Bruce Lunsford
Encyclopedia
William Bruce Lunsford is an American
Democratic
politician from Kentucky
. He has served various roles in the Kentucky Democratic Party
including, Party treasurer, Deputy Development Secretary, and Head of Commerce. Lunsford was the Democratic nominee for Kentucky's United States Senate
seat, but was defeated by Mitch McConnell
in the November 4, 2008 election.
In high school, Lunsford became an all-conference basketball player at Simon Kenton High School
, and was also a five-year starter on the baseball team.
When he enrolled at University of Kentucky
in 1965, he worked as an intramural adviser on campus and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha
fraternity. Lunsford graduated with a political science degree in 1969, with a minor in accounting.
After graduation, Lunsford went to work for a Cincinnati accounting firm, passed the CPA exam and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1970. That fall, he started taking evening classes at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law
, and graduated in the top ten percent of his class in 1974.
Lunsford entered the National Guard during law school. After training at Fort Bragg
and Fort Lee, he became a member of the U.S. Army Reserves at Fort Thomas
, where he stayed for five and a half years.
In 1998, the company that Lunsford founded, Vencor was split into two companies. One company, Ventas became a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owned all of the real-estate property, and leased space to the second company Vencor, which operated the facilities. At the time, Vencor was expanding rapidly, and nursing home companies were discovering that using a REIT provided a better financing structure to allow the companies to grow.
Lunsford served as the CEO of both companies until hiring replacements and resigning in 1999, and remained the Chairman of Ventas until 2003.
Vencor was later renamed Kindred healthcare in 2001. At the time of the split, all shareholders in Vencor were issued one share of Ventas for every share of Vencor that they held.
In 1997, the US Government drastically reduced Medicare reimbursement rates with the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which had a significant impact on the nursing home industry. New York Times business writer Kenneth Gilpin wrote that “The drop in payments was so dramatic that the financial structures of many of these companies were not flexible enough to adjust.” He went on the mention that as of the summer of 1999, 12 percent of the 1.7 million nursing home beds were operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
As a result of the Medicare cuts, Vencor filed for Chapter 11 protection from bankruptcy in September 1999. According to the Louisville Courier Journal, under Chapter 11 a company gets a federal court protecting it from creditors while it puts develops a plan finances in order. This is different from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, in which a company goes out of business.
At the time, five of the top seven nursing homes filed for chapter 11 protection from bankruptcy, however Vencor (then Kindred) was the first to emerge.
During the Chapter 11 reorganization, Vencor shares lost their value, however when the companies split in 1998, Vencor shareholders were given shares in Ventas. Ventas shares improved from below $4 per share in 1999 to trading around $50 per share in April 2008.
A civil claims suit in 2001 alleged that Vencor knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, the military's health care program. Vencor maintained that they had committed no wrongdoing and continued to dispute the claims until after Lunsford left the company, when Vencor settled the case for $104.5 million, including $54 million for alleged improper claims in Medicare cost reports, $24 million for alleged overbilling in respiratory care services, and $20 million for alleged failure of care claims. The company did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Lunsford has been involved as an investor, director and advisor to many other start-up businesses through Lunsford Capital and has also been active in thoroughbred horse racing and independent film production.
Lunsford has raced several graded stakes winners, including Madcap Escapade, First Samurai, Tessa Blue and Bel Air Beauty. Through Hart-Lunsford Pictures, he has co-produced several acclaimed independent films, including Grace is Gone, Diminished Capacity, Dedication, Birds of America, and Me and Orson Welles.
, Lunsford became the Northern Kentucky representative for the campaign of John Y. Brown Jr. When Brown won the primary Lunsford became treasurer of the Kentucky Democratic Party.
When Brown won the general election, he made Lunsford the Deputy Development Secretary, then his Legislative Liaison. Lunsford was named Kentucky’s first Secretary of Commerce in 1980, the head of Kentucky’s first Commerce Cabinet. In that post, Lunsford marketed the state as a business destination and helped land more than 55,000 new jobs and $4.6 billion in new manufacturing investment.
