It certainly didn't take long for the dung to start flying in the 2002 Kenton County judge-executive race. In fact, it started even before the race officially started.

        Democrat Patrick Hughes had not even made his formal campaign announcement — an event held Oct. 5 at a Fort Mitchell hotel — and Kenton County GOP Chairman Greg Shumate was firing shots at the Dems.

        “Apparently this election will unfortunately be another example of the Democratic political machine in Frankfort trying to buy and control elections in Kenton County,” Mr. Shumate said in a press release issued last Friday afternoon, before Mr. Hughes even made his campaign announcement.

        Mr. Shumate, acting as a surrogate for Republican incumbent Judge-executive Dick Murgatroyd, was making a reference to the 2000 state Senate race between Democrat Jaimie Henson and Republican Jack Westwood, a race in which Mr. Westwood held his Senate seat.

        In the race, lots of cash and resources poured in from state Democratic headquarters in Frankfort. Mr. Shumate predicts that will be the case with Mr. Hughes' campaign.

        “But just like Jaimie Henson before him, Patrick Hughes will find out that the Kenton County electorate is not for sale,” Mr. Shumate said in his statement.

        Those comments raised the Irish in Mark Guilfoyle, the Democratic Party strategist advising Mr. Hughes. He was quick to mention that on Mr. Hughes' first campaign-finance report, less than 2 percent of the nearly $70,000 he raised came from Frankfort.

        “That's an awfully negative thing to be saying, especially when it has no basis in fact,” Mr. Guilfoyle said of Mr. Shumate's statement.

        The Jaimie Henson race was a statehouse race, meaning the state party would obviously be involved, Mr. Guilfoyle said.

        “Jaimie Henson has nothing to do with Patrick Hughes,” he said. “Greg Shumate threw a big punch at us and missed.”

        Then Mr. Guilfoyle took a swing of his own, saying Mr. Shumate, a lawyer, makes “gobs and gobs of money” on legal work for Kenton County.

        Mr. Guilfoyle didn't elaborate but his comment was an obvious reference to the contract Mr. Shumate's firm — Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald in Covington — has with the Sanitation District of Northern Kentucky.

        Mr. Shumate accurately pointed out that while the firm does have the contract, the sanitation district board, not the county, hires the district's attorney. And it's had the same one for more than 20 years, said Bill Robinson, one of Mr. Shumate's law partners.

        But what Mr. Guilfoyle was apparently referring to is the common knowledge in local legal circles that the judge-executive of Kenton County has great influence over who does the legal work for the sanitation district.

        “Now that Greg has raised the point, I guess we'll have to develop that issue for voters so they can see who is really trying to buy and control county elections,” Mr. Guilfoyle said.

        “Maybe Greg is just trying to protect his firm's legal work with the county,” he said.

        Mr. Shumate said it is Mr. Guilfoyle who is leveling “personal, negative, untrue” attacks at him, his law partner and his law firm.

        Hey, guys, it's October of 2001. Is this going to go on for 13 months?

        E-mail at pcrowley@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/crowley.

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