Staff report
Gov. Beshear has directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff until sunset on the day of interment in honor of former Governor Brereton Jones who died Monday after a long illness.
The former Governor will lie in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol. Additional arrangements will be forthcoming.
Individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the Commonwealth are encouraged to join in this tribute. Flag status information is available at governor.ky.gov/flag-status.
Jones, 84, was the 58th Governor of the Commonwealth, serving from 1991 to 1995. Prior to becoming Governor, he served as Lt. Governor from 1987 to 1991. He is survived by his wife, Libby, and their two children, Bret and Lucy.
See the NKyTribune’s story of his death and service here.
Tributes for the Governor Jones are pouring in from around the state and will likely continue, but he was an especially popular Governor in Northern Kentucky, noted for all he accomplished in the region — and for his integrity and his genuine interest in “doing the right thing.”
Here are a few tributes from Northern Kentuckians who remember the impact of the Governor and the man on the region:
• Bill Butler, Corporex:
Governor Jones and I had a special friendship that was built on bonds of honor. What I hold closest to my heart in his passing is that relationship which grew out of community service to which both of us were committed. He was a good governor. He was a good friend to our community up here at the top of Kentucky. He was the party responsible for our convention center in Covington. He called a special session of the legislature in order to get it included in the budget. He was a supporter of people, a true gentleman, and caring person. All that in addition to being an expert in his field of thoroughbred breeding. We enjoyed further business partnerships once he had left the governorship; and in all matters he was a first class partner. I know he rests in well deserved peace.
• Covington Mayor Joe Meyer, then a Kentucky state representative:
Brereton Jones was an excellent governor. He was very responsive to Northern Kentucky requests and a good supporter of this region. He put the public good ahead of his personal interests. Gubernatorial succession, for example, was approved because he agreed to support the amendment even though it didn’t apply to him. He had high ethical standards; the executive and legislative branch ethical laws were enacted under his watch. He should be remembered fondly.
• Mark Guilfoyle, who served in the Jones administration, now with DBL Law:
Brereton Jones was a rarity is politics. He was in politics for all the right reasons. He had a big heart and cared deeply for all Kentuckians, especially the marginalized. And without question, he put Northern Kentucky on the map in Frankfort.
• Pat Crowley, then a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer, now partner with Strategic Advisers:
Brereton Jones was the first governor I covered in Kentucky. He showed that you can be a nice guy and still be successful in government and politics.
• Mike Hammons, who served in the Jones administration, now with Learning Grove:
I loved working with him. He was authentic, caring, and conscientious. We increased minority representation on state boards by 450% and women by 55%. There was usually pushback from supporters but he always said to do the right thing. I was lucky to have served with him.
• Mark Neikirk, then of The Kentucky Post and now director of the Scripps Howard Center of Civic Engagement at NKU:
Gov. Jones came to public service for the right reasons — to work to solve problems. I have thought of him often in more recent times as the nation struggled to address how we provide health care to everyone. He was a visionary on this issue and advanced the cause. Even after some of what he attempted was undone, his legacy of trying boldly survived. He was asked by a national journalist once if he thought he was tilting at windmills with quixotic futility. Maybe he was. But we might be well-served in our politics if other leaders followed his example and led with their idealism.
• Judy Clabes, then editor of The Kentucky Post, now editor of the NKyTribune:
It’s a rarity to hear “politician and nice guy” and “public service and ethics” spoken of those serving in public offices these days, but Brereton Jones was a rarity, an exception even in the best of times. He set a standard and for that we are in his debt. He and his life partner, Libby, built an extraordinary and beautiful life together at Airdrie Stud farm — and raised some very fine horses, and that was Brereton’s true passion. Being governor was a responsibility he undertook to make Kentucky a better place — and his commitment to quality health care for all was beyond extraordinary. We should have listened.