Brereton C. Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brereton C. Jones
Jones in 1998
58th Governor of Kentucky
In office December 10, 1991 – December 12, 1995
Lieutenant	Paul Patton
Preceded by	Wallace Wilkinson
Succeeded by	Paul Patton
50th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office December 8, 1987 – December 10, 1991
Governor	Wallace G. Wilkinson
Preceded by	Steve Beshear
Succeeded by	Paul Patton
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates
In office 1964–1968
Personal details
Born	Brereton Chandler Jones (1939-06-27)June 27, 1939 Gallipolis, Ohio, U.S.
Died	September 18, 2023(2023-09-18) (aged 84)
Political party	Democratic (after 1975)
Other political affiliations	Republican (until 1975)
Spouse	Libby Jones
Alma mater	University of Virginia
Occupation	Horse breeder
Profession	Thoroughbred horse farm owner

Brereton Chandler Jones (born June 27, 1939 – died September 18, 2023) was a politician from Kentucky. He served as Kentucky's 50th lieutenant governor from 1987 to 1991. Later, he became the state's 58th governor from 1991 to 1995. After his time in office, he led the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP). This group worked to support Kentucky's horse industry.

Jones was born in Ohio and grew up in West Virginia. In 1964, he became the youngest person ever elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was chosen as the Republican leader in the House two years later. In 1968, he left politics to focus on his real estate business. He married Elizabeth "Libby" Lloyd in 1970. In 1972, they moved to Airdrie Farm in Woodford County, Kentucky. There, Jones started Airdrie Stud, a famous farm for Thoroughbred horses. He later changed his political party to Democratic in 1975. Governors John Y. Brown, Jr. and Martha Layne Collins appointed him to various state groups.

In 1987, Jones ran for lieutenant governor. He hoped this role would help him become governor one day. He won the election, but he had a difficult relationship with Governor Wallace Wilkinson. Jones was elected governor in 1991. He won against Governor Wilkinson's wife, Martha Wilkinson, in the Democratic primary. Jones also had a tense relationship with the Kentucky General Assembly. This was partly because of comments he made after a federal investigation. Despite this, he passed many of his plans. This included a change that allowed state officials to run for re-election once. However, he only partly succeeded with his main goal: health care reform. The legislature agreed to some of his ideas, like making sure insurance companies could not refuse people with pre-existing conditions (health problems they already had). But they did not approve his plan for health care for everyone in Kentucky.

After being governor, Jones started the Kentucky Equine Education Project. He thought about running for governor again in 2003 but decided not to.

Early Life and Horse Farming

Brereton Jones was born on June 27, 1939, in Gallipolis, Ohio. His family lived in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, but Gallipolis had the closest hospital. He was one of six children. His father, E. Bartow Jones II, served in the West Virginia Senate. Brereton grew up on a dairy farm in Point Pleasant.

Jones was a great football player at Point Pleasant High School. He graduated as the top student in 1957. He then went to the University of Virginia on a football scholarship. He played both offense and defense. In 1961, he earned a degree in business. He studied at law school for a short time. Then he returned to West Virginia to start a real estate and construction business.

In 1964, Jones began his political career. He was elected as a Republican to the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was the youngest person ever to be elected to that group. In 1966, he became the Republican leader in the House. In 1968, Jones decided not to run for re-election. He felt that politics was not always fair.

After leaving the West Virginia House, Jones focused on his real estate business. He also started a small horse farm near Huntington. His interest in horses led him to visit Keeneland race track in Kentucky. There, he met Elizabeth "Libby" Lloyd, who would become his wife. Libby's father was Arthur Lloyd, a high-ranking military official in Kentucky. Jones and Lloyd married in 1970. They had two children, Lucy and Bret. In 1972, the Jones family moved to Airdrie Farm. This was Libby's childhood home in Woodford County, Kentucky. Jones leased part of the farm and started Airdrie Stud. This thoroughbred horse farm became famous around the world. Airdrie Stud is on the same land where Woodburn Stud, a top thoroughbred farm in the 1800s, once stood. The land had not been used for horse breeding for 70 years before Jones started Airdrie Stud. Jones also led the Kentucky Thoroughbred Commission and served as treasurer for the Breeders' Cup.

