The men who want to lead Campbell County for the next four years squared off in the first of three public debates scheduled this election season.
Incumbent Judge-Executive Steve Pendery faces a challenge from current County Commissioner Ken Rechtin. The two have served together at the Fiscal Court for twelve years but the Democrat Rechtin wants the top job. Pendery, a Republican, was first elected Judge-Executive in 1998 after serving as mayor of Fort Thomas for eight years. Rechtin was elected County Commissioner in 2002 following nine years as a Newport City Commissioner.
Rechtin retired as interim director of Senior Services of Northern Kentucky in Covington this year and said at Wednesday’s forum that he walking full time. He said there are “clear distinctions” between his positions and those of Pendery who said that he is proud of his accomplishments and asked for another four years.
“We have had more jobs as a percentage (of population) created than even Boone County,” Pendery said of his tenure when asked by moderator Amanda Van Benschoten of the Cincinnati Enquirer about economic development. “We are part of the Northern Kentucky economic engine that powers the state of Kentucky.” Pendery pointed to the county’s work with regional entities such as Tri-ED to help being jobs to Campbell.
Rechtin argued that there are 1.5 jobs in Florence for every resident of that city and 1.2 jobs in Boone County for every resident there. “Campbell has 0.68 jobs for ever resident in Campbell County,” he said. Rechtin said, “it’s wonderful that we’re a part of Tri-ED and I’m a regional guy” but argued that economic development in the county should not be left up to regional entities. He vowed to hire someone at the Fiscal Court to handle economic development.
“Ken’s trying to confine things to Campbell County,” Pendery said, adding that industrial parks in nearby counties will attract workers from Campbell, benefiting them. “You cannot draw jurisdictional boundaries. People are going to work where they will.” The judge-executive also noted that Campbell has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
“I’m not elected by Northern Kentucky and I’m not elected by the region and the Tri-County Economic Development Authority doesn’t elect me. I’m elected by you,” Rechtin told the crowd at the Wilder City Building attending the debate hosted by Northern Kentucky Forum. “I will embark on hiring that person (economic development position) very quickly.”
The next question dealt with better leveraging Northern Kentucky University as an economic development driver.
“NKU will become the economic engine for Northern Kentucky,” Rechtin said. “The regional aspect of the airport is waning and the oversight of that airport is well known as being dysfunctional at this point, and hopefully it will improve. NKU’s powerhouse could really be leveraged greater.”
“NKU is the economic driver in Northern Kentucky,” Pendery concurred. “They are producing the diplomas we need to attract employers we target.”
How best to fight the widespread heroin problem gripping parts of the region?
“Under my watch, there will be no secret interdictive actions,” Rechtin said. “We will know what the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force is doing and how many arrests and acquittals and also incarcerations result from there in Campbell County and each of the cities. There will be a coordinated effort.”
Pendery said that the drug strike force is a regional agency tasked with arrested people at the street level now after originally being created to focus solely on mid-market and large-market dealers. “There are hundreds of average citizens involved in the Heroin Response Team,” Pendery added.
“Your dollars are being spent on interdiction of these drugs and stopping of these drugs and we need to know how these dollars are being spent,” Rechtin said.
“I don’t know what’s going on with the secrecy thing,” Pendery said, referencing Rechtin’s remark, “but undercover work is by necessity a secret. The information is freely available once the people have their cases adjudicated.”
What about building relationships with city leaders?
Pendery said that he meets with mayors from the county’s cities each quarter. He also frequently meets for breakfast with his counterparts in Kenton and Boone Counties. “The secret to our success in Northern Kentucky across a broad range of subjects is the fact that we work together,” he said.
Rechtin disputed the mayors meeting. “What happens quarterly is a Fiscal Court meeting to which the mayors are invited. That’s the reality of that meeting,” he said. “Four mayors showed up at the last meeting representing less than 5,000 people in your county. If that’s cooperative work, I’m having trouble with that.”
“Under a Rechtin administration there will be a roundtable,” Rechtin said, adding that he would model it after the Kenton County Mayors Group where the judge-executive participates alongside the mayors. “We will do that within the first couple months of my tenure.”
The Sanitation District is the most important issue to voters, Rechtin said he has noticed as he campaigns. “That’s the issue I hear from everyone.” He said there are parts of the county that were supposed to have new sewers fifteen years ago and are still on septic systems. The Democrat talked about how residents are now wholly responsible for repairing sewer lateral lines on their properties should they break.
Pendery said that the rural, suburban, and urban parts of the county work best in concert on issues like this. “It is a matter of putting growth and development where it is wanted and needed and taking care to preserve the most precious areas and agricultural areas and green space we all care about,” Pendery said. “We have a sales pitcj to the rest of the world that within twenty minutes you can go from a major metropolitan area with sports and museums of world class quality and be in a rural area where you can see grass in the fields.” He added that there has to be some development in some places to pay for the services of SD1.
Rechtin, who lives in Newport but pointed out that he also owns a small farm in a more rural part of the county, referenced an issue in Camp Springs where residents have been concerned about SD1’s intention to place a force main line to help eliminate some of the storm water overrun in the county. Residents have expressed that they don’t want it on their property and are concerned about smells.
“And yet, when the folks in Camp Springs say no, we don’t want it, we go deaf. We say, we know what’s best for your area,’ Rechtin said.
“I take economic considerations into account,” Pendery said. “There is no way the other citizens in Northern Kentucky are willing to pay an additional five to ten million dollars to move a pipeline off the straight line at the pump station where problems occur, where the material is to be shipped. I’ve got a pipeline on my property. I have sewer lines on my property. If done properly, they are not a problem. All the alternatives have been examined.”
Rechtin said that Campbell County has only two citizens on the SD1 board, compared to four from Kenton County. “We need to structurally change SD1,” he said.
Neither candidate spent much time on a question about a smoking ban. Rechtin said that he opposes one, citing a “Libertarian streak” that he has while Pendery referenced the previous battle over a proposed ban in the county and said, “That’s somebody else’s job now”.
The candidates also differ on their support for the Brent Spence Bridge replacement project, a $2.6 billion plan that involves constructing a new span next to the current one between Covington and Cincinnati. Though the bridge is not in Campbell County, it too would likely be affected. The only proposed way to pay for the project is through the use of tolling.
Pendery said the main question is whether the region needs the bridge. “The whole conversation has focused on whether or not there’s going to be tolls,” he said. “I think people who understand the engineering and safety and traffic considerations are of one mind that there needs to be a new bridge.”
The judge-executive said that he supports public-private partnership legislation, which failed in Frankfort this year and would have allowed for the collection of tolls on the bridge. Ohio already has the necessary legislation.
“If there must be in the end, tolls, then the contributions from the state government should be great enough that the locals are spared any considerable expense. It has been three years we’ve been talking about this. There is no federal solution. There is not going to be a federal solution. They do not have any money. We need to put the community first, decide what we need, and get it in some way.”
“I’m opposed to tolls,” Rechtin said. “I think tolls end up being a double taxation. We pay taxes for fuels. We shouldn’t be paying another tax.”
“Suddenly now because the feds are out of money we’re going to take the responsibility? I don’t think we should always step up and tax ourselves additionally.”
Pendery and Rechtin meet again for a debate hosted by the Northern Kentucky Business PAC, affiliated with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 16, at the Marquise Banquet Center in Wilder.
Written by Michael Monks, editor & publisher of The River City News
Photo: Rechtin (left) speaks as Pendery Van Benschoten listen/RCN
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