FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Hours before taking office, incoming Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday appointed a former state Supreme Court justice and an ex-federal prosecutor to run two state cabinets.
Former Supreme Court justice Mary Noble will serve as Justice Cabinet secretary, while former U.S. Attorney Kerry Harvey will be secretary of the Public Protection Cabinet, Beshear said.
Beshear announced several other appointments to complete filling cabinet secretary positions in his administration. Beshear takes office Tuesday.
Noble, who was elected to the state’s high court in 2006 and spent the next decade on the court, will bring the “right type of experience” to take the lead for “criminal-justice reforms that this state must take,” Beshear said.
Noble acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead.
“All of us here in this room know that criminal justice in Kentucky is in crisis with the opioid epidemic that we have, with overcrowding in our prisons and jails, with law enforcement strained to the bone to keep us all safe,” she said.
She added that “we have little to no money to deal with it.”
A recent memo from outgoing Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration indicated that Beshear will inherit a budget shortfall that could exceed $1 billion as he prepares a two-year state spending plan.
Two appointees hired by Beshear - Larry Roberts and Larry Hayes - previously worked for Beshear’s father, former Gov. Steve Beshear. Roberts will serve as Labor Cabinet secretary - the same role he held in Steve Beshear’s administration. Hayes will be interim secretary of the Economic Development Cabinet. Hayes headed the same cabinet for Steve Beshear.
Hayes’ appointment is temporary while the new governor searches for a permanent cabinet secretary. In the meantime, Beshear said he wanted someone with Hayes’ experience at the cabinet’s helm to make sure the state doesn’t miss out on any business opportunities.
Beshear, the state’s outgoing attorney general, tapped two more executives from the AG’s office for high-level jobs in his administration. Gerina Whethers will be Personnel Cabinet secretary, and Rebecca Goodman will serve as Energy and Environmental Cabinet secretary. Whethers has headed the AG’s office of senior protection and mediation. Goodman has overseen the AG’s office of rate intervention, which advocates for ratepayers in cases at the state and federal level.
Eric Friedlander was named acting secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. His role will be as deputy secretary once a permanent secretary is hired. Friedlander is currently the chief resilience officer for the administration of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
In other appointments, Ruth Day was hired as commissioner of the Commonwealth Office of Technology and LaShana Harris will be commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Jonathan Smith, who was Beshear’s deputy campaign manager, will serve as the new governor’s deputy chief of staff.
Day will replace Charles Grindle, a longtime friend of Bevin’s. Grindle’s $375,000 annual salary as the state’s chief information officer had drawn criticism. Beshear said Day’s salary is still being determined but added, “I can tell you it will not be where it currently is.”
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