Political Career in Kentucky

In 1975, Jones became a Democrat. He said he was unhappy with the government at the time. He also wanted to take part in Kentucky's primary elections. At that time, there were twice as many Democrats as Republicans in Kentucky. Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. appointed him to the boards of the University of Kentucky and the Chandler Medical Center. In the mid-1980s, Jones created a group to provide free health care. This was for people with very low income who did not qualify for Medicaid (a government health program). Governor Martha Layne Collins chose Jones to lead her Medicaid Program Review Team. He also served on her Council on Education Reform.

Lieutenant Governor

In late 1985, Jones announced he would run for lieutenant governor in 1987. He admitted he wanted the office as a way to become governor later. He won the Democratic primary against Paul E. Patton and David L. Armstrong. Wallace G. Wilkinson, who won the Democratic primary for governor, praised Jones. He said he would make Jones the head of an important economic development group. Wilkinson and Jones won the general election. Jones defeated Republican Lawrence R. Webster by a large number of votes.

Soon after the election, Jones told a newspaper he had talked with Wilkinson about working with the media. Wilkinson often avoided speaking to the media. Jones also said he did not agree with all of Wilkinson's ideas and would not just say "yes" to everything. These comments made Wilkinson angry. He changed his mind about giving Jones an important role in his government. The relationship between Jones and Wilkinson got worse as both tried to pay back their campaign debts.

Jones chose not to live in the lieutenant governor's mansion.

During the 1988 legislative session, Governor Wilkinson suggested a change to the Kentucky Constitution. This change would allow state officials, including himself, to run for re-election once. As the leader of the Senate, Jones insisted that any such change must also include a runoff rule. This rule would mean a second election if no candidate won a clear majority in the party primary. Wilkinson did not like this idea, and the change did not pass in the state senate. Wilkinson's education plan also failed. Jones suggested that the governor should get lawmakers to agree before trying again. After the 1988 session, Wilkinson called Jones a "backstabber." He accused Jones of working against the re-election change. The two did not meet for six months after that.

As lieutenant governor, Jones supported family farms and school improvements. He was praised for his efforts to put a "Made in Kentucky" label on food grown in the state. He also said the state could save $500,000 a year by combining the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer. Jones believed this would give the lieutenant governor more to do and help voters judge their work. His idea, which needed a change to the constitution, was never approved. Jones also said he saved his office $200,000. He did this by choosing not to live in the lieutenant governor's mansion. He also reduced the number of Kentucky State Police officers for security and gave up seven cars.

Governor

In 1991, Jones was the most likely candidate to win the governorship. The rivalry between Jones and Wilkinson was so strong that Wilkinson's wife, Martha Wilkinson, was one of Jones' opponents in the Democratic primary. She ended her campaign 18 days before the primary. Jones supported rules to make political campaigns fairer. He received 184,703 votes in the primary. This was enough to win against Scotty Baesler (149,352 votes), Dr. Floyd Poore (132,060 votes), and Gatewood Galbraith (25,834).

In the general election, Jones ran against Republican Larry Hopkins. Hopkins was a congressman for seven terms. People thought Hopkins had the best chance for Republicans to win the governorship since Louie B. Nunn in 1967. However, Hopkins' negative campaign ads, mistakes about his past, and involvement in a House scandal hurt his chances. Jones won the election with 540,468 votes to Hopkins' 294,542. This was the largest win in a Kentucky governor's race.

Jones believed in "good government." His first action as governor was to issue a special rule. This rule limited what his appointed staff could do after leaving government jobs. He also helped pass one of the nation's toughest ethics laws. This law limited the actions of lobbyists (people who try to influence laws). It also brought in campaign finance reform. This helped reduce the advantage of rich candidates. The "trustees bill," passed in 1992, allowed for an independent review of all people chosen for university boards. Jones later removed former governor Wilkinson from the University of Kentucky board using this law. Despite these changes, some people criticized Jones. No law required him to share the names of his business partners at Airdrie Stud. Also, the farm benefited from a 1992 law that allowed off-track betting places. Some of their money went to successful horse breeders.

