Beshear administration official admits to raising contributions from state workers
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Walter Gaffield, an official of the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet during Democrat Steve Beshear's administration, admitted Monday to three ethics violations alleging he raised political contributions on state time and at his workplace.
The ethics charges were released along with a settlement Monday at a meeting of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
Gaffield, of Lexington, was a longtime state employee who served in the politically appointed job as the Personnel Cabinet's executive director of Administrative Services from 2010 to 2015. He left in December 2015 shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin took office.
In a settlement agreement released by the ethics commission, Gaffield admitted he used his position to solicit campaign contributions from other political employees within the cabinet during state work hours and in state offices. He also admitted that he made references to the workers' supervisors during the solicitations and that he collected some of the contributions while at his state workplace.
Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/15/beshear-era/323140001/