Boone County Republican Party Chair and County Commissioner Chet Hand has taken the first step to run for judge/executive in 2026, challenging incumbent Gary Moore, who has held the seat since 1998.
“I’m running because Boone County deserves bold, accountable leadership that puts people over politics,” said Hand in a press release. “As a commissioner, I’ve fought for transparency, conservative principles and fiscal responsibility. I will bring that same focus to the county-wide responsibility of the judge/executive.”
Hand has already filed a statement of spending intent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. He will also have to file with the Boone County clerk’s office as a candidate to appear on the ballot in the May 2026 primary election. Candidates cannot file with the county until Nov. 5, 2025.
Moore told LINK nky that he plans to run and defend his position during the primary.
“I am a candidate for re-election in 2026,” Moore told LINK nky.
Is anyone else planning to run, and why is all this important, anyway?
What does a judge/executive do?
In spite of the position’s name, judges/executive actually do not serve a judicial function in the county government.
Instead, they’re closer to the county head executive, almost like a CEO, and serve as a voting member and chair of the fiscal court, the primary legislative body of the county. Fiscal courts have a total of four elected positions, including the judge/executive. The judge/executive casts votes with the rest of the fiscal court, similar to a mayor in a city commission or city manager form of municipal government.
Judges’/executive main responsibilities are creating a county budget and administering the budget as approved by the fiscal court, oversight of the funds, appointing county personnel and forming relationships with organizations and industry leaders that support their county. The judge/executive serves a four-year term and may be re-elected indefinitely.
Salary for the judge/executive is based on the population in their county and is intended to be a full-time job. Campbell, Kenton and Boone counties have populations between 90,000 and 499,000. According to the Kentucky Association of Counties, an advocacy group that collects data on its 1,500 plus membership, the judges/executive for Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties will all make $150,948.29 each in 2025.
While other states have a type of governing county executive, Kentucky is the only state with judges/executive. All 120 counties in the state have their own judge/executive.
Judges/executive receive administrative reports from directors whose offices utilize county funds, such as the animal shelter, external affairs, public works, technology services, parks and other recreation. The fiscal court also hears reports from the county attorney, commissioners and the judge/executive during meetings.
The fiscal court votes on county ordinances, court orders and resolutions. The judge/executive is in charge of enforcing those and all contracts entered into by the fiscal court, as well as all state laws subject to enforcement by the judge/executive.
They are responsible for preparing and submitting an annual budget to the fiscal court and administering it when adopted by the fiscal court. The judge/executive is also responsible for keeping the fiscal court aware of the financial condition and needs of the county.
The position has the authority, with the approval of the fiscal court, to appoint, supervise, suspend and remove county personnel. With the support of the fiscal court, a judge/executive can make appointments to remove members from boards, commissions and designated administrative positions.
Finally, if an elected position in the county were to sit vacantly, the judge/executive could appoint someone to fill the position. Moore recently appointed Les Hill to the position of Boone County Sheriff, for instance, after former Sheriff Mike Helmig announced his retirement in December.
What are the issues?
Besides their official duties, a judge/executive act as a “bully pulpit for a lot of issues he doesn’t have control over,” said former Kentucky Senator and Union resident John Schickel.
Schickel served in the Kentucky Senate from 2009 to 2025 and decided not to run for re-election in 2024. He’s a known quantity in the region, and when asked if he also planned to run for the position, he said, “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do.”
A lot of people, he said, have approached him about running for various positions. He’ll be “talking to my advisors over the summer and making up my mind if I have a role in public service or not.”
Candidates and others who spoke with LINK nky tended to point to the same set of issues that the judge/executive will face in coming terms: development and economic growth, green space, crime, transportation and infrastructure and the school system. State-level issues, like medical certificate of need, came up in conversations as well: Several elected officials from Northern Kentucky, most notably Kentucky Rep. Marianne Proctor, a Republican from Union, have advocated for either the revocation or reform of medical certificate of need in Frankfort.
Managing economic growth was a common refrain, especially. Moore described it as a “double-edged sword.”
“If we’re doing a great job of building a No. 1-rated community, – and that’s what we strive to do – other people are gonna want to have a part of that,” Moore said. As such, “managing growth” was always on the minds of county leadership. Schickel expressed similar sentiments.
Hand commits to “limiting government overreach and regulation, ensuring strategic and sustainable economic development and empowering residents to participate in their local government,” in his press release.
Moore and Hand arguably represent competing wings of conservative politics in the county, with Moore typifying the Republican party’s old guard and Hand the newer, more populist, grassroots and libertarian wing of the party. Hand’s wing also represents a distinct social conservatism that is less prominent in Moore’s wing – Hand himself has taken part in protests against LGBTQ events as a private citizen, for instance.
If Schickel (or another candidate who doesn’t fit neatly into either camp) decides to run against Moore and Hand, then the question arises as to how the votes will get split. The future of other county positions, such the county commissioner seats, may also end up being contested next year, so Boone County residents will have a lot to think about as they enter the election season.
“My goal is simple: keep Boone County financially strong, economically prosperous—and a great place to live, work and raise our future generations,” Hand said.
Primary elections will occur in May of 2026. Whoever wins the primary will then have to compete in the general election in November 2026.
Haley Parnell contributed reporting to this story