Adam Edelen

Early years and career

Edelen was born to a farm family in Meade County, Kentucky. His mother was two months shy of her 17th birthday when he was born. Edelen's parents divorced when he was young and his time as a child was divided between his mother's home in Louisville and his father's farm in rural Meade County.

Edelen is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta social fraternity.

At 21, he began his public service career as one of the youngest aides ever to serve a Kentucky governor (Paul Patton). He went on to gain experience in the private sector as a senior executive with both the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce (Commerce Lexington) and Thomas & King, Inc.

In 2008, he returned to the public sector, serving as Director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and then as Chief of Staff to Governor Steve Beshear.

Kentucky Auditor

Within days of being sworn in, Edelen announced a special examination into the former administration of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. This examination was conducted at the request of the Republican Agriculture Commissioner, James Comer. The examination found rampant spending abuses and a culture of entitlement. Former commissioner and UK basketball star Richie Farmer was sentenced to 27 months in prison on federal charges and a year in prison on a state charge based on issues identified in Edelen's report.

Edelen also led an effort to reform special districts, which represent a $2.7 billion layer of government. The effort resulted in a report and a database that allowed the public to see basic financial information about roughly 1,200 entities such as libraries, fire districts and health departments. In 2013, Edelen helped shepherd a measure through the legislature to bring more accountability and transparency to the entities. House Bill 1 – as dubbed by the Speaker of the House – passed with broad, bipartisan support. The National State Auditors Association selected the initiative as one of its Excellence in Accountability Award recipients. The initiative was called the "biggest good government initiative we have had since the 1990s" by the leadership of Common Cause KY.

When private, multibillion-dollar insurance companies took over the state's Medicaid system, Edelen made recommendations that the state and managed care organizations (MCOs) could implement immediately to solve problems associated with implementation. The Auditor's office found the managed care companies were not efficiently processing claims to health care providers despite receiving more than 700 million taxpayer dollars. Edelen created a new Medicaid Accountability and Transparency Unit in the Auditor's office to provide real-time oversight over the second-largest expenditure in state government.

In 2012, Edelen began examining spending practices in public schools. Special examinations in 15 public school districts found wasteful spending, lack of oversight of superintendent contracts by school boards and other abuses. One exam led to criminal conviction of a former superintendent and more than $500,000 returned to the community. Based on Edelen's recommendations, the Kentucky Department of Education now requires school districts to submit superintendent contracts for posting on a publicly accessible website.

In 2014, Edelen proposed legislation to strengthen Kentucky's cyber security protections and require state and local government to notify citizens if their data is compromised in a data breach. Kentucky was one of four states that lacked security breach notification laws. House Bill 5 passed the House 99–1 and the Senate unanimously.

In 2015, Edelen lost his re-election bid to little-known outsider Mike Harmon, dashing hopes of state Democrats that Edelen, considered a rising star in the party, would challenge Senator Rand Paul in the following election. Edelen outspent his opponent nearly 30-to-1, but lost by a four-point margin, 52–48.

In 2016, Edelen's efforts to expose the practice of special districts was the focus of a segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Awards

Edelen was one of Government Technology magazine's 2014 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers, an award bestowed on innovators in the public sector across the country. In 2008, Edelen was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. This award is arguably the oldest and most prestigious service award in the nation and previous honorees include presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton.

Other honors include:

Community service

As a two-term gubernatorial appointee to the board of Kentucky Educational Television, Chairman Edelen was the driving force behind the "Be Well Kentucky" initiative—an acclaimed effort which addresses Kentucky's public health crisis. While vice-president of the Commerce Lexington, Edelen was responsible for the nationally recognized New Century Lexington Reports on Community Livability, which used a broad range of metrics for measuring Lexington's quality of life. Edelen has also chaired the United Way of the Bluegrass Annual Campaign and the Lexington Fayette County Urban League. He has also served as a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Personal life

Edelen is married to Melissa (Narramore) and he has twin sons. The Edelens make their home on a small farm in Lexington, Kentucky. He is a member of Lexington's First Presbyterian Church. He is an avid sportsman, reader of history, and University of Kentucky basketball fan.