- Moore emphasized experience, fiscal conservatism and a track record of delivering infrastructure and regional partnerships.
- Hand positioned himself as the upstart candidate, calling for stronger planning, transparency and protecting longtime residents from growth pressures.
- Both candidates largely agreed on major issues but differed on execution, with debate centered on growth management, housing and infrastructure strategy.
Longtime incumbent Gary Moore and Commissioner Chet Hand faced off in the Boone County judge/executive debate Tuesday night, where they outlined their visions for the future, contrasting themselves through the lens of continuity versus change.
More than 300 people gathered at the Boone County Public Library in Burlington on April 7, where local media personality Evan Millward moderated the highly anticipated debate.
With the May 19 Republican primary looming, the debate was an opportunity for both candidates to showcase themselves to the broader electorate. Although they are primary opponents, the pair have served together on the Boone County Fiscal Court since 2022.
Judges/executive serve as the elected chief executive of a county’s government in Kentucky. Their primary responsibilities are to oversee daily operations, prepare the budget, manage personnel and preside over the fiscal court – the county’s primary legislative body.
Moore, first elected to the judge/executive role in 1998, came into the debate with over 25 years of experience leading Boone County. Throughout his opening address, Moore leaned on his record, stressing fiscal conservatism, infrastructure investment and regional collaboration
Hand, with around four years of experience as a commissioner, in addition to several years chairing the Boone County Republican Party, pitched himself as the upstart, “choice of the future” candidate, willing to challenge the status quo when applicable.
Despite the adversarial nature of the primary election, both candidates largely agreed with one another, with only one rebuttal used by Hand throughout the debate.
Some of the most heavily discussed topics during the debate were housing, infrastructure, navigating disagreements and regionalism.
Housing and development
Since the turn of the century, Boone County has experienced significant population growth. According to the U.S. Census data, it grew from around 85,000 to nearly 136,000 in 2020.
As such, Boone County’s housing stock, infrastructure and commercial tax base expanded alongside its population. With such growth, frustrations arose alongside the benefits, namely traffic congestion, overcrowded schools and a slow shift away from the county’s agricultural roots.
Both candidates recognized Boone County’s economic and population growth, but they each shared different perspectives and strategies.
Regarding housing, Moore highlighted ongoing planning efforts, regional housing studies, and regional partnerships aimed at increasing housing supply.
In 2023, a housing study published by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District found that the region lacked enough “workforce housing,” which refers to households earning between $15 and $25 per hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. The study, conducted by the nationwide consulting firm Stantec, covered not only Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties but also Gallatin, Carroll, Owen, Grant and Pendleton counties.
A study of housing in Northern Kentucky has revealed troubling trends for housing in the region, with the largest need being for “workforce housing” for households earning between $15 and $25 per hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. The region needs about 3,000 more housing units to provide for people within that income range, according to the study. The demand for one- to two-bedroom rentals and owned properties consistently exceeds their supply, while supply for three and four-bedroom properties consistently exceeds demand. The study suggests that the region needs to build 6,650 housing units to support economic development in the next five years, which equates to 1,330 units per year. Read more here.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
Moore, who served as the judge/executive overseeing much of this economic growth, said the study is helping inform county leaders in Northern Kentucky on where to focus their efforts to address the workforce housing shortage
“We wanted to make data-informed decisions,” he said.
Hand focused more on perceived shortcomings in execution, particularly regarding adherence to Boone County’s comprehensive plan, which he believes lacks clear metrics and is not consistently followed. The Boone County Planning Commission approved an updated version of the comprehensive plan in February.
Hand argued that the county’s growth should not come at the expense of longtime residents, who he says have felt the pinch from rising costs and traffic brought on by development.
“While we do have to welcome new populations and new groups come to our county, it cannot be at the expense of our existing residents that I call our early investors in our county,” Hand said.
Hand, in addition to Moore, said he advocated for lowering regulatory barriers to reduce construction costs by allowing accessory dwelling units, promoting infill development, and updating zoning laws to better accommodate smaller homes and lots.
Insfrastructure
On infrastructure, Moore presented himself as someone who is able to “get projects done,” pointing to several critical infrastructure projects completed during his tenure, such as the new interchanges at Mt. Zion Road and Richwood Road, Aero Parkway, the rebuilds of Mineola Pike, Donaldson Road, Houston Road and Wendell Ford Boulevard, among others.
Furthermore, Moore argued that many of the issues regarding traffic congestion, particularly around the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, are a byproduct of economic success.
