GOP leader Stivers says political Facebook posts, not race, spur Fish and Wildlife member’s removal

Jerry Ferrell is the first Black member of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission. A bill backed by Republican leadership in the state Senate could soon return the commission to all-white. (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources photo)

FRANKFORT — The president of the GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate says a political Facebook post justifies removing the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission’s first Black member.

But Jerry Ferrell, who in 2021 became the first Black Kentuckian named to the board overseeing wildlife management, told the Lantern that his political views shared on social media should not disqualify him from continuing to serve.

“My social media are just that: mine,” Ferrell said, suggesting Stivers was finding a reason not to reappoint him. “It’s none of his business.” 

Senate Bill 245, which became law on Thursday after GOP supermajorities overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto, changes what happens when a Fish and Wildlife Commission member reappointed by the governor is not confirmed by the Senate. Ferrell is the only member the change in law could apply to this year. Under the new law, sponsored by Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, a member not confirmed for reappointment must leave the board when  the legislature adjourns Friday. In the past, members reappointed but not confirmed could serve until the end of the year.

As the Senate considered whether to override the veto Thursday, Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, called the bill “pure politics at its best,” saying it targeted Ferrell because he made derogatory comments about President Donald Trump. 

“No board has been more politicized in this body than the Fish and Wildlife Commission,” Thomas said. “I think that’s wrong.” 

The Lantern  reported Wednesday that Ferrell believed SB 245 was intended to remove him because of social media posts he’s shared critical of Trump. 

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, however, said more than “a few derogatory statements” prompted the bill. Stivers on the Senate floor then described an image purportedly on Ferrell’s Facebook page “of the Supreme Court of the United States with the majority of them in KKK hoodies.” 

“If this individual were in this body or anywhere else, there would be a human cry for them to be impeached, removed or censured. I don’t think putting Supreme Court justices in KKK hoodies is appropriate for anybody who sits on a board or commission of this state,” Stivers said. 

A spokesperson for Senate Republicans shared screenshots with the Lantern that appear to show Ferrell making two separate posts on his personal Facebook page visible only to his Facebook friends. One of the posts shared a profile picture from another Facebook account that featured conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court in Ku Klux Klan hoods. Ferrell said he doesn’t remember sharing the post, which appears to have been shared in 2024 or earlier, but doesn’t disagree with the sentiment.

Ferrell, who described himself as an “anti-Trumper,” said he believed recent decisions by the country’s highest court — including a decision giving presidents criminal immunity from prosecution for some official acts — were “nuts.” 

How Ferrell could be removed from the Fish and Wildlife Commission

The commission is made up of nine unpaid members who oversee the KDFWR’s budget consisting of tens of millions of dollars in hunting and fishing license fees, boat registration fees, and federal grants. State law directs the commission to keep a “watchful eye” over the department, and the commission controls the employment of the KDFWR’s head executive, Commissioner Rich Storm. 

Each commission member represents a different geographic part of Kentucky. Fellow sportspeople vote for commission nominees in district meetings. A list of the top vote-getters is sent to the governor who selects someone from the list. The Senate then decides whether or not to confirm the governor’s appointments or reappointments. Commission members are allowed to serve two four-year terms. 

Ferrell was originally appointed by Beshear to the commission in 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in 2022. In January, Beshear reappointed Ferrell to a term ending in 2028. 

Stivers, when asked about Ferrell’s comments Thursday evening, said of the Facebook posts,  “you can’t be putting things like that in the public domain when you’re here to represent an entity or an agency of the commonwealth.” 

The confirmation process for  Fish and Wildlife Commission appointments by Democrat Beshear have been politically contentious before with the GOP-controlled Senate denying a number of them. Earlier nominees have been scrutinized for social media comments critical of the state’s fish and wildlife agency. One appointee was rejected by the Senate after being criticized because his wife had said complimentary things about Beshear in a Wall Street Journal article. 

Stivers said “we have found many occasions that people have posted things on Facebook.” He said talking about others in a “derogatory, demeaning and inappropriate way” is “a reflection of your person and your thoughts.” 

The commission, under state law, is designed as bipartisan in its makeup, and commission members aren’t identified by political party. Sportsmen have said the work of the commission is largely apolitical. 

In another purported Facebook post by Ferrell that the Senate spokesperson showed the Lantern,  Ferrell shares a link to a TikTok. Above the link, Ferrell wrote he did not understand “how or why people vote against” their best interests in supporting Trump and that “every veteran that voted for him” needed to lose health care. 

Ferrell, a veteran, told the Lantern he deleted the post with the TikTok link after he received a call from someone advising him to “clean up his Facebook page.” 

“There’s rumors going around that I was a Trump hater on the Senate floor, so that was the reason for the deletion,’ Ferrell said. “I didn’t want to because how I feel is how I feel.” 

Ferrell had previously told the Lantern he was proud of his work serving on the commission and helping represent Black Kentuckians who hunt and fish and that he wanted to continue that work which he views separate from his personal politics. 

He also told the Lantern he was worried his potential removal is part of a larger “culture” against diversity, an assertion that Stivers dismissed. The board would have all white representation if Ferrell is removed. 

“I had no idea what his race was when this was brought to me,” Stivers said. “Now you can sit here and say, ‘Wait, I should get a pass because of that?’ No.”