Since city and county governments merged in 2003, however, Republicans have had a fleeting minority coming no closer than a 15-11 margin.

In 2011, Democrats increased their control to a 17-seat majority, which is almost veto-proof and makes a five seat swing in favor of the GOP unlikely, but Fleming is confident given the in roads made by former Councilman Hal Heiner’s unsuccessful mayoral campaign, which came narrowly close to winning last fall despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans by a 2-to-1 ratio.

“Anything is possible,” Fleming says. “What we need to do and focus on is promoting what I think are the true values of this community in education and business policy. Even though in some districts they retained the current council members, I think there’s a general sense that there needs to be a change in operating local government.”

The even-numbered council members will be up for re-election in 2012, but most of those districts have party registration ratios that favor the incumbents. Even after redistricting council seats, with President Obama at the top of the ticket Democratic turnout will be significantly higher for any would-be GOP challenger taking on an entrenched Democratic opponent.

The bill would require a person to get a doctor’s prescription to purchase cold medicine and is a measure that supporters contend will combat the proliferation of methamphetamine labs in Kentucky.

“I understand the urgent desire to address the meth problem in Kentucky, but we also have a very bad prescription drug abuse problem here already,” Moffett says. “The biggest impact this bill will have is on increased costs for innocent Kentuckians. Attacking the root cause of the problem is the only real solution. My jobs and education plans will do much more for the drug problem in Kentucky than SB 45 ever will, and cost less too.”

While making its way through the General Assembly, the bill has sparked a debate that has divided state lawmakers, pharmaceutical companies and law enforcement officers, who disagree on whether making cold medicine prescription-only will have an effect.

Moffett, a Louisville businessman affiliated with the Tea Party, calls Senate Bill 45 an abuse of power by “ruling class politicians” such as his GOP opponent, Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, who is in favor of the bill.

According to the Moffett campaign, Williams is supporting a “snot tax” that won’t decrease drug abuse or the threat that meth labs present.

The three-way GOP primary in the Kentucky governor’s race also includes Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw, who announced her candidacy late last month.

The usual party officials, including Republican congressional candidate Todd Lally, will be in attendance and will likely portray House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the following:

BREAKING NEWS (not really): Some dude named Bill Johnson dropped out of the U.S. Senate race. The longshot GOP candidate cited depressing poll numbers.

Hammering Hal: The zing of the night from yesterday’s debate between the three Republican mayoral candidates came from Metro Councilman Hal Heiner, R-19, who is considered the GOP front-runner. The east Louisville councilman confronted his primary opponent, developer Chris Thieneman, who is a co-founder of The Mint Jubilee, about financial troubles associated with the Derby-eve charitable event. Heiner asked: “How can we trust you to run our city’s $800 million budget when you failed to manage a charity?” Ouch! Listen to audio of the debate here.

Down I-64 east: The race for mayor of Lexington is heating up too.

Jihad Jane and the Patriot Act: The Justice Department won’t say whether provisions of the Patriot Act were used to investigate and charge Colleen LaRose, according to TIME Magazine. However, the FBI and U.S. prosecutors who charged the 46-year-old woman could well have used the Patriot Act’s fast access to her cell-phone records, hotel bills and rental-car contracts as they tracked her movements.

However, the three GOP candidates vying for the Mayor’s Office sincerely believe that will change in 2010. They fielded questions about the Metro Government budget, library funding, ethics and other topics.

Don’t worry if you missed it because WFPL has audio of the debate.

“Learn about his track record as a strong conservative protecting our tax dollars and fighting for a more transparent and ethical city government,” the GOP statement reads. The official announcement will be at the Tumbleweed restaurant (1201 River Road) tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Councilman Heiner was unavailable for comment, but in previous interviews he told LEO Weekly he was seriously considering entering the race and would make a decision by mid-September. By entering the campaign to be the next mayor, Heiner will lose his seat on the council because he cannot run for two Metro offices at the same time, which plucks him from the 10-member Republican caucus, where is considered of one their more competent lawmakers.

“We will have fresh blood and have gotten that in the past. Change is sometimes good,” says Steve Haag, minority caucus director. “I think it shows guts. We don’t intend to lose him. We intend to work hard with him the future. Again, it’s an opportunity.”

With two key Democrats — current President Jim King, D-10, and Councilman David Tandy — vying for the position, possibly resulting in a deadlock 8-to-8 vote in the majority caucus, Republicans could pull off an upset.

“It’s an opportunity to get a voice in and be an alternative to a Jim King or David Tandy,” Peden says. “If we can beat the odds of the new council ratio being 16 to 10, I hope to be a president who actually questions the mayor’s activities and pushes to get information up front.”

Jerry saves the day (so to speak): Without raising taxes or fees and avoiding layoffs, Mayor Jerry Abramson cut enough to match up the projected $20 million budget deficit. It still hasn’t shielded him from criticism from union leaders, who are upset about an additional furlough day, the increase in the take-home car program and the closing of a 137-year-old historic firehouse. In a press release Jefferson County Republican Chairman Brad Cummings says Abramson’s one-man show is not how city government should work. “The last time I checked, the City of Louisville was set up as a democracy, not a monarchy. Unfortunately, this one-man band approach makes our Mayor look more like Napoleon than Lincoln.”

On Broadway: Four years after west Louisville’s only theater, Broadway Cinemas, closed due to poor attendance, the debt collection case against its former owners, including KY State Sen. Gerald A. Neal, has been settled after a little arm-twisitng from U.S. Attorney David L. Huber. Neal and co-owners Raymond M. Burse and Walter P. Porter agreed to jointly pay $50,000 to settle the case, in addition to making the federal government the payee of a life insurance policy in the amount of $250,000.  The total payment to the feds is $800,000.

Beshear’s cuts: Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear proposed a 70-cent cigarette tax as one of the solutions to $456 million revenue shortfall. Gov. Beshear announced his cuts and cost-saving ideas earlier this morning.

K-Fed’s Grape Juice: The song mocking President-elect Barack Obama with a bunch of racist stereotypes about black Americans makes you wonder why anyone paid attention to this loser in the first place.

Daily Gay: Former Republican presidential nominee Gov. Mike Huckabee clashed with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show over gay marriage. Big mistake Mike. The modern-day Mencken delivers his best shot to Huckabee’s hocus pocus logic when he asks, “When do you choose not to be gay?” Watch the smackdown here.

Calling it a “thinly veiled sexist attack” by his party, the Jefferson County Republican Party is coordinating a statewide effort to send 1,000 tubes of lipstick to Sen. Obama’s campaign headquarters.

“It seems to me that Barack Obama and his surrogates want to denigrate Sarah Palin at every pass,” said Jefferson Country Republican Chairman Brad Cummings.

Calling the story “phony” and “foolish”, Obama has responded today, calling the dustup a faux constroversy and that the McCain campaign will “seize on an innocent remark, take it out of context, throw up an outrageous ad because they know it is catnip for the news media.” (PB)