Common Gubernatorial Courtesy
How Kentucky’s Governor can continue or kill tradition
There is a lot of interesting tradition around the transfer of power between the outgoing and incoming governors of Kentucky. Keeping up those traditions is important, if only for tradition’s sake. But a decent respect for keeping them alive is required, especially by the outgoing, and I’m a little worried we may lose some of them this time around.
Matt Bevin is only the second governor in the history of Kentucky not to be reelected. To be fair, only four governors have had the opportunity.
Until Governor Paul Patton who served two terms from 1995 to 2003, Kentucky governors were only allowed to serve one full term at a time. We’ve had a handful who’ve served more than one, but they didn’t do it consecutively.
Isaac Shelby was our first governor (1792–1796) and our fifth governor (1812–1816). James B. McCreary, who was the only governor to live in both the Old Governor’s Mansion and the new one, and legend says the first governor to ride in a car, served from 1875–1879 as our 27th governor, then again from 1911–1915 as our 37th. Happy Chandler was governor from 1935–1939, then resigned so his Lieutenant Governor could become governor and appoint Chandler to a vacant U.S. Senate seat that he later also resigned so he could become the Commissioner of Baseball. Then he came back and was governor again from 1955–1959.
Other former governors like Louie Nunn, Julian Carroll, and John Y. Brown, Jr. have tried to get their old governor jobs back after sitting out a term or two, but the voters didn't let that happen.
I don’t know exactly how far back the gubernatorial transition traditions go, but all traditions start somewhere, and however old they are, I think there’s value in keeping them alive.
I remember the night shortly after the 2003 governor’s election that I went with Ernie and Glenna Fletcher to the Governor’s Mansion. It was tradition that the outgoing governor and first lady invite the incoming couple to a private dinner at the mansion. While Governor and Mrs. Patton entertained Governor-elect and Mrs. Fletcher in the family dining room upstairs, I visited with the staff and enjoyed a nice dinner downstairs. It was a beautiful and thoughtful tradition.
Other traditions include the outgoing first lady leaving a white cake and a symbolic key to the Governor’s Mansion for the incoming first lady. It’s also customary for her to leave a letter to her successor. Another interesting tradition is an early morning visit on Inauguration Day from a delegation of local community leaders who come through the front door of the Mansion to welcome the new first family to the neighborhood with a pan of beaten biscuits and ham. Sometimes they bring flowers too.
Then everyone knows that it is customary for the outgoing governor to leave a note of congratulations and encouragement in the Governor’s desk for the new governor.
A sense of civility is necessary to keep these kinds of traditions alive. You have to be able to recognize not just the value in their history, but in the case of losing reelection, you have to acknowledge the rightful dignity of the person who defeated your best efforts to keep your job.
When Governor Fletcher lost to Steve Beshear in 2007, it was the first time a sitting governor of Kentucky had been defeated for reelection. Never had an outgoing governor had to invite the person who defeated them over to dinner. But Ernie Fletcher understood the dignity of the office and the value of the traditions that welcomed him and Glenna to their new roles.
After months of campaigning hard against one another, saying things about each other they’d never say otherwise, two men and their wives sat at the table together and shared a meal, then spent time afterward laughing and moving past the acrimony of the campaign.
Tradition says the outgoing family invites the incoming family to dinner, so to keep it alive, they do it. The tradition is that the outgoing First Lady leaves a white cake, a key and a note for the incoming First Lady, so to keep it alive, they do it. Tradition means the outgoing governor leaves a congratulatory note for the incoming governor, so to keep it alive, they do it.
Keeping these traditions, odd as they may seem, requires a sense of pride in the history and knowing you didn’t let them die. It also requires an obligation to the dignity of the position of Governor of Kentucky. And in the case of Governor Matt Bevin, just like it did for Governor Ernie Fletcher, it requires some humility and the realization that part of being Governor is inviting your opponent to dinner… even if only for the sake of tradition.