Twelve candidates vying for a seat on the Fort Thomas City Council will advance to November’s general election ballot.
Fifteen candidates went into the primary looking to fill one of the six seats on the city council. The primary knocked off three of the candidates, meaning 12 candidates, or double the number of seats, will appear on the ballot in November.
The 12 winners were:
- Allison Alessandro
- Steve Arey
- Adam Blau
- Ken Bowman
- Mary Anne Brown
- Bradley Fennell
- Frances A. Hoffman
- Brandon Long
- Ben Pendery
- Lauren McIntosh
- Brandon Roller
- Eric Strange
The three candidates who did not win in the primary were Hunter Schlosser, Huey Pergrem and Ashley Sullivan.
Campbell County Results
Find all our other Northern Kentucky election coverage and live results here.
The Fort Thomas City Council and mayoral position underwent some changes at the end of last year.
The city council unanimously voted to appoint former city council member Andy Ellison as the interim mayor at a special meeting on Dec. 2, 2025. Ellison stepped into the role following former Fort Thomas Mayor Eric Haas’ vacating the position for health reasons. Ellison announced his campaign for Fort Thomas Mayor in July, 2025. He will face Fort Thomas Resident Sharon Macknight in November.
Following Ellison’s appointment, a new city council member had to be appointed to fill the vacant seat, a process that left the council divided about how the matter was handled.
Council voted 3-2 to appoint former long-time Fort Thomas Independent School Board member Brad Fennell. Council members Adam Blau and Eric Strange voted no, and Ben Pendery, Lauren McIntosh and Jeff Bezold voted yes.
Ellison, who was a non-voting member, said at the time that he believed the vote was held without giving the other candidates full consideration.
During the meeting, many residents spoke during public comment in support of candidates or themselves. After the vote to appoint Fennell, residents in the audience started making comments, displeased with how the voting unfolded.
The city also sparked controversy last September when LINK nky reported that Fort Thomas had to write off $322,000 as an “error of the past” following an audit, which revealed major accounting issues. The financial review found that $322,000 was unaccounted for. The city said there was no reason to believe it had been misappropriated; it was attributed to bad accounting practices.
The city council approved a forensic audit earlier this year to look into the situation.
The Fort Thomas City Council race is non-partisan meaning candidates do not have a party affiliation. It was the only non-partisian primary race in Northern Kentucky.
Folks wanting more information on the winning candidates can find it at LINK nky’s Election Headquarters.
