David Williams of Burkesville is running on the November ballot for governor against incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and independent Gatewood Galbraith. Williams received a bout of good news when the Legislative Ethics Commission dismissed the Kentucky Democratic Party’s complaint against Republican Senate President David Williams for not listing his gambling winnings as a source of income on reports he has filed with the commission.
Seriously? A hearing over gambling winnings?
Of all the meaningless…
After a closed preliminary hearing to discuss the matter, the commission voted 4-5 against the motion that Williams had violated the ethics code. The majority vote against that motion means the complaint is dismissed.
Naturally, the Kentucky Democratic Party was upset, but let’s face it, this was never about some gambling winnings, it was strictly political and the Democrats need all the help they can get for the upcoming election.
A member of the commission’s majority said he believed the ethics laws should more explicitly define what constitutes income.
Commissioner David Barber after Tuesday’s closed hearing said, “when you receive payment for work, that’s pretty clearly identifiable as income. But gambling and some other forms of compensation may or may not be income…And because it had never been defined, it’s troubling to me to hold people accountable to a standard that has not been defined.” – Courier Journal
The commission said it will now adopt the federal government’s standards for what constitutes income.
But for many North Americans who are not on a senator’s salary, a good question is whether gambling winnings should even be considered income? Just can’t seem to get the government’s hand out our pockets.
