Preceded by James Callahan Role American Politician Name Dennis Keene | Political party Democratic Nationality American Party Democratic Party | |
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Born August 17, 1965 (age 58)
Dayton, Kentucky ( 1965-08-17 ) Residence Wilder, Kentucky, United States | ||
Kentucky State representative Dennis Keene presents legislative citation to Bobby Mackey
Dennis Keene (born August 17, 1965 in Dayton, Kentucky) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing District 67 since January 2005. District 67 is entirely based in Campbell County, Kentucky, comprising the cities of Dayton, Bellevue, Newport, Wilder, Southdate, Woodlawn, and a portion of Highland Heights.
Contents
- Kentucky State representative Dennis Keene presents legislative citation to Bobby Mackey
- Elections
- References
Keene is pro-life.
Keene was a second-term Wilder, Kentucky, city councilman when Jim Callahan, a Democrat who had served the 67th house district for many years, announced his retirement. Keene filed to succeed Callahan to the spot, but so did two other Democrats. One of the other Democrats, Ken Rechtin, a Campbell County Commissioner and former Newport, Ky. city councilman, was favored to win the primary. Keene ran an aggressive primary campaign and ended up collecting 1,052 votes to Rechtin's 957.
With the difficult primary behind him and an endorsement from outgoing popular Democrat Jim Callahan, Keene looked to be a safe bet for the 67th district, which has more registered Democrats than Republicans. He also had the support of all three county commissioners - all three of which were Democrats themselves. The Republicans united behind Wilder lawyer Mark Hayden. Hayden ran an aggressive campaign and had the support of Gov. Ernie Fletcher, both Kentucky U.S. senators and Campbell County Judge-Executive Steve Pendery. Keene drew first blood in the race when he drew attention to the fact that Hayden's law firm, Greenbaum, Doll & McDonald, sponsored a seminar titled "Exploring the Options for Area Manufacturers", which had a brochure that read: "Join us as we will help you discover for yourself the opportunities which China holds. You're invited to explore the 'why's' and 'how's' of setting up manufacturing facilities in China." Keene said this proved Hayden would not bring jobs to the district or state. Hayden said he was not connected with the seminar and didn't agree with sending jobs overseas. Testy moments followed, including an argument between the two after answering questions at Northern Kentucky University. The race was close to the end, with Keene winning by approximately 300 votes out of more than 12,000 cast.