Some of the significant projects Lunsford negotiated included setting up the United Parcel Service Hub in Louisville, the Delta Airlines Hub in Northern Kentucky and downtown redevelopment projects in Ashland, Lexington and Louisville. Lunsford also led the effort to reach out to Japan by establishing a Kentucky office there, still in existence today, which has been instrumental in attracting substantial Japanese investment to the state.
Lunsford ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Kentucky in 2003. The race was a contentious contest with then-Attorney General Ben Chandler
and other candidates. Late in the primary, Chandler ran television ads alleging abuse at facilities operated by Lunsford's company. Lunsford dropped out of the race, blaming these ads, just days before the primary, endorsing Democratic candidate Jody Richards
, who lost narrowly to Chandler.
Long after the primary, Lunsford endorsed Republican candidate Ernie Fletcher
. After Fletcher won the election, Lunsford served on Ernie Fletcher’s transition team, as Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Governmental Efficiency and Organization. Lunsford has contributed thousands of dollars to both Democrats and Republicans over a period of twenty years.
Lunsford was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 2007. His running mate was Greg Stumbo
, Attorney General of Kentucky. Lunsford placed second in the primary to Steve Beshear
. Lunsford won just over 74,000 votes (21%), beating former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Steve Henry and Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives Jody Richards, but finishing far behind winner Beshear's 142,000+ votes (41%).[4]
On January 29, 2008, Lunsford announced that he would run in the Democratic primary in hopes of facing Mitch McConnell
in the general election for the Senate in November 2008. He said he had been asked to run by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear
and that he did not expect to spend the millions he had spent on his campaign in previous elections.
On May 20, 2008, Lunsford won the Democratic nomination for US Senate. He received 316,763 votes (51%), followed by Greg Fischer
's 209,662 votes (34%).
General Election
The general election campaign saw Lunsford start the race as a heavy underdog to Mitch McConnell, only to turn it into the race of McConnell’s career as the economic crisis deepened and played to the businessman’s expertise and populist policy stance.
It was this surge that led Democratic President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton, and former Senators Max Cleland and Bob Kerrey to campaign for Lunsford, attempting to counter the 2-to-1 spending advantage and $20+ million war chest of incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell.
On Election Day, Lunsford was defeated but outperformed Barack Obama at the top of the ticket by 10%.
Lunsford will now likely pursue various business interests.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. He has served various roles in the Kentucky Democratic Party
Kentucky Democratic Party
The Kentucky Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, USA. The party Chairman is Daniel Logsdon, Jr., Party Vice-Chair is Susie Watkins, and David Tandy is Treasurer...
including, Party treasurer, Deputy Development Secretary, and Head of Commerce. Lunsford was the Democratic nominee for Kentucky's United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat, but was defeated by Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
in the November 4, 2008 election.
Early life and education
Bruce Lunsford was born in Kenton County, Kentucky on November 11, 1947 to Amos and Billie Lunsford; Lunsford's mother, Billie, was later killed in an automobile accident by a drunk driver. When Lunsford was a child, his father left his job as a union shop steward for General Electric Cincinnati and borrowed money to purchase a small farm in Piner, Kentucky, where Lunsford spent his childhood.In high school, Lunsford became an all-conference basketball player at Simon Kenton High School
Simon Kenton High School
Simon Kenton High School is located at 11132 Madison Pike in Independence, Kentucky. The school's athletic teams are known as the PioneersOn July 19, 1935, an application was filed with the Public Works Administration for Kenton County, Kentucky for funds to construct a public high school...
, and was also a five-year starter on the baseball team.
When he enrolled at University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
in 1965, he worked as an intramural adviser on campus and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
fraternity. Lunsford graduated with a political science degree in 1969, with a minor in accounting.
After graduation, Lunsford went to work for a Cincinnati accounting firm, passed the CPA exam and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1970. That fall, he started taking evening classes at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University is a law school in Highland Heights, Kentucky that was founded in 1893 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 1959. The college of law provides both part-time and full-time programs of study that lead to a Juris Doctor degree...
, and graduated in the top ten percent of his class in 1974.
Lunsford entered the National Guard during law school. After training at Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
and Fort Lee, he became a member of the U.S. Army Reserves at Fort Thomas
Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campbell County and it is officially part of the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan...
, where he stayed for five and a half years.
