Posted March 9th, 2010 6:00 am

Let’s play conflict-of-interest jeopardy, Alex.

I’ll take Bowling Green state representatives for $1200, Alex.

The answer is Republican Kentucky State Representative Jim DeCesare.

Jake phrases his response in the form of a question:

Guess which Kentucky Republican and known teabagger constantly crows about hating pork spending and hometown building projects but allegedly uses his position as a legislator to score projects for his construction company employer?
This teabagger, who has a history of merely being a disc jockey, scored a job with a prominent construction company a couple years ago because he’s a legislator. A construction company that probably gets, oh, 75% of its work via government contracts.
Most recently, he told a newspaper in Bowling Green that he was upset with the proposed budget because it was filled with school building projects.
But behind the scenes? This legislator was – according to school officials in Metcalfe County – calling Metcalfe County Schools (as a legislator) to say he’d like his employer to build or manage construction of a new school set to replace a current Category 5 facility.

Jake also says something else in Warren County will break relating to DeCesare. Read the full post and comments here.

In addition to the irony of DeCesare railing against building projects while allegedly telling a county DeCesare’s company should build that county’s school, there’s a second recent item that doubles up the hypocrisy:

Tony McVeigh reports on what happened last week when a resolution confirming the appointment of retired Kentucky state senator David Karem to the state school board came before the House:

Karem was appointed to a four-year term on the school board, and has been serving since last April. During his 33 years in the General Assembly, Karem was a strong education advocate and a driving force behind passage of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. So, it was a surprise to many House members when Republican Rep. Jim DeCesare of Rockfield rose to challenge Karem’s appointment. Citing state law, DeCesare says Karem has a conflict of interest because of his position as director of the Louisville Waterfront Development Corporation.
…
Scrambling to counter the argument, Majority Leader Adkins produced a 1995 attorney general’s opinion allowing Karem to serve as both a state senator and director of the Waterfront Development Corporation.
“That opinion, Mr. Speaker, held that since the director did not make policy for the corporation, it was not the type of office covered by the constitutional provisions prohibiting the holding of both a state and a city office,” says Adkins.
That was good enough for most House members, who voted 92-7 to confirm Karem’s appointment. All seven opponents, including Rep. Joseph Fischer of Ft. Thomas, are Republicans. Fischer, like Rep. DeCesare, says it’s nothing personal against Karem.
“A very outstanding legislator, lawmaker, civic leader,” says Fischer. “But the question is, did that service create a conflict with his appointment to the board of education?”
Karem doesn’t think so. In fact, he says there’s not just one legal opinion protecting his service on the Waterfront Development Corporation – there are two.
“Two separate attorney generals came to the same conclusion,” says Karem.
…
“He is very knowledgeable and has excellent background for the assignment,” says Brothers. “As far as his service on the board, it’s been exemplary.”
Gov. Beshear echoes that, reaffirming his support for Karem’s confirmation, which now moves to the Senate.

So, according to Jake’s report, DeCesare was so blind to the hypocrisy that he made a public controversy about a non-existent conflict of interest for a retired legislator at the exact same time DeCesare is calling school officials as a legislator and seeking to have his employer secure a construction contract!

Also from PageOne, this intriguing reference in a separate post about the recent SurveyUSA senate poll results:

“Jack is losing faster than a prominent Republican state senator and an LRC official can cover up a sex scandal or two.”

Prominent Republican state senator? LRC official? Covering up a sex scandal? Get the popcorn, this is going to be one to watch.

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