Former state Sen. John Schickel and incumbent Boone County Commissioner Cathy Flaig, both Republicans, won their respective races for the Boone County Fiscal Court in Tuesday’s general election.
According to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s election night tracker, Flaig, the incumbent District 1 commissioner, defeated Democrat Debra Waller, receiving 26,467 votes, or 61% of the total. Waller received 17,069 votes, accounting for 39%.
Meanwhile, Schickel defeated Democrat Lianna Simpson Nguyen in the District 2 commissioner race. Schickel received 26,926 votes, or 62% of the total, compared with Nguyen’s 16,724 votes, or 38%.
District 3 Commissioner Jesse Brewer, a Republican, did not face a Democrat challenger and was automatically reelected.
The Boone County Fiscal Court consists of three commissioners and the county judge/executive, each serving four-year terms. Although commissioners represent three geographic districts, voters elect them countywide. The fiscal court oversees county operations, including adopting the budget, approving expenditures, enacting ordinances and managing public services and infrastructure.
Schickel and Flaig will begin their terms in January 2027 and serve through December 2030.
Schickel, a Union resident, is returning to public office nearly two years after retiring from the Kentucky State Senate. He has spent more than 45 years in public service, including stints as a police officer, Boone County jailer, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Kentucky and state senator. First elected to the Kentucky Senate in 2008, Schickel chaired the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee and the Northern Kentucky Caucus before retiring in 2024.
Throughout his campaign, Schickel emphasized managing Boone County’s continued residential and commercial growth, protecting agricultural land, improving infrastructure and maintaining fiscal responsibility. He received endorsements from outgoing Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore and Republican judge/executive nominee Chet Hand, who was also elected Tuesday night. Schickel will replace Hand on the fiscal court.
Flaig, a Republican, has served on the Boone County Fiscal Court for much of the past three decades. First elected in 1998, she became the first Republican woman elected to countywide office in Boone County. She won reelection in 2002 and 2006 before unsuccessfully challenging Gary Moore in the 2010 Republican primary for judge/executive.
Flaig returned to the fiscal court in 2014 and won reelection in 2018 and 2022. Outside of public office, she and her husband, Bob, have operated Flaig Welding Company Inc. for more than 45 years.
During her political career, Flaig has emphasized fiscal responsibility, lower taxes and limited government. More recently, she has focused on expanding rural water and broadband access, managing development, improving infrastructure and addressing the effects of growth on surrounding property owners.
For other Boone County election results, click here.
