A lawsuit filed this week seeks to remove incumbent Campbell County First District Commissioner Brian Painter as the Republican Party’s nominee in the November general election. Painter defeated challenger Dave Fischer by 106 votes in the GOP primary on May 17. Fischer filed suit alleging multiple violations. “As a result of the egregious, unlawful, corrupt […]
Author Archives: Mark Payne
Mark Payne is the government and politics reporter for LINK nky. Email him at mpayne@linknky.com.
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Posted inNews
Kentucky liberty group leader issues apology after tweeting ‘insensitive’ meme
One day after 19 children and two adults were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Kentucky Liberty tweeted a meme that drew intense criticism before it was deleted. The group, which advocated for Republican challengers against incumbent Northern Kentucky lawmakers in the May 17 primary, is a nonprofit that describes itself as pro-constitution […]
Posted inFrankfort
How Kentucky legislators are responding to the Uvalde school shooting
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman, who had bought an AR-15 and hundreds of rounds of ammo days earlier, entered Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers. Like previous deadly mass shootings in America, debate over gun legislation and how to protect schools and other public spaces is happening across […]
Posted inNews
Kenton County Commissioner bruised but OK after car crash
This story has been updated to include details from the report produced by the Ft. Wright Police Department. Kenton County Commissioner Jon Draud was involved in a car crash last Thursday, May 19, just two days after winning reelection against Tony Schmiade in the Republican primary. Police reports show that Draud crossed the center lane […]
Posted inBusiness
Cincinnati mayor discusses regional challenges at NKY Chamber breakfast
The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce held a government forum with Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval Friday morning. Pureval spoke of how governments on both sides of the river must work together to move forward with regional projects — and also about the area’s challenges. “The work that you’re doing in Frankfort to get dollars here […]
Posted inPolitics
NKY’s Rep. Massie votes against Jewish heritage resolution
Rep. Thomas Massie voted no on a House resolution that sought to honor Jewish heritage while also attempting to denounce antisemitic crimes. Massie, who stormed to victory in the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional district on May 17, was the only no vote on the resolution. The measure passed with 420 votes, with eight […]
Posted inElections
Analysis: How voters in Boone County changed the makeup of the NKY legislative caucus
The scenes at PeeWee’s Place in Crescent Springs as results came in from Tuesday’s primary election were celebratory. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, expecting a win in the GOP primary, announced that he would be holding his afterparty at the venue. As election night drew closer, other candidates of similar political leanings announced they would be […]
Posted inElections
Three NKY lawmakers fall to challenger in GOP primaries: Koenig, Santoro, Massey
Three Northern Kentucky Republican members of the state House of Representatives appear to have lost their seats in Tuesday night’s primary election, according to unofficial results. Reps. Adam Koenig, of Erlanger, Sal Santoro, of Union, and Ed Massey, of Hebron, all of whom serve as chairmen of different House committees, went down in defeat to […]
Posted inElections
New state law could lead to party identification of candidates in nonpartisan races
In April, the Kentucky legislature passed Senate Bill 216, legislation related to voting that proponents argued would improve the sanctity of elections in Kentucky. However, one of the sections in the bill includes information that allows county clerks to include party affiliation for candidates running in nonpartisan races, such as judicial and municipal races. Section […]
Posted inFrankfort, News, Politics
Three Northern Kentuckians named to statewide boards
Gov. Andy Beshear named three Northern Kentuckians to statewide boards on Friday. Beshear reappointed Randy Poe to the Kentucky Board of Education. Poe is the executive director of the Northern Kentucky Education Council and will serve a term that expires April 14, 2026. Poe has been on the board for the last year and a […]