Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission

Commission Members

George C. Troutman Chairman of the Commission

The Speaker of the House appointed him to the Commission in 1994. Mr. Troutman graduated from St. Xavier High School and Bellarmine University where he majored in accounting. He is currently self-employed as a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American and Kentucky Society of CPAs and the American Board of Forensic Accounting. Mr. Troutman served on the Registry of Election Finance from 1992 to April of 1994. He and his wife Mary live in Louisville, Kentucky.

Pat Freibert, Vice-Chairman of the Commission

Mrs. Freibert is the Vice-Chairman of the Commission. She was re-appointed to the Commission by President of the Senate in November, 2008. She previously served on the Ethics Commission from 2000-2004. She is a former member of the House of Representatives. Mrs. Freibert has a long record of involvement in political, civic, educational, and charitable affairs for which she has received local, state and national recognition. She is also a free lance writer for several publications. In 2004, Mrs. Freibert was appointment by Governor Ernie Fletcher to the Kentucky Commission on Women and served as Chairwoman. She resides in Lexington, Kentucky.

Tony Goetz

Mr. Goetz is a native of Daviess County, and a graduate of Brescia University in Owensboro. He began his graduate work at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, and completed his Master’s Degree at UK in 1970. He has served as Executive Director of the Owensboro Council for Retarded Children (1965-1967) and the Blue Grass Association for Mental Retardation (1967-1973). From 1973-1975, he was Executive Director of the Blue Grass Regional Health Planning Council and then served as Executive Director of the East Kentucky Health Systems Agency from 1976-1980. In 1980, he was named Associate Dean in Administration and Finance of the UK Medical School, and served in that and various other administrative positions at the University through 2003. His last position at UK was Director of Government Relations. In 2004-2005, he served as the Governor’s Legislative Liaison. He and his wife, Nancy, reside in Jessamine County.

Ken Winters

Dr. Winters was appointed to the Commission by the Senate President in April, 2015. From 2005 to 2013, he served two terms in the Kentucky Senate, representing the 1st District in western Kentucky. He chaired the Senate Education Committee during his entire tenure in the General Assembly, and was the sponsor of 2009’s Senate Bill 1, the bipartisan education reform bill that called for the alignment of K-12 and postsecondary education and established Kentucky as one of the nation’s leaders in the adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Dr. Winters served as the ninth president of Campbellsville University from 1988 to 1999. Prior to coming to what was then Campbellsville College, he was dean of the College of Industry and Technology at Murray State University for many years. Dr. Winters is a graduate of Murray State University, where he received a BS; Indiana University, where he received an MS; and the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned an EdD. Dr. Winters and his wife Shirley reside in Murray.

Tom Jensen

Tom Jensen was appointed to the Commission by the President of the Senate in 2016. He is a former circuit court judge who was elected in 2012 in the 27th Judicial Circuit, which is Knox and Laurel counties, and he retired in 2016. Judge Jensen is a former member of the State Senate, serving from 2005 to 2013, and a former member of the State House of Representatives, serving from 1984 to 1986, and from 1989 to 1996. He was House Republican Floor Leader From 1991 through 1994. Judge Jensen was Chair of the Kentucky Republican Party and a delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention. Judge Jensen earned his undergraduate degree in secondary education from Cumberland College and his J.D. from the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University in 1978. He has practiced law since 1978, and he lives in London with his wife Nannette.

Bob Fulkerson

Mr. Fulkerson was appointed to the Commission by the President of the Senate in 2004. He is a graduate of Owensboro Senior High School and attended Southwestern College, Dallas, Texas. He is a retired manager of General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville. Currently, he devotes his time to community service and religious activities. In the past, he has been an active participant in his political party both as a candidate for elected office and party official. He and his wife Edna live in Louisville, Kentucky.

Elmer George

Mr. George was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in January, 2014. He is currently a practicing lawyer in Marion County. He's a Graduate of Bellarmine University and University of Kentucky Law School. He and his wife live in Lebanon, Kentucky.

Vacant

There is currently one vacancy on the Commission. We will update this information as soon as possible.

Judge Anthony M. Wilhoit

Anthony Wilhoit was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in 2016. He was the Executive Director of the Legislative Ethics Commission from November, 1997 until he retired in July, 2015. In 1976, he joined the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and he retired as Chief Judge in 1997. Judge Wilhoit also served as a police judge, Versailles City Attorney, Woodford County Attorney, state public defender, and deputy secretary of the Justice Cabinet. He earned an A.B. from Thomas More College, a law degree from the University of Kentucky, and an LLM from the University of Virginia. In 2012, Judge Wilhoit received the COGEL Award, the highest international award given to a person working in the fields of ethics, campaign finance, and election law. He lives in Versailles.