Gov. Fletcher responding to black leaders, adds African American to Cabinet
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, responding to demands by civil-rights leaders, said yesterday that he would add a black to his Cabinet by elevating the job of personnel commissioner Bob Ramsey. Fletcher told a convention of black Baptists he had been "rightly criticized" for not having an African-American in his Cabinet and said he would issue an executive order restoring Cabinet status to the current department of personnel, which is headed by Ramsey. Fletcher, who took office in December, became the first Kentucky governor since 1980 to not name a black Cabinet secretary. Two of former Gov. Paul Patton's 14 Cabinet secretaries were African-American. [more]