Julian Carroll

The TVA campaign had put Carroll squarely in the public eye in McCracken County, and in 1962, he was elected to the first of five consecutive terms representing the county in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He was chosen Speaker of the House from 1968 through 1970. In the 100-member House of Representatives, it was not uncommon for lobbyists to roam the floor freely, for members to bring their lunches to their desks, or for them to bring their friends and family members onto the floor during debate. Determined to bring a higher degree of decorum to the chamber's proceedings, Carroll opened the 1968 legislative session with a single, powerful whack of his gavel. The gavel shattered, stunning the legislators. Carroll subsequently barred outsiders from the floor during debate and forbade eating in the chamber. Carroll shattered three more gavels during the legislative session – he was finally given a sturdier one made of solid oak and formica – but he brought order to the chamber's proceedings. At the end of the session, a member of the opposing party declared from the floor "The decorum of this House has improved 100 percent... I must compliment the present Speaker of this House for ... eliminating the abominable practices. Today every member has a right to speak ... without fear of interruption and catcalls or being shouted down."[15] The legislator's compliment was followed by a standing ovation for Carroll.[16]

Carroll had considered running for the U.S. Senate in 1968, but dropped out of the race after just two weeks when he discovered that it would take well over $100,000 to run a competitive primary campaign.[17] In 1971, former governor Bert T. Combs sought a second term as governor and chose Carroll as his informal running mate.[13] (The governor and lieutenant governor were elected separately at the time.) Combs, an Eastern Kentucky native, sought geographic balance for the ticket by selecting Carroll, from the far-west Jackson Purchase.[10] Combs said he would provide the needed financing, and Carroll agreed to enter the race.[18]

Seven other Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor entered the race, the most formidable being sitting attorney general John B. Breckinridge.[19] While Combs lost to sitting Lieutenant Governor Wendell Ford in the gubernatorial primary, Carroll won the separate primary for lieutenant governor, partly on the strength of the Eastern Kentucky votes he gained from his association with Combs.[13] Carroll went on to defeat Republican Jim Host in the general election for lieutenant governor.[13] As lieutenant governor, Carroll chaired the Legislative Research Commission and the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.[1]

Wendell Ford's election to the U.S. Senate in 1974 elevated Carroll to governor

Governor Ford's allies encouraged Carroll to run for the U.S. Senate in 1974, but Carroll had already set his sights on the governorship.[13] Instead, Ford ran for and won the Senate seat, and Carroll succeeded him as governor.[1] In 1975, he sought a full term in office and won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in a four-way primary against Jefferson County Judge Todd Hollenbach, former state Auditor Mary Louise Foust, and Robert McCreary Johnson.[9]

In the general election, Carroll faced Republican Robert E. Gable, a coal company owner.[20] The main issue of the campaign was the imposition of desegregation busing on the city of Louisville.[20] Both candidates opposed the busing, but Gable did so more vehemently and criticized the sitting governor for not "doing something about it".[20] In a televised debate with Carroll, Gable insisted on using what he called a "truth bell".[21] Gable rang the bell every time that he perceived that Carroll was not telling the truth.[22] Eventually, the moderator of the debate, newspaper publisher Al Smith, ordered Gable to put the bell away, and Gable's credibility suffered in the eyes of voters.[22] Carroll won the general election by a vote of 470,159 to 277,998, representing a record margin of victory in the Kentucky governor's race.[23] He carried every congressional district including Jefferson County, where a Democrat had not won a race in 20 years.[24] His separately selected running mate, Thelma Stovall, became the first woman elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky.[9]

