Chet Hand

Chet Hand is a Republican candidate for Boone County Judge/Executive and a current member of the Boone County Fiscal Court, where he has served as a county commissioner for the past three years.

He is challenging longtime Judge/Executive Gary Moore in the upcoming GOP primary.

A Boone County resident for roughly a decade, Hand lives on a farm in Walton along with his wife, Elizabeth, and their seven children.

Hand’s professional background includes both the public and private sectors. He spent over a decade in the fire service as a firefighter, medic, and training captain in Alaska, an experience he publicly says influences his support for law enforcement and first responders.

In his private sector career, Hand has experience in corporate risk management, including holding a leadership position with a global retailer where he has managed large-scale operations and budgets.

“I have a few platform positions that are the core to what I think is important for a Boone County judge/executive,” Hand said during a Northern Kentucky Tea Party candidate forum in February. “The biggest thing is that I’m for conservative fiscal policy and lower taxes. I also am very defensive of individual property rights. I also have strong support for law enforcement and first responders, and I’m probably best known for my push for strategic and responsible county planning.”

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On the fiscal court, Hand is a proponent of conservative fiscal policies, advocating for limited government, fewer regulations, and strong protections for individual property rights.

Over his fiscal court tenure, Hand has supported measures eliminating the county’s mandatory dog licensing fee and revising ordinances to allow backyard chickens. Moreover, Hand also publicly opposed publicly funded electric-vehicle charging stations, arguing that such projects should be left to the private sector.

Hand describes himself as a proponent of transparency and accessibility in local government and has pushed to expand the county’s communications staff and modernize public-facing information systems.

On growth and development, Hand supports strategic, long-term planning that uses defined metrics and aligns with the county’s comprehensive plan. During a Northern Kentucky Tea Party candidate forum in February, Hand said his goal is to ensure responsible growth while protecting Boone County’s future for the next generation, rejecting the label of “anti-development” that critics have levied against him.