The following op-ed is written by Brian Painter, a candidate for Campbell County Commissioner in District 1.
I am running for re-election as your District 1 Campbell County Commissioner to continue to make our county government more efficient. Over the last eleven years we have created a fantastic management team and we deliver services to our citizens more efficiently than ever before. We spend less per capita than any other full service government (that have Jail and Police force) in the region. I would like the opportunity to return as your Commissioner to work with this team of goal oriented, technically competent professionals. And to continue to make you, the taxpayers, the financial winners in Campbell County.
I have experience and training that no other candidate offers. I have an advanced degree, and I have decades of managing large environmental projects both technically and financially. Serving my country in the superfund environmental projects from the early 1980’s until 2002, based in Florida, I worked in over a dozen states in a private engineering firm investigating and cleaning up hazardous waste sites. When the superfund clean ups were nearing completion, I took a job in Idaho State Government protecting the largest aquifer in the region, a sole source of drinking water of 500,000 people. I managed a half million dollar project for thirteen years. In the 2000’s I returned to Kentucky and started a small business, Vineyard Hardwoods that I successfully operated for thirteen years.
I have been organizing and motivating groups of professionals for three decades. I have financially managed difficult projects with great success, faithfully stewarding millions of dollars. This experience prepared me for being on Fiscal Court as a Commissioner. I look forward to using my skills developed over decades of management, to work with our county staff to deliver services to the taxpayer at the lowest possible cost, making Campbell County taxpayers the financial winners in our region!
The county infrastructure is coming along well. We will be one of the few areas in the country with fiber optics to every residence and business along with Kenton and Boone Counties. We entered into agreement with Cincinnati Bell (Altafiber) last July to get this done, with a projected two completion date. We have a radio network for emergency response that we upgraded, and has full functionality across the region. Our transportation network is constantly being improved, our road slide repair program has stabilized 2100 feet of slide area with pier wall drilling, a first for our county, these are 30-50 year fixes. Sewer improvements along the AA highway from US 27 to 547 are advancing. Improving our recycling is also being studied.
We make every move we can to improve public safety. The County Police are smoothly and accurately run by Chief Sorrell. Our emergency operations staff and many emergency responders throughout the county gave heroically to respond to the devastating twisters that ravaged western Kentucky right before Christmas. We cannot begin to express our gratitude to these fine people. Our Office of Emergency Management staff are very highly rated and respected state wide.
The County recreation facilities improve each year, by design. Paved trails are being advanced with each recreational trail grant we receive, as well as bathroom facilities and play areas. We plan on three music festivals this year at the Stapleton Pavilion (at AJ Jolly Park) with more variety in music this year. The golf course is operating in the black, and re-investment is being made regularly. New camping sites with improved comforts are being brought on line this year. An RV park is being studied for inclusion in our park facilities.
A little about us. My wife Sulinda and I have been married for 41 years. We live on our family farm near Alexandria. We are both graduates of Campbell County High School. I got a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Kentucky University and a Master of Science degree from Ohio University. Sulinda got a chemistry degree and we pursued our careers in Florida, Ohio, and Idaho, returning back to our beloved county in 2002 to raise our son, Matthew, who will be a senior next year at NKU. We love to attend church and worship the Lord, and we currently attend and serve at the Church of Christ of Alexandria on Poplar Ridge Rd.
I have enjoyed the last eleven years working as your Commissioner and am still excited to build this county up in every way. My family has deep roots of service in Campbell County, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to continue serving you. I respectfully as for your vote in the May 17th Republican Primary, and it only happens if you turn out to vote!