Galbraith and Moellman Make it Official

The upcoming elections for statewide officers in Kentucky will have only two candidates who aren't affiliated with the major political parties this year.For the fifth time, independent gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith filed his statement of candidacy last week. The perennial candidate lists Dea Riley of Shelby County as his running mate, and is considered a "protest vote" by political observers. Given Democratic Governor Steve Beshear's avid support of mountaintop removal, there might be more of those going around this fall.Then there's the Willy Nelson endorsement.The other candidate is Kenneth C. Moellman, Jr., who filed under the Libertarian Party banner for the office of State Treasurer. There's little available information about Moellman, but two years ago he did stand against banning tobacco use outdoors at the University of Kentucky, saying it was a violation of personal liberties.In order to be placed on the November ballot, the two must still file the appropriate nominating petition by August 9. Each will have to collect 5,000 signatures from registered voters and pay a $500 filing fee.The statement-of-candidacy form for independent candidates is required by state law. The deadline for independents and third party candidates to file for public office was April 1.