With considerable experience in the General Assembly – first as speaker of the House, and later presiding over the Senate as lieutenant governor – Carroll exercised a great deal of control over the proceedings of the legislature.[23] One observer quipped "A cockroach couldn't crawl across the Senate floor without an OK from the governor stamped on his back."[23] His reaction to criticism was often severe, prompting his political enemies to derisively refer to him as "Emperor Julian."[23] During the final year of Carroll's term, Lt. Gov. Stovall, who was left as acting governor when Carroll had left the state on business, called a special session of the legislature to enact a tax cut that Carroll opposed but later endorsed.[10] The General Assembly passed the tax cut and began asserting its independence, especially in the Senate, which especially resented Carroll's tight control of previous sessions.[25]

Carroll was charged with implementing an amendment to the state constitution approved by voters in 1975 to drastically reorganize the state's judicial system.[23] The Kentucky Court of Appeals, the state's court of last resort, was renamed the Kentucky Supreme Court, and a new Court of Appeals was created and interposed between the Supreme Court and the state's circuit and district courts.[23] The position of county judge was made a purely administrative position, and the office was renamed county judge/executive.[23] Historian Lowell H. Harrison opined that the amendment made Kentucky's legal system "a model for the nation." Carroll also pushed through legislation eliminating the private bail-bond system.[23]

Improvements in public schools were the hallmark of Carroll's term.[10] Using money from a coal severance tax enacted by Ford's administration and increased revenue from an improving economy, Carroll increased teacher salaries and eliminated fees for required classes.[26] He strengthened the Minimum Foundation Program and provided free textbooks.[10] A School Building Authority was also created to help poor school districts construct new buildings.[26] Vocational and special education were expanded, and a program for gifted and talented students was piloted.[26] Consequently, Kentucky improved in most national educational benchmarks, including moving from 46th to 38th nationally in teacher salaries.[10]

Higher education did not fare as well under Carroll. He cut the proposed budget for the state's Council on Higher Education by 40 percent.[26] Because of the considerable political clout of the Golden Triangle (Lexington, Louisville and Covington), the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Northern Kentucky University were spared the more severe budget cuts imposed on the state's regional universities.[26]

As governor of what was the leading coal-producing state in the nation, Carroll advocated the use of coal to alleviate the 1973 energy crisis.[27] He was called to testify before several congressional committees and served as an energy adviser to President Jimmy Carter.[27] At the state level, he created a department of energy and constructed "resource recovery roads" in the state's coalfield regions.[27] Among Carroll's other accomplishments were the initiation of a grant program to support the arts and the expansion of the state park system.[10][27] He was one of many who opposed the damming of the Red River, which would have flooded Red River Gorge.[27] Carroll was a supporter of a lemon law (that sought to provide a remedy for purchasers of cars that failed to meet quality standards) that was defeated in the 1976 legislative session.[27]

Carroll served as chairman of the National Governors Association in 1978.[1] He chaired the association's Natural Resources and Environmental Management Committee.[6] He also served as the state's co-chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission.[9] He received honorary degrees from the University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, Murray State University, and Eastern Kentucky University in Kentucky, and from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.[6] He was named to the University of Kentucky Alumni Association's Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1975.[6]

Carroll's tenure was plagued by disasters, both natural and man-made. Flooding struck in the eastern part of the state and in the state capitol of Frankfort.[27] Extreme cold gripped the entire state in 1977 and 1978, including the Great Blizzard of 1978.[27] Two mine explosions in Letcher County killed 26 people, and the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire claimed 165 lives.[27] Many of these disasters led to stricter enforcement of safety laws.[27] Carroll formed the Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction and strengthened the state fire marshal's office.[27]

Carroll's credibility took a severe hit as a result of an investigation into an alleged insurance kickback scheme during the Ford administration and carrying on into his administration.[25] When called before a grand jury in 1980, Carroll invoked the Fifth Amendment.[25] He was not convicted of any wrongdoing, but his first state Democratic Party chairman, Howard P. "Sonny" Hunt, was after refusing to cooperate with the investigation.[25] The probe also hurt commerce commissioner Terry McBrayer, Carroll's choice for governor in 1979.[25] McBrayer finished third out of five candidates in the Democratic primary that year, won by late entry John Y. Brown Jr..[25]

