Electric car plant coming to region

Gov says Newberry had role in bringing operation to area

By RONNIE ELLIS

FRANKFORT — The announcement Monday that an electric car assembly plant is coming to Simpson County had a political angle.

Steve Newberry, the Democratic candidate for the 9th Senate district, which includes Simpson County, was on hand and got a shout-out from Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear.

Not surprisingly, his Republican opponent, David Givens, didn’t think it was appropriate.

The two are vying for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Richie Sanders of Franklin, who was at the event Monday in Frankfort. The 9th district runs from the Tennessee line in Simpson County to the Green River in Green County, where Givens lives. It also includes Newberry’s home county of Barren.

“Steve Newberry ... has put in a lot of time and effort on this,” Beshear said. He also recognized Sanders, Franklin Mayor Jim Brown, Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson and Dennis Griffin, CEO of the Franklin Simpson County Industrial Authority.

Beshear has said he wants to reclaim control of the state Senate from the Republican majority. The 9th Senate seat would be a key pick up for Beshear and Democrats if Newberry wins it.

Newberry was accompanied by his campaign manager, Paula Kirby, whose husband owns an auto-related business in Simpson County. Newberry said his role was communicating between Simpson County officials and Beshear’s administration.

“I think Indiana (which was also competing for the facility) was getting ahead of us,” Newberry said. “My role was reaching out to the governor’s office and saying ‘this is critical to the region’ and fortunately the governor’s office was receptive.”

Givens, Newberry’s Republican opponent from Greensburg, was surprised to learn Newberry and his campaign manager attended the event.

“I think we run a real hazard when we politicize the economic development process,” Givens said in a phone interview.

Told of Newberry’s explanation of his role as communicator between Simpson County officials and the administration, Givens said, “Either that’s an insult to the governor’s office when they didn’t realize these things were happening quickly or it’s an insult to Dennis Griffin, the mayor, the county judge and fiscal court and the city council.”

Beshear said that isn’t the case. Officials in Franklin and Simpson County “were all in contact with us, but (Newberry) worked with us as well. They (Simpson County officials) worked real hard on this.”

Newberry, of Glasgow, is president/CEO of Commonwealth Broadcasting, which owns about 25 radio stations. From 1992 to 1996, he was executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County Industrial Development Economic Authority and later served on its board of directors. Both Givens and Newberry say economic development is a key issue in the race.

“Steve was in economic development down there for some time,” Beshear said. “And he knew about this effort and he communicated with us back and forth as we worked on the details.”

Newberry said Barren County, which has seen several employers close or leave town in recent years, wasn’t a candidate for the plant.

“Barren County didn’t have 160 acres shovel-ready next to an interstate highway,” Newberry said. “Barren County was never in the running (for the ZAP car facility) but it will benefit from suppliers and some people from Barren County may get jobs there. It was better for Barren County that the facility is in Simpson County than in Indiana. This will be huge for the entire region.”

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. He can be reached by e-mail at rellis@cnhi.com.