Jonathan Miller (Kentucky politician)



































Jonathan Miller
Treasurer of Kentucky

In office
1999–2007
Governor
Paul E. Patton (1999–2003); Ernie Fletcher (2003–2007); Steve Beshear (2007)
Preceded by John Kennedy Hamilton
Succeeded by Todd Hollenbach
Secretary for the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet
Incumbent

Assumed office
2007
Governor
Steve Beshear (2007–2015); Matt Bevin (2015–present)

Personal details
Political party Democratic


Jonathan Miller (born July 24, 1967) was a politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky serving as Secretary for the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, serving from December 2007 to 2011. Prior to this appointment, Miller served as Kentucky State Treasurer from 1999 to 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.




Contents






  • 1 Biography


  • 2 Early political career


  • 3 Kentucky gubernatorial run


    • 3.1 Sideburns challenge


    • 3.2 Campaign finance disclosure


    • 3.3 Video blog


    • 3.4 Dropping out




  • 4 Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary


  • 5 Political views and advocacy


    • 5.1 Health care


    • 5.2 Environment


    • 5.3 Education


    • 5.4 Labor




  • 6 Books authored


  • 7 References


  • 8 External links





Biography


From Lexington, Miller graduated from Henry Clay High School and Harvard College and Law School. He is married to Lisa Miller. They have two daughters, Emily and Abigail.



Early political career


Miller began his career in politics while in college by serving as the national director of Students for Gore in 1988 when then-senator Al Gore was running for President. He later worked for Gore when he was Vice President in the Clinton Administration.[1][2] He first campaigned for elected office in 1998, losing a primary bid for Kentucky's 6th congressional district to Ernesto Scorsone. In 1999 he was elected State Treasurer and was re-elected in 2003.



Kentucky gubernatorial run



On December 14, 2006, Miller announced his intentions to run for Governor of Kentucky with Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze as his running mate. On May 7, 2007, a campaign spokesperson announced that Miller would drop out of the race and endorse the campaign of Steve Beshear.[3]



Sideburns challenge


Raising a few eyebrows, a fundraising method for Miller's campaign was dubbed "The Great Sideburns Debate",[4] which began due to an article by John David Dyche of the Louisville Courier-Journal that stated, "Treasurer Jonathan Miller sports perhaps the longest sideburns on a gubernatorial candidate since the Seventies ... the 1870s." Miller's campaign shot back calling it, "The lowest blow in political history",[4] and saying Dyche 'hit' Miller, "where it hurts the most ... his sideburns".[4] In response Miller's campaign invited donations of $18.70 and $19.70, for whichever era of sideburns the donor preferred.



Campaign finance disclosure


On February 23 the Miller-Maze campaign issued their campaign finance summary 90 days prior to the primary, and nearly two months prior to the mandated 32-day mark set for the first financial disclosure deadline for elections. This was in accordance with an earlier pledge to disclose finances at the 90 and 60-day mark and to strive for transparent governance.[5]



Video blog


On March 2 Miller's campaign unveiled a video blog on their campaign website becoming the only campaign in the race to do so.[6][7]



Dropping out


On May 7, 2007, Miller announced he was dropping out of the race for governor. Polls had consistently showed his name recognition had remained low and he was running well behind other candidates.[8] Miller and his running mate held a press conference and endorsed the slate of Steve Beshear and Dan Mongiardo. Miller said, "The odds are if I stayed in the race that there was a real possibility that the Democratic primary could produce a nominee who was unelectable in the fall — a nominee whose baggage would be picked apart and exploited."



Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary


On November 10, 2007, Governor-elect Steve Beshear appointed Miller to the position of Secretary for the Finance and Administration Cabinet. Miller stated he would resign as state treasurer as well as chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party when the appointment takes effect.



Political views and advocacy


Miller set out some general issues he planned to take on if he had been elected governor.



Health care


The Miller-Maze campaign advocated incentives for use of biotechnology, especially in farm crops. They also advocated the use of e-health initiatives to assist in reducing medical mistakes and reducing unnecessary testing in hospitals by requiring a card carrying all patient information.[9][10]


On March 5 Miller's campaign unveiled a plan to bring universal healthcare to Kentucky and heavily fund cancer research and treatment within his first term in recognition of Kentucky's high prevalence of cancer. Funding would have come through "expanded gaming, cost-savings realized through reforms, and cutting waste and abuse in the state's Medicaid system by streamlining bureaucracy.... Building coalitions of government agencies, private business, civic groups and faith-based programs will also be critical."[11]



Environment


Miller stated he would make Kentucky the "clean energy capital of the world through the development of zero-emissions clean coal and bio-fuel technologies to harness energy from Kentucky agriculture and natural resources". He was also critical of Mountain top removal, a common and controversial coal-mining method in Eastern Kentucky, and had called for its reform.[12] He has also advocated LEED certification for all future government buildings.



Education


Miller advocated a program entitled Cradle to College,[13] which he has supported with Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson. It was analogous to a savings bank account in which the state would make an investment, with the opportunity for relatives or outside companies to make contributions to specific students. It would have required the student to later pay back the state via community or military service.[14]



Labor


On February 16, 2007, the Miller-Maze campaign sent a letter to major labor leaders lambasting legislators for 'stripping down' a major minimum wage bill reform, stating that Miller and Maze would have introduced a full minimum wage increase that would be implemented within the first 100 days of governorship.[15]



Books authored


Miller authored the book The Compassionate Community<ref>The Compassionate Community. ISBN 140397408X..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}, which examines religious (particularly Judeo-Christian) values, and how they relate to politics. Former vice-president Al Gore wrote the foreword. The book received positive reviews from senators such as Evan Bayh and Joe Lieberman as well as many religious leaders. He also authored The Liberal Case for Israel.[citation needed]



References





  1. ^ Danielle Solzman (February 1, 2005). "Jonathan Miller: A Kentucky Democrat". The Kentucky Democrat.


  2. ^ Stuart Rothenberg (August 12, 1997). "Georgia Governor's Race A Free-For-All". CNN.


  3. ^ "Miller dropping out of race for governor". WBKO. 2007-05-07. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2012.


  4. ^ abc Sideburns at miller-maze.com Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine


  5. ^ miller-maze.com Archived 2007-03-02 at the Wayback Machine


  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2007-03-04.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  7. ^ N. Ky. Politics: Miller-Maze video blog Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine


  8. ^ Joe Biesk (May 8, 2007). "Miller leaves governor's race, endorses Beshear". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007.


  9. ^ miller-maze.com


  10. ^ miller-maze.com[dead link]


  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2007-03-06.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  12. ^ miller-maze.com Archived 2007-03-17 at the Wayback Machine


  13. ^ Cradle to College


  14. ^ miller-maze.com Archived 2007-03-17 at the Wayback Machine


  15. ^ Labor press release at miller-maze.com[dead link]




External links



  • Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Website


  • Follow the Money - Jonathan Miller 2003 campaign contributions


  • Vote Smart Project - Jonathan S. Miller (KY) profile


  • [1] Profile of Miller in "The Road to Reform Commitment"] Reform Judaism Magazine Summer 2007[dead link]


  • Miller for Governor website (archived)









Political offices
Preceded by
John Kennedy Hamilton

Treasurer of Kentucky
1999–2007
Succeeded by
Todd Hollenbach








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