Gov. Steve Beshear announced today that Louisville’s David Karem is his choice for a spot on the state Board of Education. Beshear was forced to pick another appointee after the JCTA’s Steve Neal wasn’t confirmed by the state Senate in a political move orchestrated by Senate president David Williams.

Karem is a better choice. The current president of the Waterfront Development Corp., Karem spent 28 years in the state Senate, ending in 2004, and was the chief author of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. He served as a member of the Senate Education Committee and the Education Reform Task Force.

Here’s a list of board members. From the release:

“David will be a great Kentucky Board of Education member because his heart is in public education and his eyes are still firmly focused on the future,” Gov. Beshear said. “David has never been wedded to the past. He has always looked for better ways to do things. Kentucky students are very lucky that David will once again be working on their behalf.”