• Richard Beliles, Kentucky government watchdog for decades, dies at 90

  [He was] a Louisville lawyer known for keeping a vigorous watch on government ethics. ….Beliles “deserves a lot of respect. He was very gentlemanly in his push for transparency in government and went after wrong wherever he saw it.”

• Richard Beliles demanded the best behavior of KY politicians.

  [He was] a citizen-activist protesting injustice and crusading for honest government. Newspaper stories about shady backroom deals often quoted Richard. He was invaluable as a watchdog because he was bipartisan….but it’s rare that someone publicly demands the best behavior from everyone in politics.

• The Passing of the Guard: Richard Beliles is Dead.

  [He was] a tireless soldier for a fading model of transparent and accountable government that serves the public’s interest rather than public officials’ self-interest. Good government, generally, was synonymous with Richard Beliles in this state. I am saddened by his passing. Kentucky is the lesser for it.

My Thoughts of My Dad

Besides the accolades that the public gave to my father, I want to add some of my own thoughts that perhaps are worth the time of my readers to ponder.

My Dad was a lifelong Democrat and his political philosophy was liberal/progressive. He formed his views in the late 1950s and early 60s when civil rights and anti-war messages were a central focus of the Democrats. He was a rare white person joining blacks in protests against segregation in public facilities.

He fought for the underprivileged and marginalized throughout his legal career, often taking the personal injury cases that the big law firms would avoid. He did much pro-bono work for various causes. He also was a 30-year volunteer for a Christian ministry for the homeless and addicts, in addition to active roles serving in his Methodist church. His personal life was consistent with his political philosophy.

I admired these things about my father but by the time I became an active adult in politics and social issues (around 1980), I was convinced that the issues needing priority now were in defense of the unborn and traditional family values. This was more of the emphasis of the Republican Party beginning with Ronald Reagan and so I  became aligned completely opposite from my father in popular political matters. We often debated our views with passion. One time our family was asked to leave a restaurant because our loudly-expressed opinions were disrupting customers!

My father never really embraced the more recent Democrat Party’s issues relating to abortion, gay rights, “approved and safe” speech, and other things. He still voted for Democrats, but at his passing he represented a long lost worldview that the Democrat Party today no longer holds. Today it is hard to find a single Democrat in public office or candidate who is pro-life or pro-traditional family, pro free-speech, or even pro-middle class worker. Hollywood celebrities, big Pharma, big corporations, big media, and globalism now shape its priorities. The classic Democrat liberal leaders admired by my father’s generation, such as Kennedy, Humphrey, and Carter, cannot exist in the modern party.

Our nation would be better off if there was a resurgence of more Democrats like my father who stood for those traditional issues that once made them the party that represented what today is called the “red” states. But today’s Democrat Party (with some exceptions) is largely dominant in major cities and states in the northeast and west coasts, and college towns, where radical agendas gain ascendancy.

A personal memory of my Dad that is precious to me is this. When I was a young boy he would lie down beside me in my bed to chat a little before saying our evening prayers. But I especially remember him talking to me about what his father told him – that we must be of service to our fellowman. It marked my life for good.

I am thankful for my Dad, for being that consistent servant throughout his life. And for being faithful to his values. My wife, my children and I are all conservatives today but are very proud of him and will miss him. If he were still with us, we would gladly welcome being thrown out of a restaurant now and then with our heated debates.

For those who wish to read his obituary see below:

Richard Vincent Beliles
January 31, 1934 – October 23, 2024

Louisville, Kentucky – Richard Beliles, a lawyer from Prospect, Kentucky passed away at age 90 on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at Baptist Health East, Louisville, KY.

Richard maintained a private law practice in downtown Louisville for many years, the last (17) years of which he practiced entirely on a pro bono basis. Mr. Beliles received two under graduate degrees from the University of Louisville and later obtained his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

He was a recipient of the 2004 Brandeis School of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award. Richard was the long-time Chair of Common Cause of Kentucky and was the recipient of the 2017 Citizen Award of The League of Women Voters.

He was Chairman of the Board of Directors for Wayside Christian Mission and Richard was a former Board member for five years of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, and President of the KY United Nations Association.

In the late fifties and early sixties, Richard was one of the picketers in downtown Louisville to protest the denial of public accommodations to black citizens around Fourth and Broadway, including in front of the Brown Theatre when African American Citizens ironically could not enter to see the play, “Porgy and Bess.”

For the past 31 years, he has been a non-partisan pro bono public citizen activist at the KY State Legislature. For three years in the 1960’s, Richard served as the Director of Organization of the Democratic Party of Jefferson County.

Richard subsequently served for four years as an Aide to Louisville Mayor Frank W. Burke from whom he received the Fleur De Lis Award for conspicuous service to the City of Louisville rendered during the years 1969-1973.

In 1988, Richard was the Democratic nominee for Congress, running against Jim Bunning in the fourth Kentucky District.

Richard received the 2001 “Rescuer Award” from Wayside Christian Mission for many years of outstanding volunteer service to the homeless including five years as a once-weekly night supervisor. In May 2015 for the third time he was elected Chair of Wayside Christian Mission.

In June, 2015 in Washington D.C. , Richard was awarded by National Common Cause The Lifetime Achievement Award which states: “To Richard Beliles for extraordinary service and dedication in the fight for a stronger democracy.” Richard actively worked with Governor Brereton Jones to obtain public funding for the close Forgy vs Patton race.

On a number of occasions, Richard picketed as a conscientious objector at the office of the Governor of Kentucky to protest the destruction of 293 mountain tops and the pollution of mountain streams from which children of Eastern Kentucky drank.

Richard was a Mason and a member of the Alexander Hamilton Society.

Richard was the son of Mary Catherine Beliles and Neal Alton Beliles both of whom pre-deceased him. He was also predeceased by his son Joseph Hunt Beliles and grandson, Gabriel Edwards.

Mr. Beliles is survived by his daughter Sherry Beliles of Louisville and his son Mark Beliles (Nancy) of Charlottesville, VA. He is also survived by his brother David Beliles of Longboat Key, FL; his sister Beverly Belle-Isle of Jeffersonville, IN; four grand-children; twelve great-grand-children and many beloved relatives and friends.