Beshear appoints Jim Gray, Rocky Adkins, and Jacqueline Coleman to key positions

Photo credit: Mark Vanderhoff- WLKY

On Monday, Kentucky Governor-elect Andy Beshear announced key appointments in his administration.

Jim Gray, former mayor of Lexington, was named secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Gray served as Lexington mayor from 2011-2019 and previously ran his family’s business, Gray Construction.

House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins was named senior advisor to the governor. Adkins has served in the Kentucky House of Representatives since 1987 and has served in Democratic leadership since 2003. He ran for governor but was defeated by Beshear in the 2019 Democratic primary.

Beshear’s lieutenant governor Jacqueline Coleman will also serve as the secretary of Kentucky’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Coleman has worked as a teacher, school administrator, and basketball coach and also founded Lead Kentucky, a non-profit organization focused on education policy.

The governor-elect also announced Col. Haldane B. Lamberton will lead the Kentucky National Guard as adjutant general and Lt. Col. Keith Jackson, former Lexington fire chief, will head the Department of Veterans Affairs.