Tweedledee and Tweedledum they're not
The similarity between Katie Stine and Kathy Stein is only on the surface
From Kentucky Citizen Digest, March, 1998

Hello, this is Rep. Katie Stine.” If you call the state capitol to speak with Rep. Stine, that may be what you hear. Or you may hear this: “Hello, this is Rep. Kathy Stein.”

Many people don’t know that there are two state legislators with very similar names. But that is about as similar as they get.

There are similarities. No doubt about it. They are both female, they have the same hair color, and they’re both lawyers. But that about does it.

Writing in a recent issue of the Courier-Journal, Jill Johnson Keeney observed, “Katie is an attractive blonde lawyer from Fort Thomas who is very, very conservative; Kathy is an attractive blond lawyer from Lexington who is very, very liberal.”

Katie Stine is a fearless defender of conservative causes. This session she has sponsored a bill to require informed consent before abortions are performed, a bill which is now moving through the legislature. Although the bill was sponsored by Katie, it was opposed by Kathy.

Katie also proposed an amendment that would require parental consent before a minor was referred off campus for health services, a proposal that failed after a long fight on the House floor between conservatives led by Katie and liberals allied with Kathy.

Kathy warms the seat formerly occupied by Ernesto Scorsone, a former House member who is now in the Senate and who is one of the most liberal members of the legislature. Katie, on the other hand, is running for the Senate seat about to be vacated by Sen. Gex “Jay” Williams who is now running for U. S. Congress in the 4th district and who is one of the most conservative members of the legislature.

Katie comes from northern Kentucky, where political conservatism is passed down from generation to generation. Or maybe there’s something in the water supply. Anyway, if you’re from northern Kentucky and you aren’t conservative, then you don’t get sent to Frankfort.

Kathy’s district (although not Lexington in general) is as liberal as Katie’s is conservative, and includes the University of Kentucky campus.

The ideological incompatibility between the two makes the confusion over who’s who even more ironic. Both Katie and Kathy say they regularly receive calls intended for the other.

So remember, if you call the capitol for Katie (or Kathy), and they ask you which one you want, don’t say, “The outspoken lawyer with the blonde hair.” It won’t do you any good.
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander, Executive Director Martin Cothran, Senior Associate Policy Analyst