Tag: David A. Jones Sr.

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Bevin deflects question on whether he asked Ramsey to quit; calls UofL board ‘dysfunctional’
Matt Bevin
Bevin

Gov. Matt Bevin, asked if he sought James Ramsey’s resignation, said he’d spoken to many people, including the embattled University of Louisville president himself, and the “culmination of all the conversations I’ve had with everybody on all fronts is what I just announced to you,” the Lexington Herald Leader says.

Bevin said today those conversations also included leaders in the higher-education community,” and there is pretty much uniform agreement . . . (that) the board as it exists right now is not particularly functional. Its dysfunction has precluded it from doing what its responsibility is, and that is to be effective fiduciary leaders of the university,” according to The Courier-Journal.

Ramsey, 67, has been president since 2002. He offered his resignation, but it hasn’t been formally accepted, because a new board of trustees hasn’t been formed to replace the one Bevin dismissed today, according to multiple media accounts. The governor said Ramsey’s exit could come in the next two weeks. But state Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, said Bevin’s firing the board is illegal, the Courier-Journal says.

James Ramsey
Ramsey

Bevin issued an executive order this morning that scolded the 20-member board for its “lack of transparency and professionalism” and described the relationship between the U of L administration and trustees as “operationally dysfunctional,” according to WDRB.

The governor appointed a temporary three-person board until a permanent one can be assembled: Junior Bridgeman, a businessman and former U of L basketball player; Bonita Black, a Louisville attorney, and Dr. Ron Wright, said WAVE.

Larry Benz
Benz

The board chairman is Larry Benz, a healthcare business owner. He’s been a trustee since July 2011.

Trustee Robert Hughes, the Murray physician who has supported Ramsey, said he learned about Bevin’s plans via social media — echoing statements by other trustees about being in the dark, the Courier-Journal reported).

According to Ramsey’s contract, if he resigns at the request of the board of trustees, he can keep a tenured professor position — for 75% of his most recent base pay as president, which is $350,000, according to WFPL.

Ramsey has been under fire for numerous scandals over the past several years, said WFPL. The NCAA is investigating the basketball program after a former escort alleged an ex-coach paid for strippers and sex for players and recruits. Last October, Ramsey apologized after he and his senior staff posed for a photograph at a university Halloween party wearing stereotypical Mexican garb, the radio station said.

One of the university’s most influential and wealthiest graduates is Humana co-founder David A. Jones Sr., who received a bachelor’s degree in business there in 1954.

Investing

In Glenview Trust Co.’s board, a portrait of many lives enriched

Discretion is everything in the wealth management world. That’s why the court challenge around the Glenview Trust Co.‘s launch 15 years ago grabbed such unwelcome headlines — before it got settled, of course, for $525,000. That controversial start apparently didn’t dent eventual success at the firm, which is akin to a large family office. Its motto: “enriching life.”

Today, Glenview — named for the posh community where the company is located east of Louisville — says it’s the commonwealth’s biggest independent trust company, working exclusively for individual investors. Glenview now represents more than 500 wealthy families, with a combined $6.5 billion in assets.

Its pitch: “Glenview Trust is a local, closely-held company with employee ownership, our professionals act and think differently. We are not accountable to a headquarters in a distant city, which allows us to effectively and efficiently accommodate our clients’ unique situations.”

Glenview has 40 employees, including nine attorneys. How much does it earn servicing those 500-plus families? That’s hard to estimate without knowing the firm’s fee schedule. Industrywide, fees vary widely, often stair-stepping down as account values rise. But applying a relatively low 0.5%, that would generate $33 million a year.

Money in Politics

Jones vs. Jones: A mystery over the true identity of Louisville’s biggest political donor

Business First logoBusiness First has a curious story about political campaign contributions in its current issue both in print and on its website. (We won’t link to the web version because it’s only for subscribers). The story lists the Louisville area’s top 30 individual donors for the 2016 election cycle — this includes White House candidates — and says whether their gifts went mostly to Democrats or to Republicans. The names were compiled for the business weekly by the well-regarded Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group in Washington that tracks campaign finance.

Here’s what’s odd; bear with us, because it’s complicated. The story says the No. 1 donor is a retired Dr. Mark Jones, who’s said to have given a total $200,950 primarily to Republicans. He’s far and away the most generous donor listed; No. 2 is the philanthropist Christy Brown, who’s given $76,600 (mostly to Democrats), according to the list.

But Boulevard wonders whether the center has erred. We used its searchable database to build our own list of the biggest Kentucky donors for the 2016 election cycle. At the top of our list: one David A. Jones, identified only as a Louisville retiree who gave $200,000 on Sept. 14 to the Kentuckians for Strong Leadership PAC.

David Jones Sr
Jones

He’s almost certainly Humana co-founder David A. Jones Sr.; the PAC lists his $200,000 gift, and his West Main Street office address in its annual 2015 Federal Election Commission report. (Moreover, if you search solely for any David A. Joneses, you turn up another five donations totaling $41,500 from a retired David A. Jones Sr., including $33,400 on May 27, 2015, to the Republican National Committee. However, it doesn’t look like these gifts were from his son, venture capitalist and Humana director David A. Jones Jr.; these appear to be from Jones Sr.)

Back to the Business First story. The center’s database does, indeed, show two contributions by a Dr. Mark Robert Jones of Louisville, but totaling only $950. And unlike Business First’s account, Jones isn’t identified as retired. The donations went to 21st Century Oncology; it’s unclear whether that’s a PAC.

Did the center mistakenly credit the $200,000 from David Jones Sr. to Dr. Jones and his $950, pushing the doctor to the top of the list? It certainly seems possible. That would mean the Humana co-founder is the real top donor, with a total $241,500. We’ll watch Business First for any clarification in the days ahead.

McConnell,Mitch-012309-18422-jf 0024
McConnell

This much is certain: The Kentuckians for Strong Leadership PAC is solidly Republican. “Our highest priority in 2014,” its website says, “was ensuring the reelection of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In 2016, we turn our attention to delivering control of Kentucky’s State House of Representatives to the Republican Party.”