Business career
Lunsford, along with two other partners founded Vencor in 1985. Originally, the company was called Vencare until an initial public offering under the name Vencor in 1989. Vencor later split into two companies: Vencor and Ventas. During Lunsford’s tenure with Vencor and its spin-off, Ventas, Vencor grew to employ over 65,000 employees in 45 states with over 300 facilities caring for 50,000 patients. Vencor also became a Fortune 500 company.In 1998, the company that Lunsford founded, Vencor was split into two companies. One company, Ventas became a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owned all of the real-estate property, and leased space to the second company Vencor, which operated the facilities. At the time, Vencor was expanding rapidly, and nursing home companies were discovering that using a REIT provided a better financing structure to allow the companies to grow.
Lunsford served as the CEO of both companies until hiring replacements and resigning in 1999, and remained the Chairman of Ventas until 2003.
Vencor was later renamed Kindred healthcare in 2001. At the time of the split, all shareholders in Vencor were issued one share of Ventas for every share of Vencor that they held.
In 1997, the US Government drastically reduced Medicare reimbursement rates with the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which had a significant impact on the nursing home industry. New York Times business writer Kenneth Gilpin wrote that “The drop in payments was so dramatic that the financial structures of many of these companies were not flexible enough to adjust.” He went on the mention that as of the summer of 1999, 12 percent of the 1.7 million nursing home beds were operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
As a result of the Medicare cuts, Vencor filed for Chapter 11 protection from bankruptcy in September 1999. According to the Louisville Courier Journal, under Chapter 11 a company gets a federal court protecting it from creditors while it puts develops a plan finances in order. This is different from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, in which a company goes out of business.
At the time, five of the top seven nursing homes filed for chapter 11 protection from bankruptcy, however Vencor (then Kindred) was the first to emerge.
During the Chapter 11 reorganization, Vencor shares lost their value, however when the companies split in 1998, Vencor shareholders were given shares in Ventas. Ventas shares improved from below $4 per share in 1999 to trading around $50 per share in April 2008.
A civil claims suit in 2001 alleged that Vencor knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, the military's health care program. Vencor maintained that they had committed no wrongdoing and continued to dispute the claims until after Lunsford left the company, when Vencor settled the case for $104.5 million, including $54 million for alleged improper claims in Medicare cost reports, $24 million for alleged overbilling in respiratory care services, and $20 million for alleged failure of care claims. The company did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Lunsford has been involved as an investor, director and advisor to many other start-up businesses through Lunsford Capital and has also been active in thoroughbred horse racing and independent film production.
Lunsford has raced several graded stakes winners, including Madcap Escapade, First Samurai, Tessa Blue and Bel Air Beauty. Through Hart-Lunsford Pictures, he has co-produced several acclaimed independent films, including Grace is Gone, Diminished Capacity, Dedication, Birds of America, and Me and Orson Welles.
Roles in Brown administration
In the 1979 race for Governor of KentuckyGovernor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
, Lunsford became the Northern Kentucky representative for the campaign of John Y. Brown Jr. When Brown won the primary Lunsford became treasurer of the Kentucky Democratic Party.
When Brown won the general election, he made Lunsford the Deputy Development Secretary, then his Legislative Liaison. Lunsford was named Kentucky’s first Secretary of Commerce in 1980, the head of Kentucky’s first Commerce Cabinet. In that post, Lunsford marketed the state as a business destination and helped land more than 55,000 new jobs and $4.6 billion in new manufacturing investment.
Some of the significant projects Lunsford negotiated included setting up the United Parcel Service Hub in Louisville, the Delta Airlines Hub in Northern Kentucky and downtown redevelopment projects in Ashland, Lexington and Louisville. Lunsford also led the effort to reach out to Japan by establishing a Kentucky office there, still in existence today, which has been instrumental in attracting substantial Japanese investment to the state.
Public Service
Lunsford has always worked in education and served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Kentucky, Bellarmine College and Centre College.Lunsford ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Kentucky in 2003. The race was a contentious contest with then-Attorney General Ben Chandler
Ben Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Ben" Chandler III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
and other candidates. Late in the primary, Chandler ran television ads alleging abuse at facilities operated by Lunsford's company. Lunsford dropped out of the race, blaming these ads, just days before the primary, endorsing Democratic candidate Jody Richards
Jody Richards
Jody Richards is a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing the 20th District since 1976 and former speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives.-Biography:...
