Andrew “Skipper” Martin has spent almost four
decades serving the Commonwealth of Kentucky and its citizens through
public service. Martin has served at both the local and state levels,
including as key adviser to one of the most successful Kentucky
governors of the 20th century. Most recently, Martin was chief of staff
for eight years to Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton, whose historic 1997
postsecondary education reforms helped revolutionize the way Kentuckians
view and support higher education. In addition to transforming the
Council on Higher Education into the Council on Postsecondary Education,
Martin was a key adviser in the decision to merge Kentucky’s technical
schools and community colleges into the highly successful and nationally
acclaimed Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges. Also during
Patton’s two terms as governor (1995-2003), Martin helped overhaul
Kentucky’s workers’ compensation laws. Martin also was chief of staff to
Patton during his four years (1991-95) as Kentucky lieutenant governor.
Martin was also commissioner of local government for Kentucky Gov. John
Y. Brown Jr. (1979-83), and he also served as Brown’s appointment on
the Appalachian Regional Commission.
On the local level, Martin served
under Jefferson County judge-executives Todd Hollenbach III, Bremer
Erhler and Harvey Sloane. Martin held key executive positions in those
administrations in which he advised the chief executive of Kentucky’s
most populous county on political strategy and public-policy issues.
Martin has a great deal of political experience on the local, state and
federal levels. In addition to managing Paul Patton’s successful bid for
lieutenant governor in 1991 and then his two subsequent successful
gubernatorial bids, Martin has directed several congressional and senate
campaigns in Kentucky. He served as Kentucky Democratic Party executive
director and director of the coordinated campaign, and he was
organizational director of the National Democratic Telethon.
Martin is
also very involved in Kentucky’s civic life. He is an elder at
Middletown Christian Church, where he has taught seventh- and
eighth-grade Sunday school for 32 consecutive years; he serves as chair
of the Portland Promise Center; he is a member of the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer
Foundation; he is a trustee at Lindsey Wilson College; and he is
president of THE MARTIN NETWORK. A native of Louisville, Ky., Martin
graduated from Fern Creek High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree
from Eastern Kentucky University and a master’s degree from the
University of Louisville. He and his wife, Hana, have three children and
six grandchildren.
Email: skipper@themartinnet.com
or skipper@mssgov.com
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