Jon Ackerson

Jon Winston Ackerson (born 1943) is a lawyer and Republican politician from his native Louisville, Kentucky. Ackerson represented District 30 in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1984 to 1997. In the interim, he was from 1978 to 1983 the District 34 member of the Kentucky State Senate, also based in Jefferson County.[1]

Jon Winston Ackerson
Kentucky State Representative for
District 30 (suburban Jefferson County)
In office
January 1, 1976 – December 31, 1977
In office
January 1, 1984 – December 31, 1997
Kentucky State Senator for
District 34 (Jefferson County)
In office
January 2, 1978 – December 31, 1983
District 18 member of the Louisville Metro Council
In office
January 2009 – 2012
Preceded byJulie Raque Adams
Succeeded byMarilyn Parker
Personal details
Born1943
Louisville, Jefferson County
Kentucky, USA
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)(1) Patricia Ormerod Ackerson (divorced)
(2) Kay B. Meurer Ackerson
ChildrenFrom first marriage:
Brent Thomas Ackerson
Marc Alan Ackerson
Stepchildren from second marriage:
Mark I. Meurer
Penny A. Meurer
Amy L. Vanover
ResidenceJeffersontown, Kentucky
Alma materUniversity of Indianapolis University of Louisville School of Law
OccupationLawyer

Background

Ackerson is one of three children of Louis E. Ackerson (died March 1984) and the former Sara M. Romans. His brother, Robert Louis "Bob" Ackerson (1934-2008), was also a Louisville lawyer and an Episcopalina. These Ackersons are interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. His sister, Mary Beth Ackerson (born 1936), worked in the health services industry.[2] Ackerson graduated from the Methodist-affiliated University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the University of Louisville School of Law in Louisville. He practices law in the firm of Ackerson & Ackerson.[3]

Political life

In 1978, Ackerson persuaded his seven Senate Republican colleagues to hire the young Louisville attorney Bob Heleringer as their administrative assistant. Heleringer, the son of a Louisville furniture dealer and the grandson of a horse trainer, subsequently served in the Kentucky House from suburban Louisville from 1980 to 1991.[4] Ackerson himself left the Senate after the Democratic majority in 1982 moved his district to rural southeastern Kentucky, including Clinton and McCreary counties near the Tennessee state line. Ackerson objected to the redistricting on grounds that 96,000 suburban constituents would no longer have local representation.[5] He instead returned to the Kentucky House.[6] From 1999 to 2002, Ackerson served on the Jeffersontown City Council in Jefferson County but relinquished the position to run unsuccessfully in the nonpartisan election for mayor held on November 5, 2002.[7]

In 2008, Ackerson came out of political retirement to win the District 18 seat on the Louisville Metro Council. He defeated Ellen L. Reitmeyer, a figure in the local Republican Party, for the right to succeed the retiring council member Julie Raque Adams. Reitmeyer had been a legislative aide to Adams. The Democratic candidate for the seat, Mike Perkins, cited a lack of funding and withdrew to leave Ackerson without opposition. From 2009 to 2012, he served alongside his son, attorney Brent Thomas Ackerson, a Democrat, who represents District 26 on the Metro Council. Brent and his brother, Marc Alan Ackerson, are sons by Jon Ackerson's former wife from whom he was divorced, the former Patricia Ormerod (1944-2012). She is interred beside her family at Evergreen Cemetery in Louisville.[8]

Ackerson's second wife is Kay B. Ackerson, formerly Kay Meurer, the former wife of businessman Gerald Meurer. She is a real estate broker who earlier served for three terms on the Jeffersontown City Council.[9] Early in his term on the Metro Council, Ackerson became the subject of media interest when his office aide, Sherlon R. Worthington, abruptly left the position after having accused Mrs. Ackerson of interfering with her own duties. Worthington wrote that Mrs. Ackerson "came in my office and asked me what my problem was. I told her she was my problem."[10]

From 2004 to 2007, Ackerson was a director of the Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance Authority during the administration of Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher.[11] Ackerson is considered a Moderate Republican, but he supported Rand Paul for the United States Senate in the 2010 election. In 2011, Ackerson endorsed the reelection of Democratic Governor Steve Beshear for a second term. Beshear unseated Fletcher in the 2007 campaign. Beshear subsequently appointed Ackerson to represent employers on the Unemployment Insurance Commission for a term extending from January 1, 2013, to October 26, 2016.[12]

In 2012, Ackerson lost his primary election for the Metro Council seat by 37 votes (1,306 to 1,269) to Marilyn Parker, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, who subsequently carried the general election as well. Like Ackerson, Parker supported Paul for the Senate in 2010. Ackerson had formerly attended Tea Party meetings and expressed surprise that the group had moved against him in favor of Parker.[9]

References
  1. "Jon W. Ackerson". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  2. "Robert Louis Ackerson". Findagrave.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  3. "Jon W. Ackerson". intelius.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  4. "Biography of Robert L. "Bob" Heleringer". equineregulatorylaw.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  5. "Committee gives OK to plans for redistricting and university staff". Barren County, Kentucky: Park City Daily News. January 13, 1982. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  6. John Cheves (January 20, 2012). "Kathy Stein isn't the first Kentucky state senator whose district was moved". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  7. "Jon Ackerson for Mayor of Jeffersontown" (PDF). kref.ky.gov. April 10, 2002. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  8. "Patricia Ackerson obituary". Louisville Courier-Journal. January 10, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  9. Jacob Conway (December 7, 2011). "Moderate Jon Ackerson ready for challenge from Tea Party activist Marilyn Parker in GOP primary". insiderlouisville.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  10. "Aide Resigns Angry from Ackerson's Office". The Ville Voice: A Critical Take on Louisville News. April 21, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  11. "Governor Ernie Fletcher Appoints Former Legislator to the Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance Authority Board of Directors". migration.kentucky.gov. November 17, 2004. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  12. "Governor Beshear makes appointment to Boards and Commissions". migration.kentucky.gov. December 21, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
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