, who lost narrowly to Chandler.
Long after the primary, Lunsford endorsed Republican candidate Ernie Fletcher
Ernie Fletcher
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. In 1999, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th governor of Kentucky and served in that office...
. After Fletcher won the election, Lunsford served on Ernie Fletcher’s transition team, as Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Governmental Efficiency and Organization. Lunsford has contributed thousands of dollars to both Democrats and Republicans over a period of twenty years.
Lunsford was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 2007. His running mate was Greg Stumbo
Greg Stumbo
Gregory D. "Greg" Stumbo is the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Stumbo, a member of the Democratic Party, is a former Kentucky Attorney General from 2003 to 2007.-Early Career:...
, Attorney General of Kentucky. Lunsford placed second in the primary to Steve Beshear
Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who is the 61st Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A Democrat, Beshear previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979, was the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1983, and was Lieutenant Governor from...
. Lunsford won just over 74,000 votes (21%), beating former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Steve Henry and Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives Jody Richards, but finishing far behind winner Beshear's 142,000+ votes (41%).[4]
2008 Campaign for United States Senate
Primary ElectionOn January 29, 2008, Lunsford announced that he would run in the Democratic primary in hopes of facing Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
in the general election for the Senate in November 2008. He said he had been asked to run by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear
Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who is the 61st Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A Democrat, Beshear previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979, was the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1983, and was Lieutenant Governor from...
and that he did not expect to spend the millions he had spent on his campaign in previous elections.
On May 20, 2008, Lunsford won the Democratic nomination for US Senate. He received 316,763 votes (51%), followed by Greg Fischer
Greg Fischer
Gregory E. Fischer is a businessman and Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Louisville's Trinity High School and Vanderbilt University, entrepreneur, and community leader....
's 209,662 votes (34%).
General Election
The general election campaign saw Lunsford start the race as a heavy underdog to Mitch McConnell, only to turn it into the race of McConnell’s career as the economic crisis deepened and played to the businessman’s expertise and populist policy stance.
It was this surge that led Democratic President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton, and former Senators Max Cleland and Bob Kerrey to campaign for Lunsford, attempting to counter the 2-to-1 spending advantage and $20+ million war chest of incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell.
On Election Day, Lunsford was defeated but outperformed Barack Obama at the top of the ticket by 10%.
Lunsford will now likely pursue various business interests.
2008 United States Senate General Election
2008 United States Senate Election, Democratic Primary
| Primary - May 20, 2008 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate Name | Vote Percent | |
| Bruce Lunsford | 316,723 | 51.1% |
| Greg Fischer | 209,704 | 33.9% |
| David Williams | 34,328 | 5.5% |
| James Rice | 20,380 | 3.3% |
| Michael Cassaro | 17,343 | 2.8% |
| Kenneth Stepp | 13,438 | 2.2% |
| David Wylie | 7,514 | 1.2% |
2007 Kentucky Gubernatorial Election, Democratic Primary
| Democratic Primary Election, May 22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percent |
| Steve Beshear | Democratic | 142,838 | 41.02% |
| Bruce Lunsford | Democratic | 74,578 | 21.42% |
| Steve Henry | Democratic | 60,893 | 17.49% |
| Jody Richards | Democratic | 45,433 | 13.05% |
| Gatewood Galbraith | Democratic | 20,704 | 5.95% |
| Otis Hensley | Democratic | 3,792 | 1.09% |
External links
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org
- Hart-Lunsford Pictures official website of the film production company
Media Reactions to 2008 Race
- Herald-Leader: McConnell Wins 5th Term in U.S. Senate
- Courier-Journal: McConnell Wins, Holds off Lunsford
- Courier-Journal: McConnell Turns Back Challenger
- WCPO: Lunsford Urges McConnell to Work With Obama Administration
- Cincinnati Business Journal: McConnell Keeps Seat in Squeaker
- WTVQ: McConnell Headed for 5th Term
- The Hill: McConnell Wins, Spares GOP Major Loss
- Politico: McConnell Survives Close Kentucky Race