Campbell County Commissioner in District 1 is up for grabs in the upcoming primary election. There are three commissioners in Campbell County that cover three districts.
The lines of how the districts are drawn are not cut and dry. District 1 covers most of Fort Thomas, Highland Heights, Cold Spring and Alexandria. Commissioners must live within their boundaries, but everyone in the county gets to vote on each commissioner, not just the district’s residents.
A county commissioner is like a liaison between citizens and the county government. You can think of a commissioner as a voting member of a board of directors with a $40 million budget that runs that county government. The budget gets distributed for things like the transportation department, police and senior center in the county. The county clerk, jailer, and sheriff are responsible for submitting budgets to the court, and they vote on whether they’re appropriate.
The current Campbell County Commissioner (District 1) Brian Painter refers to it as the US 27 district full of suburban living people.
Painter said the Fiscal Court has well-balanced representation for different parts of the county. Painter currently lives in Alexandria; he and commissioner Geoff Besecker (District two) live in unincorporated Campbell County. Commissioner Tom Lampe (District three) and Judge/Executive Steve Pendery live in Fort Thomas.
Painter has been District 1 Commissioner since 2010. He says he is semi-retired and works as a commissioner full time. He was a small business owner of Vineyard Hardwoods in Campbell County for 13 years and is a licensed hydrogeologist. Painter said his education (bachelor’s degree from NKU and master’s degree from Ohio University) and 12 years of experience as a commissioner make him more qualified than his opponent.
Challenger Dave Fischer is vice-chair of the Campbell County Republican Party and a Fort Thomas resident. He grew up in Newport and has worked there at his small business Maxwell Jump Rentals, since 2008. He also owns real estate property, including a subdivision in Fort Thomas. Fischer said his knowledge as a small businessman makes him qualified for the job.
Painter said he is running for election again because of the people he works with.
“When you assemble a great staff and can-do things cheaper than anyone in the region; our roads are cleared first, we have the biggest county park in the state,” Painter said. “It’s a fine county that people want to live in.”
One thing Painter said he is most proud of in his 12 years as commissioner is the work the county has done to AJ Jolly Park. They have invested in three yurts, private picnic shelters, an RV Campground bathhouse, and a Kayak dock, resurfaced all of the roads in the main park area, replaced the roof on the small shelter, and created a watercraft and bike rental fleet.
Along with physical improvements, the county also invested in activities like Festival on the Lake, Sun Valley Bluegrass Festival, Jolly Thursdays, Halloween Spooktacular and Dragonboat Festival.
“We run county government very efficiently, so the easy cost savings or low hanging fruit of easy cost savings has been picked already,” Painter said. “So, it gets harder to get savings in local finances, so we work harder to do that.”
The county investing over $5 million in county road infrastructure is another achievement Painter said he had been a part of as commissioner. They have replaced five bridges, repaired 12 slide locations with 2,100 feet of pier wall, and resurfaced 25 miles of road since 2019.
Another important project to Painter was the TANK bus system redesign that eliminated inefficient routes, which helped improve frequency on high usage routes and decrease the county’s contribution.
Painter said should he be reelected, he looks to continue to find ways to do things cheaper and seeks to cut tax rates.
“In 2010, we were in a recession with no money. We had to cut everywhere,” Painter said. “We built an organization that was mean and lean and got better and better at it.”
Though Fischer runs multiple small businesses, he said he would treat the position of county commissioner like a full-time job.
Fischer said if he were commissioner, he would like to see dollars spent differently within the county on infrastructure, parks, recreation, and roads.
“There are changes in the county that can be made,” Fischer said. “They have a $40 million budget. I’m not a big tax raiser. I have a hard time seeing taxes raised every year I’ve been alive. I’d rather see businesses grow than taxes raised.”
He also said the reopening of Route 8 is a project he would tackle should he become commissioner.
“I hate seeing Route 8 closed. After May 17, I’ll requote Route 8,” Fischer said. “I’ve done infrastructure. There is no way in the world it’s $60 million. I have never seen a road closed like that in my life. It hurts the cities connected to it.”
Fischer said Wilder has done a great job with their splash pad and would like to see one in the northern and southern ends of the county. He said he would like to see more done with parks and recreation in the south part of the county.
Though he would like to expand parks and recreation in the southern county, Fischer said urban sprawl is becoming an issue. He said people move there to get away from the city, and moving things further south will create gridlock.
Fischer is currently Vice-Chair of the Campbell County Republican Party, which some people see as a conflicting role should he be elected as commissioner.
“I got some grief because before I ran for vice-chair, I was running for Campbell County commissioner,” Fischer said. “There had already been three people before me within the last three to four years in a similar position.”
Fischer said he would use his role as Vice-Chair to help address more residents’ concerns as commissioner. He said he would dig into any complaints or problems that arise in Campbell County Republican Party meetings as commissioner.
“I think the county needs to hear more from its residents,” Fischer said.
Fischer said the Campbell County Republican Party’s goal is to get more people involved in the Republican Party and bring awareness to the party. He said they want people in the county to get out and vote.
Wanting people to get out and vote is something Painter can agree with.
“One vote is worth about six in the primary election,” Painter said. “The primary decides it. In the last three election cycles, I don’t think I’ve seen a democrat win. Each individual who shows up has a greater voice than in a general election.”
