Lawrence Wetherby - Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor

Also in 1943, Wetherby was elected chairman of the 34th Legislative District Democratic Committee, a position he held through 1956. In March 1947, he resigned as trial commissioner of the juvenile court in order to run for lieutenant governor. The strongest of his four opponents in the Democratic primary was Bill May, the nephew of U.S. Representative Andrew J. May. May had sought the support of gubernatorial candidate Earle C. Clements, but Clements did not back him, possibly because Congressman May was an ally of Clements' political opponent John Y. Brown. Wetherby was also unable to secure Clements' public endorsement, but won the primary and went on to defeat Republican Orville M. Howard by over 95,000 votes.

Despite Clements' refusal to endorse Wetherby in the primary, the two generally agreed on their legislative agendas and worked well together. Some observers called Wetherby Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor. Previous lieutenant governors did little beyond their constitutionally mandated duties of presiding over the Kentucky Senate, but during Clements' administration, Wetherby was charged with preparing a state budget, presiding over the Legislative Research Commission, leading tours for the state Chamber of Commerce, and attending the Southern Governors Conference. Clements also made Wetherby executive secretary of the State Democratic Central Committee, which allowed the latter to make many important political contacts.