When Jones became governor, the state faced a $400 million budget shortage. Soon after his election, Jones created the Quality and Efficiency Commission. This group looked for ways to make state government work better. Some of their ideas that were put into action included: getting lower interest rates on state loans, reducing the state workforce by 2,000 employees (mostly when people retired or left), and helping local businesses grow with tax breaks. By the end of Jones' term, the state had a $300 million budget surplus (extra money).

In his first year, Jones and five others were in a state helicopter. They were flying from Frankfort to Fort Knox on August 7, 1992. A part of the tail rotor broke off, causing the helicopter to crash near Graefenburg in Shelby County. The pilot managed to guide the helicopter into a treetop to lessen the crash. No one died, but Jones hurt his back and bruised a kidney. The National Transportation Safety Board later said the pilots had not properly attached an engine cover. This cover then hit the tail rotor blade. Both pilots said they did nothing wrong. Jones praised them for saving everyone on board.

Even though fellow Democrats controlled two-thirds of the Kentucky General Assembly, Jones never had a good working relationship with them. This was partly because of comments Jones made after the Operation Boptrot investigation. This investigation led to 15 lawmakers being found guilty. Jones called the investigation "a cleansing process." Lawmakers did not like this. They felt Jones was trying to look better than them. After Jones' comments, state senate president John "Eck" Rose became Jones' strong political opponent. Still, Jones was able to pass many of his important laws during his term.

Jones' main goal as governor was to pass health care reform. He set up two groups to study health care reform. In May 1993, he called the legislature into a special meeting. He wanted them to consider a bill for health care for everyone. The only thing that came out of this meeting was a temporary tax on health care providers. Lawmakers also agreed to work on a bill for the next regular legislative session. On March 2, 1994, the Kentucky House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill. But it did not include health care for everyone. Jones was angry and started speaking against the bill. However, the Kentucky Senate passed its version on March 22.

Both parts of the legislature worked to agree on a final bill. On April 1, 1994, the last regular day of the session, the Senate passed a compromise bill. But the House stopped it with a special motion. On April 15, the last day of the session, the health care bill was brought back. It passed both houses of the General Assembly. Jones then changed his mind and signed it. The new law made insurance policies the same for all companies. It also created a Health Policy Board to control price increases. It made sure insurance companies could not refuse coverage because of a pre-existing condition. It also allowed workers to keep their insurance when they changed jobs.

Jones also supported a change to the state constitution. This change was very important for the governor's office. The new rule meant the lieutenant governor would no longer become acting governor when the governor left the state. It also allowed candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run together as a team. The most important part of the change was removing the rule that stopped governors from running for re-election. Before, a governor could not serve two terms in a row. Under the new change, the sitting governor could run for re-election once. Similar changes had been suggested and failed under governors John Y. Brown, Jr. and Wallace Wilkinson. But Jones was able to get it passed. This was because he agreed that the new rule would not apply to him or the current officials. A separate law passed during Jones' term required a runoff election if no governor candidate won a majority in their party primary.

Other things Jones achieved included: passing a mandatory seat belt law, increasing money for the state park system, and slowly getting rid of the state inheritance tax. He also created the state's largest ever reserve fund. This fund used money from sales, income, corporate, coal, and property taxes. He reached his goal of having 7.4 percent minority representation in the state workforce. He also appointed three times more African-Americans than the previous government. He appointed more women to government jobs than his predecessor. This included Sara Combs, the first woman to serve on the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Later Life

After his term as governor, Jones went back to Airdrie Stud. He started Commonwealth Broadcasting and bought several radio and television stations in Kentucky and Tennessee with partners. He continued to speak publicly about making political campaigns fairer and improving health care. He also supported displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools.

Jones talked about running for governor in 2003 but did not enter the race. In 2004, he founded the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP). This group worked to teach people about Kentucky's horse industry. It also worked to get more horse-friendly laws passed by the General Assembly. He led KEEP from 2004 to 2011.

In October 2016, Jones received the first Industry Vision Award. This award was for his important contributions to Kentucky's horse industry.

Jones passed away on September 18, 2023, at 84 years old.

Images for kids

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  Jones in 1998

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  Jones chose not to live in the lieutenant governor's mansion.