Franklin Chief Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd has denied a civil motion offered by a candidate for Kentucky governor.
Geoff Young filed a lawsuit against incumbent Governor Andy Beshear regarding a Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Committee meeting. Young said the Party’s bylaws were changed to allow for candidate endorsement. The perennial candidate said taking that step to formally endorse Beshear was a violation.
“The bylaw amendment was improper but their action to endorse a candidate, a Democratic candidate in a contested election before the Primary I think was illegal,” said Young.
In his ruling Judge Shepherd called Young a, quote, “repeat litigator who has a long history of frivolous lawsuits attempting to use the judicial system as a means to gain attention and disqualify political opponents." Young says he’s filed six ballot challenges since 2015 and appealed those cases up to the U.S. Supreme Court without success.
One day before Primary Election Day 2023, Democrat Geoff Young appeared in court in an effort to see no votes cast for incumbent Governor Andy Beshear counted. Judge Shepherd also wrote “Young’s individual objections to the action of the Democratic Party in amending by-laws provide no basis for disqualifying any candidate.” He went on to say, “Mr. Young’s allegations amount to nothing more than a political dispute over the internal governance of political party that is beyond the jurisdiction of the courts to adjudicate under the political question doctrine.”
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