Moore said that Boone County sees a massive influx of workers during the daytime hours due to the airport, which is a jobs magnet for the county and region. With that influx, infrastructure can become strained during the morning and evening rush hours.
“Most of the transportation and the congestion issues are caused by the daytime population,” he said. “Boone County’s population doubles in the daytime. We have 18,000 people working at CVG, plus all the people that frequent CVG. We have the Florence Mall on Houston Road; we’re the retail center. So population doubles in the daytime.”
When asked what projects to prioritize, Moore said that Boone County relies on long-range transportation plans, developed with public input, in conjunction with funding availability, to decide what projects to pursue.
In contrast, Hand said that some of Boone County’s infrastructure issues are caused by a lack of strategic planning and not adhering to its comprehensive plan. Hand argued that this inconsistency damages public trust and results in infrastructure that doesn’t match growth.
Hand said that Boone County should employ forward-looking planning to ensure that development aligns with infrastructure capacity and long-term goals. He said that from his perspective, the county needs a proactive, not reactive, approach to infrastructure development.
“How do we tell the public that we’re looking out for their interests of the future, and how do we adequately plan on what we want to see and how we want to see it, and make sure that their proper infrastructure is in place for development when we approve exceptions,” he said.
Hand said traffic is a top concern he hears from constituents and argued that infrastructure priorities should focus on addressing current problems facing residents, rather than anticipating future growth.
Navigating disagreements
Millward asked each candidate if they could recall a time when they navigated a disagreement with one another.
Hand, answering first, said that Moore likes to claim that the two overwhelmingly vote the same on many ordinances and resolutions brought forward during fiscal court meetings. Earlier in the debate, Moore said that he and the fiscal court “vote together 99.9% of the time.”
Hand said that Moore’s statement was misleading, as much of the business conducted at fiscal court meetings involves routine administrative matters that require little controversy, such as approving prepaid invoices or hiring temporary workers for the county’s golf courses.
“If you take those routine administrative things out of the picture, the number of things that we disagree on actually becomes a lot higher, and it’s those things that are the most important,” he said. “I don’t think we would have effective governance if we disagreed on everything, so I anticipate us agreeing on some things, but the things that we disagree on are really, really important, and the difference is that I will be, and have been already on the record, the standalone vote based on what I think is right.”
Hand cited examples such as his disagreement with Moore over a resolution to install electric vehicle charging stations in Boone County, or advocating for term limits for people appointed by the fiscal court that serve on countywide and regional boards and commissions.
In response, Moore shared a statistic showing that he and Hand have voted similarly since he joined the fiscal court in 2022. The statistic revealed that out of 1,400 votes Hand has participated in, he and Moore voted differently on only seven measures, suggesting that their policy differences were minimal and they are largely aligned on key issues.
“I said during the forum at the Boone County Republican Party, I felt like I was meeting Commissioner Hand for the first time, because Commissioner Hand shows up at fiscal court meetings and we vote the same way, we agree on everything, but Candidate Hand wants you to believe that we’re very different, it’s just not the case,” he said.
Hand rebutted by saying that elected officials should not vote in lockstep with others, but rather represent their constituents independently, even if that means standing alone.
“I don’t think you want your representative to go to the state capital of Frankfort and vote with everybody else in lockstep,” he said. “You want them to vote the way you want them to vote, and the same applies to me when I show up at that fiscal report. And the difference is I’m not worried about the next election, and I never have been.”
Regionalism
In the context of Northern Kentucky, regionalism can be defined as cross-county collaboration between governments, nonprofits, corporations and other organizations to address specific issues facing the region.
Examples of regionalism include the aforementioned NKADD housing study, the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, or meetNKY, the region’s tourism and convention center bureau.
Moore touted the benefits of Boone County’s working relationship with Kenton and Campbell County, saying that “regional collaboration, I think is essential to getting things done.”
Moore argued that regional collaboration among county governments is important for delivering efficient services and economic success across Northern Kentucky. He said that while residents do not support merging county governments, they do support shared services like regional transit – the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky – and public safety efforts like the NKY Drug Strike Force.
From Moore’s perspective, each county benefits from coordinating on major initiatives rather than competing.
“We are all better because of partnerships and collaboration,” he said.
Hand concurred that regional collaborations are beneficial, although he stressed that Boone County must be able to prioritize its own interests within regional efforts.
“But my approach is, is that even though we have regionalism and regional entities, which are important, that we put Boone County first in all of these partnerships,” he said.
Moreover, Hand said that regionalism can sometimes fall short when representation or planning is misaligned. He added that Boone County should adopt a more strategic approach to ensure it gets a fair return on its investment.
