Candidates for the Covington City Council came out to the American Legion post in Latonia on Monday to discuss issues on voters’ minds, especially those related to Latonia itself.
The candidates also discussed economic development, housing and how they would handle their roles as the city government transitions from its current city manager form to a mayor-council, or strong mayor, form of government in 2027 – the same year election winners will take office.
There will be six seats on the new council. Council members serve two-year terms and represent the city at-large, meaning they represent the city as a whole, rather than a particular district or neighborhood. The positions are non-partisan. There’s no primary for Covington this year, so residents won’t see any Covington candidates on their ballots until November.
“You have time to get to know these candidates, not just tonight but throughout the summer and fall,” said Billie Mocabee-Kegley, local business owner and member of the Latonia Business Association, who served as the evening’s moderator.
All incumbents are running for re-election except Vice Mayor Shannon Smith. The incumbents running are construction professional and service veteran Tim Acri, Tim Downing (who has served on the commission since 2018) and James Toebbe, a veteran who’s actually a member of the American Legion post where Monday’s event took place.
Other candidates include the now-retired pastor of Latonia Baptist Church, Dan Francis; former city commissioner and IT professional Steve Hayden; former City Commissioner Bill Wells; and NKU professor Maria “Cari” McMurtry Garriga, who ran for the commission in 2024 but lost.
Three more candidates, Tom Strycker Hull, Jay Fossett and Tyesha Gordon, did not attend Monday’s forum.
Each candidate was asked the same questions, some of which were straightforward about their backgrounds, while others focused on specific initiatives they would implement if elected and how they would ensure that Latonia wasn’t overlooked.
The first question after introductions, however, was about how the candidates viewed their roles in the impending government conversion, particularly as it related to balancing “collaboration with accountability.”
Most of the candidates were aware that their roles as city council members would be somewhat reduced when compared to the current structure, especially as it related to personnel – under a strong mayor form of government, hiring and firing largely falls to the mayor. However, many were confident they had a good relationship with Mayor Ron Washington, and they emphasized their roles in creating a budget would become more prominent.
“When the number goes from four to six … there’s more probability for conflict of differences of opinion,” Garriga said. “So, I think that building consensus becomes more important for that.”
Housing stood out as a specific policy focus. The incumbents brought up housing programs that have been implemented since they entered office, such as the city’s current effort to inventory blighted properties for affordable housing development. Francis brought up last year’s Home for All report, which recommends several strategies for addressing the housing problem.
“If you want a massive approach to housing, look at that report,” said Francis. “It’s incredibly impressive.”
Hayden painted a picture of the stakes.
“The current market rates for housing barely allows someone to be able to find an accommodation inside of their own city,” Hayden said. “There’s lots of things you can prioritize, but we are actually here to serve the citizens. Covington and those citizens need help on accommodation that’s suitable to their income.”
Francis also discussed the need to invest in “education and workforce development.”
Wells pitched bringing back the OpenGov software for the city, which allows residents to track city spending. Several jurisdictions in the region already use it. Wells also suggested a greater emphasis on fixing the city’s road infrastructure.
“Last year, the city in South Covington replaced two dead-end streets and left 18 streets that had a life expectancy of minus one,” Wells said. “I think we need to use common sense as the decision making of all of our investments.”
Similar to Wells, Toebbe emphasized infrastructure and public safety. However, he also pitched the idea of increasing the city’s rental license fee, not only to increase revenue but also to address some of the area’s blighted properties.
“What I’m proposing is to increase our rental licensing to $30 a year to be comparable to other cities,” Toebbe said. “That will generate an extra $100,000 a year for Covington. With that, we can create a promotional position within the code enforcement department to add an inspector.”
As it relates to Latonia specifically, the incumbents discussed a new position that would focus specifically on economic development in Latonia and the CCR site along the river.
“The current commission has focused on Latonia as one of our priorities,” Acri said. “We are looking to hire somebody that will focus their energy on bringing businesses to Latonia. I can tell you that there are talks behind the scenes about a possible rec center in Latonia.”
Francis encouraged the city to “continue to incentivize” businesses to set up shops in the city.
Downing said it was important to keep “Latonia on the forefront, even if north of 12th Street ends up being in the newspapers more often … it’s not just the actions we’re taking, it’s what’s immediately visible to the community.”
The forum was recorded, and LINK nky will post the video here once it’s available.