Ask Lexingtonians what they recall about late attorney Gatewood Galbraith and most will remember him as a perpetual — and perpetually unsuccessful — gubernatorial candidate who advocated tirelessly for the legalization of cannabis. Many will also recollect the exuberant, outsized personality that made him a local icon. But there was much more to Galbraith, both personally and politically, than many know, and a new biography of this beloved character reveals much about his beliefs and the life that helped shape them.
Author Matthew Strandmark will discuss and sign his book “Gatewood: Kentucky’s Uncommon Man” at a couple of local events this month:
• Nov. 5 at 2 p.m.: Lexington History Museum’s LEXTalk Series, Dr. Thomas Hunt-Morgan House, 201 N Mill St.
• Nov. 18 at 2 p.m.: Book signing event, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington Green Cir.
“Gatewood: Kentucky’s Uncommon Man,” by Matthew Strandmark, began with the donation of Galbraith’s papers and other memorabilia to the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Strandmark, an education archivist and academic liaison to the Appalachian Studies department who originally hails from Madison, Indiana, explained that the department was working to celebrate the acquisition in some way, and he helped create an exhibit with the materials. It was Strandmark’s introduction to Galbraith, and as he explained, he quickly became “curious to learn more.”
“We had a small oral history collection that included about 15 interviews with his close family and friends,” Strandmark said. “During Covid, while we were trying to find ways to provide materials online, we could luckily do oral history interviews over Zoom. I was able to conduct about 35 more interviews in 2020 and 2021 and expanded the collection.”
Through his research and interviews, Strandmark found that many people with whom he spoke had an incomplete understanding of Galbraith’s platform and the full impact he had on Kentucky politics. Thus, the idea for the book, which was published by University of Kentucky Press and will be officially released on Nov. 7, was born.
Gatewood Galbraith led a “mischeivious and idyllic” childhood in Carlisle, Kentucky, part of a tight-knit community and large extended family. Photo furnished
Born in 1947 in rural Carlisle, Kentucky, to parents Henry and Dollie, Galbraith was the fourth of seven children. The family moved to Lexington when Galbraith was 12 years old, where he attended UK as an undergraduate and eventually graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1977.
As a young adult, Galbraith solidified his platform on ending the prohibition of cannabis, laying out a tax structure that called for the government to control how the drug is processed and distributed.
“His plan for the legalization of cannabis goes back to the mid ’70s, when he started writing and talking about this,” Strandmark said.
Galbraith’s first attempt to run for office was in 1983, when he ran for agriculture commissioner but lost. He twice lost elections for the 6th District Congressional seat, and once for attorney general. Galbraith also ran for governor of Kentucky five times, with his final attempt in 2011, less than two months before his death.
While he was best known for his support of the legalization of cannabis, Galbraith also believed strongly in supporting rural communities like the one he lived in during his childhood in Nicholas County.
“He was always drawn to this kind of rural ideal and despised corporations and industries that came in and took advantage of Kentucky. So, while he was in the news for supporting cannabis for medical access and for industrial hemp, he was also very much for environmental protections and trying to end mountaintop removal in eastern Kentucky,” Strandmark explained.
A populist in the true sense, Galbraith advocated for educational vouchers for students in Kentucky. He also worked to find ways to drive up tourism, seeing it as an avenue to economic revitalization in eastern Kentucky well ahead of the crowd.
Galbraith attended the University of Kentucky as an undergraduate and eventually graduated from the UK College of Law in 1977. Photo furnished
In his first campaign for governor in 1991, Galbraith started to point out the effect that opioids and synthetic painkillers were having on the smaller communities around Kentucky that he visited on campaign stops.
“That was at least a decade before we heard that from other politicians or before that entered the parlance,” Strandmark said.
When looking back at Galbraith’s career, Strandmark has a theory as to why he never won a race.
“You can’t really frame him in any way that we understand politics today because on the one hand he was very much a libertarian in that he wanted to put the government back in a little box. But on the other hand, he was for environmental protections and educational vouchers. He had a very specific set of ideas that he was interested in that didn’t really conform to anything — which also made it really hard to find his way,” he explained.
“He would often try to talk about the issues that he was passionate about that people were maybe less interested in,” Strandmark added. “But the cannabis issue that made him part of the political conversation and that got media coverage was an issue that, for a lot of voters, came too early for their comfort. It hurt his opportunity to raise money for campaigns or to win elections.”
Galbraith, no matter what, was stalwart in his beliefs, said Strandmark. “His platforms didn’t change for the 30 years that he was in politics.”
Citing interviews with Paul Patton, Ernie Fletcher, Andy Barr, Ben Chandler and many others, the book also explores Galbraith’s personal life, including his family life and his career practicing criminal and personal injury law in Lexington.
“He was, by all accounts, a brilliant attorney. No one wanted to argue against Gatewood in front of a group of people. He had this ability to connect with people on a visceral level,” said Strandmark.
He was also known for his uncommon generosity.
Said Strandmark, Galbraith would “…walk around downtown and give money to the homeless, or he would go to McDonald’s and order 50 breakfast sandwiches and drive around handing them out.”
“There was a story from his family about him coming home one day not wearing any pants. He said he had picked up a hitchhiker who was wearing completely ragged clothing and he literally gave him the clothes off of his back and didn’t think twice about it,” he said.
Though Galbraith was never successful as a candidate, his impact on the political conversation in Kentucky can’t be discounted.
Strandmark said, “Everyone I interviewed said Gatewood was ahead of his time.”
Strandmark wants readers to walk away with a more complete picture of Galbraith and a better understanding of his influence on Kentucky politics, both past and present.
He said, “A lot of people know him as a colorful social and cultural folk hero because he was really interesting and engaging and in the news all the time. But I think it’s important that the impact he had on Kentucky politics is not overlooked.”
Galbraith met country music star Willie Nelson during his 1991 gubernatorial run, and the two maintained a lifelong friendship. Nelson performed a concert in support of Galbraith in 1991, and again in 1999. Photo furnished