Roger Peterman. FTM file. 

I am not
originally from Fort Thomas, but have lived in the City for over 30 years.  My children, Christina, Liz and Rob, all
attended and graduated from Fort Thomas schools. My wife Mary and I have been
actively engaged in the community since we first moved here.  I have served on city council for 8 terms
(going on 16 years). 

When we
first moved here, I didn’t have any thoughts of running for office. I became
active in other civic ventures and have had the good fortune to have served on
the boards of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Tri-County
Economic Development Corporation (a three county organization promoting
Northern Kentucky) and HealthPoint (a community health center with clinics
throughout Northern Kentucky).

At this
time, I continue to be active in civic affairs, serving on the boards of St.
Elizabeth Hospital, the Northern Kentucky Port Authority (as chair), Southbank
(which promotes development in the Ohio river cities of Kentucky) and the
Covington Business Council (which promotes business in Covington, where my law
office is located).  Mary served in
several roles while our children were in school, including, most notably, being
one of the founders of the Fort Thomas Education Foundation. She now serves on
the Brighton Center Board (a comprehensive social service organization focusing
on workforce readiness, housing and other community needs).

In my
working life, I have practiced as a municipal bond attorney for 32 years.  That practice has given me the opportunity to
focus my entire professional career on public finance – how states and local
governments fund their budgets and capital projects. In addition to working
with several state agencies and universities on their financing needs, I have
worked with cities, counties and special districts throughout the state.  My work has allowed me to discuss tax,
development and financing policy with leaders across the state, at every
different level of government.  

I have
worked with the Kentucky League of Cities and Kentucky Association of Counties
for almost 30 years, developing financing programs that have been used by local
governments in virtually every county of the state.

Given my
interests and participation in civic matters, running for city council seemed
to be a natural progression.  Although
Fort Thomas has always been a desirable place to live, when I first ran, I had
become concerned that success had led to complacency.  That we needed to look forward, as a city, to
make sure we continued to be one of the most desirable places to live in the
greater Cincinnati area.

Fifteen
years ago, the city was showing a lot of wear, and was in danger of falling
behind.  With the forward looking
approach that has existed since I have been on council, we have been able to
revitalize the Downton Business District, then the Inverness area and finally
the Midway District (by Tower Park).  We
have also revitalized our park system, which was blessed with an abundance of
land, but was not realizing its potential as a community asset.  The improvements to the playgrounds, the
amphitheater and picnic shelters in Tower Park and Highland Park are not only
wonderful to use, but have created an image for the city that makes us the envy
of all Northern Kentucky.  Rossford Park
was developed from a few Spartan ball fields into, arguably, the nicest park in
the city.  It has truly been an honor to
have run to accomplish this make-over and then to have actually participated in
it becoming a reality.

Please don’t
misunderstand.  I only had a small part
in bringing this city to the place where it is today.  Credit really goes to the great sense of
volunteerism and sense of community that exists in Fort Thomas.  Innumerable citizens have contributed their
time and talents to making Fort Thomas the most livable city in greater
Cincinnati.  It has been a great pleasure
to have been a part of all we accomplished over the last several years and to
have seen this community commitment achieve results.

So after all
that, why keep running?  To a certain
extent, I just can’t get enough of a good thing.  We have several new council members and a new
chief administrative officer.  Mayor Haas
has challenged us to look forward once again. 
We are about to start a strategic planning process, so in a sense, it’s
back to the future.  With the
institutional knowledge I have gathered over my previous eight terms, I feel I
have a lot to offer along this path of trying to make the best even better.

Although I
have focused my entire discussion on community development, I caution everyone
not to take other city services for granted. 
Institutional knowledge has some value in these sometimes
underappreciated areas, as well.  Having
served on the committee to consolidate public safety dispatching in the county
and currently serving on the public safety committee, I have had firsthand
experience with how public safety works and how fortunate I am to live in this
city.  The culture of our police force
and fire/life support force is something everyone needs to be thankful
for. 

I also don’t
want to leave out the city’s support for the schools.  We have had several opportunities to engage
in joint ventures to improve the community, and we need to keep doing that.

So that is who I am and why I am
running again.  Thank you for your
support and your commitment to engaging in the most livable community in
greater Cincinnati.

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