Erlanger has the largest elected governing body in all of Northern Kentucky with twelve council members and one mayor for a total of thirteen people elected.
Council members serve for two years while the mayor serves a four-year term.
Mayor Jessica Fette is midway through her term and is not on the ballot in 2020, but there are thirteen candidates vying for the twelve council seats.
Currently, there is an ordinance under consideration in the city that would reduce the size of council to ten for the 2022 election. The idea comes after a similar measure to shrink council to eight members was shot down last year.
Eight candidates participated in an online forum hosted by NKY1, a joint election project by The River City News and Fort Thomas Matters. RCN reached out to the remaining five candidates separately for their perspective on the current campaign.
Former city attorney Frank Wichmann is among the candidates seeking a seat on council but who did not participate in the NKY1 forum.
“I am a lifelong resident of the city. I was born in Erlanger. I grew up in Erlanger,” Wichmann said. “My wife (deceased) and I raised our four children in Erlanger. My business is located in Erlanger.
“I will die in Erlanger.”
Wichmann served the city as attorney for five decades and has also served in the same capacity for other local governments.
“So I know a little more than the other candidates about city government,” Wichmann said. “I have always enjoyed my work in government through my law practice. I would be
honored if Erlanger voters would allow me to put that experience to work by electing me as a member of the Erlanger city council and would be more than willing to serve in that capacity.”
The other four candidates who did not participate in the NKY1 forum are two pairs of relatives.
“I am running to represent the citizens of Erlanger. I am not a politician. I am just a 52 year resident of the city,” said incumbent Kathy Cahill.
Fellow incumbent Tom Cahill said, “My passion has been with the public works committee specifically the condition of our neighborhoods and streets. Making our community cleaner, safer and have more curb appeal has been my agenda since day one on council.
“The city streets are the one thing everyone uses and see when they enter Erlanger. Early on our street repair and maintenance budget were woefully under budgeted and it showed with their rapid deterioration and appearance. Over my time on council, I have seen this budget triple in size to help catch up with repairs and move to a true maintenance program. This last fiscal year we have moved to a new street assessment system that allows us to identify and predict street failures and intervene more quickly. We now have a three-year priority repair plan available on the website.”
Don and Renee Skidmore also hope to be returned to council.
“I have lived in Erlanger for over fifty years. I attended Erlanger court meetings under Judge LeBare in the early 1970s,” