Eugenia Crittenden "Crit" Luallen (née Blackburn; born July 21, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 56th

lieutenant governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garra ...

from November 13, 2014, to December 8, 2015. Luallen previously served as Kentucky State Auditor.

Early life and career

Luallen is a native of Frankfort, Kentucky and graduated from Frankfort High School, before studying at

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...

, graduating in 1974. Luallen is descended from

John Jordan Crittenden John Jordan Crittenden (September 10, 1787 – July 26, 1863) was an American statesman and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as Uni ...

and

Luke Pryor Blackburn Luke Pryor Blackburn (June 16, 1816September 14, 1887) was an American physician, philanthropist, and politician from Kentucky. He was elected the 28th governor of Kentucky, serving from 1879 to 1883. Until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 200 ...

, and she shares her name with both men. After graduating from Centre College, Luallen began working in the mailroom of

Wendell Ford Wendell Hampton Ford (September 8, 1924 – January 22, 2015) was an American politician from Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Governor of Kentucky from 1971 to 1974, and as a member of the United States Senate for 24 ye ...

's senate campaign. Her dedication and work ethic, in the campaign, led to her working in communications. After Ford's campaign, Luallen worked on

Julian Carroll Julian Morton Carroll (April 16, 1931 – December 10, 2023) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 54th governor of Kentucky from 1974 to 1979, succeeding Wendell F ...

's gubernatorial campaign and in the administration of John Y. Brown Jr. In 1983, Luallen worked on the gubernatorial campaign for on

Martha Layne Collins Colonel Martha Layne Collins (née Hall; born December 7, 1936) is an American former businesswoman and politician from the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky; she served as the state's List of Governors of Kentucky, 56th govern ...

, serving as the Campaign Media Coordinator. She worked in the Collins administration, as a Special Assistant, and she was later appointed Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of the Arts. As Commissioner of the Arts, Luallen helped found the Kentucky

Governor's School for the Arts The Governor's School for the Arts is a regional secondary arts school sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the public school divisions of Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, S ...

. After Governor Collins left office in 1988, Luallen took a position working with the

Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI), previously known as the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce, is an organization that promotes the growth of businesses in Louisville, Kentucky, US, and the surrounding counties. History In 1862, 220 firms paid $1 ea ...

, a position she retained until 1992. Luallen returned to government in 1992, after taking being appointed the Secretary of the Kentucky Tourism Cabinet, a position she held until 1994. From 1994 to 1995, Luallen served as Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet. In 1995,

Paul E. Patton Paul Edward Patton (born May 26, 1937) is an American politician who served as the 59th governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Because of a 1992 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, he was the first governor eligible to run for a second te ...

was elected Governor of Kentucky, and Luallen served as Secretary of the Executive Cabinet until 2002. Luallen received attention during her tenure under Governor Patton, particularly for helping to negotiate a 1997 tax incentive package for the

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializi ...

, during the 2000 tax reforms, as well as for her role in the 1997 higher education reforms.

Kentucky Auditor

She was elected to the position of state auditor in November 2003 and was re-elected by a wide margin in the

2007 Kentucky State Elections The 2007 Kentucky elections for the statewide offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor of public accounts, commissioner of agriculture, secretary of state, and state treasurer were held on November 6, 2007. All incumb ...

. Luallen was not eligible to run for another term as Auditor in 2011. As Auditor, Luallen received near-universal praise, "uncovering millions of dollars in fraud—sending up a then-unheard-of 120 cases to law enforcement." She was seen as "a non-partisan figure whose work resulted in the prosecution of 34 public officials, many from her own party." On Luallen's willingness as state auditor to search out crime, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Taylor commented, "I am very impressed with that office under her. They have the right attitude about being a watchdog." During her tenure as Auditor, Luallen successfully battled colon cancer and another unspecified cancer in 2004 and 2005. Luallen was considered a top contender for the Democratic nomination to challenge

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...

in the 2008 Election before announcing her decision not to run but instead to remain as Auditor. In December 2011, Luallen said "At this stage in my career, I think the next race for me if I decide to run for statewide race would be for governor", and ruled out running against McConnell in 2014. In April 2014, she ruled out running for Governor in 2015.

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky

On November 6, 2014, Governor

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear ( ; born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 ...

appointed Luallen Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, effective November 13, 2014. Luallen completed the term of

Jerry Abramson Jerry Edwin Abramson (born September 12, 1946) is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. On November 6, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as lieu ...

who was appointed Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Honors

*1994-

Distinguished Alumni induction *2001- National Excellence in Leadership award from Women Executives in State Government *2009- Public Officials of the Year honoree from '' Governing'' *2012- Fontaine Banks Award for Distinguished Service from Bluegrass Council of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

*2012-

award from Women Leading Kentucky *2012- Honorary degree from

Spalding University Spalding University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. History Spalding University traces its origins to "Nazareth Academy", one of the oldest educational institu ...

*2012- Kentucky Women Remembered induction *2015- ''

Louisville Business First American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

'' Enterprising Woman of Achievement

References

External links