit payments from the Legislators’ Retirement Plan, Judicial Retirement Plan, Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System and Kentucky Retirement Systems of all current and former members of the General Assembly.”

“We enthusiastically congratulate all Kentuckians who stepped forward to run for office and help the GOP attain overwhelming majorities in the state House and Senate by working very hard and running extremely successful races across the commonwealth,” Bluegrass Institute president Jim Waters said. “The Bluegrass Institute will continue to promote those policies that are helping us make Kentucky great: free enterprise, individual liberty and limited -- and transparent -- government.”

For more information, please contact Jim Waters at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com, 859.444.5630 ext. 102 (office) or 270.320.4376.