On a day of mostly routine leadership elections, House Democrats did turn a few heads by choosing a former speaker to take over their No. 2 leadership spot.
While Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Greg Stumbo sailed to re-election Tuesday, former speaker and gubernatorial candidate Jody Richards took over as speaker pro tem, leaving Lousiville without any representatives in House leadership positions for the first time in recent memory.
In a run-off vote, Richards was selected to replace outgoing Louisville Rep. Larry Clark, who had served in the position since 1993. Richards spent more than a decade as House speaker starting in the mid-90s.
Current speaker Stumbo told the Courier-Journal he doesn’t believe the move will shut out Kentucky’s largest city, as members are aware of Louisville’s importance to the state.
Representatives in leadership roles help to shepherd bills through the General Assembly.
