Kenton County Jailer Terry Carl has thrown his support behind one of the candidates running for Kenton County Judge-Executive.
“I am excited to endorse Kris Knochelmann to be our next Judge-Executive,” Carl said in a statement. “Kris is an honorable man and one that I would have wanted to serve with when I was in the military. Kris handles everything he does with a high level of integrity. Kenton County will be better off to have his leadership. I got to know Kris when we were working on building our new jail. His steady hand and fiscal attentiveness helped my staff and me build the jail in a location agreeable by the community and under budget.”
Knochelmann is a current county commissioner challenging incumbent and fellow Republican Judge-Executive Steve Arlinghaus for the county’s top elected position.
Carl and Arlinghaus have disagreed publicly over overtime costs at the jail.
“I applaud Terry for having the courage to step out and support my campaign. Not many people are willing to stand up to my opponent considering the games he plays with the department’s budgets. I appreciate and am humbled by his endorsement, and I look forward to serving with him,” Knochelmann said in a release.
The Arlinghaus campaign shot back in a statement released Monday.
“This year, for the third consecutive year, Jailer Terry Carl once again proposed a budget that was $1 million higher than each of his previous budgets,” Arlinghaus said. “I told Mr. Carl that this cost overrun was unacceptable that he needed to reign in his proposed budget.”
“I may have ruffled some feathers by bringing the overtime issue to light and by not accepting Mr. Carl’s proposed jail budget, but I’m not in this job to make friends. My job is to make sure that county government is running as efficiently and cost effectively as possible, and that includes expenses at the jail. I expect budget accountability from all of the county’s departments, and Jailer Carl is no exception.”
Photo: Terry Carl
