Republicans postpone review of a contract with president of Kentucky State Fair

Republicans on a legislative committee on Wednesday deferred review of a contract with a president and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair after an interim was installed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s latest appointees to the fair board last week. 

The Government Contract Review Committee said it will review the contract during its Aug. 11 meeting — days before the Kentucky State Fair will begin in Louisville. 

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said representatives of the State Fair Board and the Kentucky Finance Administration Cabinet were requested to attend the meeting and answer questions about the contract, but they were not present. Meredith said the fair board deferred questions to the cabinet, and the cabinet did not attend the meeting because it received less than 48 hours notice. He also said that the cabinet said “there is no contract.” 

Last week, the Kentucky State Fair Board removed David Beck as president and CEO of Kentucky Venues, the organization that oversees the fair, and appointed Mike Berry as interim president and CEO. The move came after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled a 2021 state law shifting control of the State Fair Board from the governor to the agriculture commissioner was unconstitutional. 

“It’s very disturbing that this action was taken, particularly with a board that’s been very successful over the years, and the executive director has been very successful at expanding the revenues for our state fair and convention center to record levels, but yet they’re all terminated,” Meredith said Wednesday. 

In a statement to the Lantern sent Wednesday afternoon, spokespeople for Kentucky Venues and the Finance and Administration Cabinet said the contract the committee deferred was not with Berry, but with Beck. 

“The Finance and Administration Cabinet informed the committee that no such contract exists because, following the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling that the General Assembly’s restructuring of the Kentucky State Fair Board was unconstitutional, the Finance Cabinet determined that Mr. Beck’s renewal contract, which had not yet become effective, was void,” the statement said. 

According to a YouTube video of the fair board’s July 1 meeting, the board approved a contract with Berry, paying him $250,000 to be the interim president and CEO of Kentucky Venues. 

The statement from the cabinet and Kentucky Venues said the committee’s action will have “no impact on the Kentucky State Fair Board’s preparations for next month’s Kentucky State Fair”. It added that the fair board “remains committed to advancing the state’s agriculture, tourism, and event industries as the team collaborates more closely with local and state leaders to maximize the facility’s full potential.” 

“Regarding the committee meeting, the Finance and Administration Cabinet advised the committee that there was no contract to present for review,” the statement said. “Because the committee’s notice was provided less than 48 hours before the meeting and there was no existing contract under consideration, no representative was available to appear.” 

According to the committee’s meeting materials, the two-year contract from July 2026 to June 2028 is for $440,000. The description says the amount isn’t an increase or decrease, but the contract was rescinded by the recent

Supreme Court decision. 

Two Democrats on the committee, Senate Minority Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, and Rep. Rachel Roarx, of Louisville, voted to not defer the contract until the next meeting. Thomas said Beshear’s action was “certainly legal and appropriate, and if the governor reconfigures or reconstitutes a board and someone has to go off, then that’s his decision or her decision.” 

However, some Republicans have argued the decision isn’t final. Under court rules, parties may have until July 15 to seek a rehearing on last week’s decision. Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman told the Lantern last week his office was reviewing the opinion with other constitutional officers “to determine next steps.”

The House co-chair of the committee, Rep. Mark Hart, R-Falmouth, said his vote to defer the contract was because he wanted an explanation from representatives of Beshear’s administration during the meeting. 

“They could have come in front of us and explain there was no contract, but they chose not to,” Hart said. “They ignored us, they showed us no respect, because we are a separate branch government, just like theirs.” 

Beshear said in a press conference last week he was supportive of the decision to remove Beck, adding that he “was not willing to work with me, and made that pretty clear” and had “led a charge to prevent any form of accountability from a governor.” 

Clarification: This story was updated with comments and additional information from the Beshear administration.