After concluding his service as governor, Carroll resumed his law practice in Frankfort, Kentucky.[10] Brown made him chairman of a non-profit organization to fight drugs in 1983.[25] In 1987, he unsuccessfully sought another term as governor, finishing fifth in the Democratic primary behind Brown, Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear, former Human Resources Secretary Grady Stumbo, and the winner, businessman Wallace G. Wilkinson.[28] Carroll again returned to his Frankfort law practice. In 2001, Kentucky's Purchase Parkway was renamed the Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway.[29] In 2003, Carroll actively lobbied the General Assembly to legalize casino-style gambling at the state's horse racetracks.[25]

In 2004, Carroll was elected to the Kentucky Senate from District 7, defeating Harold Fletcher – the older brother of then-governor Ernie Fletcher – by a wide margin.[30] The district included all or portions of Anderson, Fayette, Franklin, and Woodford counties.[31] He made headlines in 2007 when he called on Fletcher's lieutenant governor, Steve Pence, to resign for his disloyalty after Pence endorsed Anne Northup in the Republican gubernatorial primary rather than backing Fletcher's re-election bid.[32] Pence refused to resign, citing an investigation of the administration's hiring practices as his reason for refusing to endorse Fletcher.[32] Fletcher won the Republican primary, but lost in the general election to Democrat Steve Beshear.

Carroll was re-elected without opposition in 2008. In advance of the 2011 legislative session, he unsuccessfully ran for the open position of Senate Democratic floor leader, losing to R. J. Palmer of Winchester.[33] Carroll blamed his contentious relationship with Senate President David L. Williams as the reason his colleagues were hesitant to choose him for the post.[33] On November 6, 2012, he defeated Republican Frank Haynes to retain his seat for another four years.[34] He was re-elected without opposition in 2016 from a district now comprising Anderson, Woodford, Franklin, Owen and Gallatin counties.

On July 22, 2017, Spectrum News reported allegations by a male photographer that Carroll had groped him and propositioned him for sex in 2005.[35] The following day, the Senate Democratic caucus voted to remove Carroll from his position as caucus whip and called on him to resign his seat immediately after hearing an audio recording allegedly containing Carroll's proposition to the man.[35] On July 27, Carroll announced that he would not resign.[36]

Carroll announced shortly after his 88th birthday that he would not run for re-election in 2020 and was endorsing State Representative Joe Graviss to succeed him.[37] His term expired December 31, 2020.[35]

• Biesk, Joe (November 3, 2004). "Ex-Gov. Carroll wins Frankfort seat". The Enquirer. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
• Brammer, Jack; John Cheves (January 5, 2011). "Contentious first day for legislature". Lexington Herald-Leader.
• Cheves, John (November 6, 2012). "Republicans maintain commanding majority in state Senate". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
• Conn, Charles Paul (1977). Julian Carroll of Kentucky: the inside story of a Christian in public life. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company. ISBN 0-8007-0838-5.
• Harrison, Lowell H. (1992). "Carroll, Julian Morton". In Kleber, John E. (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Associate editors: Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
• Harrison, Lowell H.; James C. Klotter (1997). A New History of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2008-X. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
• "Julian Morton Carroll". Hall of Distinguished Alumni. University of Kentucky Alumni Association. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
• "Kentucky Governor Julian Morton Carroll". National Governors Association. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
• Kocher, Greg (September 16, 2003). "Parkway to be Named for Collins – Road is Fifth, and Last, to Honor a Living Former Governor". Lexington Herald Leader.
• Powell, Robert A. (1976). Kentucky Governors. Danville, Kentucky: Bluegrass Printing Company. OCLC 2690774.
• "Senator Julian Carroll Says Lieutenant Governor Should Resign". WKYT. March 2, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
• Sprague, Stuart Seely; Al Cross (2004). "Julian Morton Carroll". In Lowell Hayes Harrison (ed.). Kentucky's Governors. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2326-7.