http://mycn2.com/politics/gary-moore-questions-alecia-webb-edgington-for-missing-vote-on-budget-to-raise-money

Publication Date: April 02, 2012

Author: Ryan Alessi

Gary Moore calls out Alecia Webb-Edgington for missing vote on budget to raise money

04/02/2012 01:27 PM

Republican congressional candidate Gary Moore’s campaign accused rival Alecia Webb-Edgington of abandoning her responsibilities as a state lawmaker “to pursue her own political ambitions” by missing key votes last week to raise money.

Webb-Edgington, a Fort Wright Republican who is in her second term as a state representative, wasn’t present Friday at 7:49 p.m. when the House gave final approval to the $19 billion state spending bill by a 81-7 vote and missed all day Thursday in which 11 measures went through the House.

The campaign for Moore, who is the Boone County judge-executive, issued a statement Monday saying Webb-Edgington was more concerned with raising last-minute funds before the federal March 31 campaign finance deadline. The statement said Webb-Edgington traveled to Washington, D.C., on Thursday for campaign related meetings and attended a campaign fundraiser in Shelbyville on Friday night.

“It’s unfortunate that Rep. Webb-Edgington found it more pertinent to campaign in Washington D.C. and in Shelbyville raising money, rather than to do the job the people elected her to do in Frankfort,” Moore’s statement said. “Rep. Webb-Edgington not only missed critical votes during one of the most crucial times in the Kentucky legislative session but most importantly she missed voicing the concerns and interests for her constituents.”

Rick VanMeter, the campaign manager for Webb-Edgington, did not dispute Moore’s account of Webb-Edgington’s whereabouts.

But he said Webb-Edgington cast her votes on the legislation she missed on Thursday when she returned to Frankfort on Friday and plans to register a vote in opposition to the budget when the General Assembly reconvenes April 12.

“All of the proper paperwork was filed, and none of these votes would have changed the outcome of the bills in question,” VanMeter said in a statement. “While Alecia has been outspoken about where she stands on the issues, it is clear that Judge Moore is desperate to distract from his record of pushing for tax increases, increasing sewer rates, and his lackluster resume.”

Moore said Webb-Edgington’s missed vote on the budget bill on Friday is an example of hypocrisy because one of the planks of Webb-Edgington’s platform has been to promote a petition to urge Congress to either pass a federal budget or forfeit their pay.

“Sign my petition now and help send a message to Washington that if they can’t do their jobs, they should not be paid!” Webb-Edgington’s campaign website says.

But the voting issue highlights one of Webb-Edgington’s biggest challenges in running in the 4th Congressional District Republican primary as a sitting lawmaker.

The General Assembly has been in session almost every day since January 3 — only two weeks after incumbent Congressman Geoff Davis announced he wouldn’t run again prompting Webb-Edgington, Moore and five other Republicans to jump in the race.

Plus, the legislature initially was supposed to be on hiatus for the governor to consider vetoes starting March 29 — the day Webb-Edgington went to Washington. But legislative leaders altered the calendar after canceling two legislative days earlier in the spring.

In addition to Webb-Edgington and Moore, the GOP primary includes Lewis County Judge-Executive Thomas Massie, lawyer Marcus Carey, business consultant Tom Wurtz, Oldham County School Board member Walt Schumm and teacher Brian Oerther.

About Ryan Alessi

Ryan Alessi joined cn|2 in May 2010 as senior managing editor and host of Pure Politics. He has covered politics for more than 10 years, including 7 years as a reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Follow Ryan on Twitter @cn2Alessi. Ryan can be reached at 502-792-1135 or ryan.alessi@twcable.com.

Comments

  • Mark Stein wrote on April 02, 2012 04:25 PM :

    If Rep. Webb-Edgington understands that members of Congress shouldn’t be paid for not working, then she should be able to grasp why we want our money back from her for the days she spent touring the countryside when she was supposed to be in Frankfort representing her constituents.

  • Robert Wright wrote on April 02, 2012 04:34 PM :

    Good for you Mr. Moore. We need leader’s who aren’t afraid to call out fellow party members when they’re wrong. My heart goes out to the people Mrs. Webb-Edgington “represents”, who count on her to be their voice. Oh, and Mr. Meter, be more professional when you attack someone, you make your candidate look terrible.

  • Conservative Voter wrote on April 02, 2012 05:13 PM :

    Obviously, Alecia Webb-Edgington puts her campaign above the public’s best interest. Moore is not the “desperate” one. He is not “distracting” from the issues. Alecia is full of it if she thinks the people are stupid enough to dismiss this kind of behavior. AS FOR TAXES, Alecia just this session voted to hike unemployment taxes on small businesses. She has in the past voted for tolls even thought she claimed right here to Alessi that part of why she voted against the road budget earlier this session was it could include tolls. SHE VOTED FOR TOLLS IN 2008. She claims she voted against the budget this year because it “she said it left open the possibility of a fee increase when the House version raided $15.5 million from an account.” But she voted to raid 35 professional fee accounts in years past. ALECIA WEBB-EDGINGTON cannot not be let loose in Washington … she simply cannot be trusted.

  • Cumberland Gap wrote on April 03, 2012 09:27 AM :

    What if conservative voters find out this Webb-Edgington is currently on a sweet government pension for working only 20 years? Not so bad if she didn’t spend all her time railing against spending and the Democrats who made it possible.

  • Bruce Layne wrote on April 03, 2012 09:46 AM :

    I generally think it’s a good idea for legislators to show up for the legislative session and cast their votes, but this looks like nothing more than the usual attack against a legislator who is campaigning while in office, when her opponent has the time to campaign because he doesn’t have the same legislative responsibilities. In other words, it’s an apples to oranges comparison.

    More importantly, it’s yet another distraction from the real issues in this race, because most of the candidates want to focus on this mud slinging minutia instead of talking about the serious problems our country faces and what they’d do to correct those problems.

    I guess representative Webb-Edgington could have cast her vote and made the results 82-7 or 81-8, just to make Gary Moore happy, but otherwise, what would that have accomplished?

  • Susan wrote on April 03, 2012 11:45 AM :

    And Gary Moore hasn’t shirked any of his duties as JE to campaign or used any of his “professional” duties to push his candidacy? They weren’t even supposed to be in session.

  • Quiet Observer wrote on April 03, 2012 02:15 PM :

    I guess G Moore got some bad poll news or something. This article tells me he must view Webb-Edgington as the greatest threat to his own campaign. Otherwise why would he resort to this weak swipe at her?

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