Former Kentucky governor Julian Carroll dies at 92

McCracken County native and former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll died Sunday, his family said. He was 92.

Carroll, a Democrat, served as governor from 1974 to 1979 and made a successful comeback in 2004 when he was elected as a state senator.

Carroll served five terms in the Kentucky House, including a stint as House speaker from 1968 to 1970. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1971 and ascended to the governorship in December 1974 when Gov. Wendell Ford resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Running a year later as an incumbent, Carroll easily won election to a full term of his own.

He governed during a time of prosperity. An oil embargo by Arab countries triggered a boom in the coal industry, and Carroll’s administration was awash in money from the coal severance tax.

Carroll led the push to eliminate the private bail bond system and the state invested heavily in teacher salaries and provided free textbooks. He established a School Building Authority to help poor school districts build new schools. Vocational and special education systems were also bolstered.

The state parks systems expanded under his leadership, and Kentucky strengthened fire-safety laws following the deadly blaze that tore through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in northern Kentucky.

But his administration was scarred by a federal grand jury investigation after he left office. The investigation led to the indictment of the former chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party, Howard “Sonny” Hunt, on 22 counts for his alleged participation in a fraud scheme involving workers compensation insurance. Hunt pleaded guilty and served time in prison. Carroll was never charged.

After leaving office in 1979, Carroll opened a law practice. He attempted a comeback in 1987 but finished far behind in the crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary. A few decades later in 2004, he won a seat in the Kentucky Senate, where he served until 2020. His booming voice became a staple during debates.

Julian Morton Carroll was born on April 16, 1931, the third of 11 children born to to Elvie Buster and Eva Heady Carroll in McCracken County. He served as an Air Force attorney for three years after graduating from the University of Kentucky law school in 1956.

In 1960, Carroll led a a public referendum campaign to allow the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide electricity to McCracken County. The referendum, which led to lower electric costs, passed overwhelmingly, a success that set the stage for Carroll’s long political career.

His wife, Charlann Harting Carroll, died in 2014 at the age of 81 after more than 60 years of marriage.

Funeral arrangements for the former governor were pending, his family said.



(AP Photo Timothy D. Easley)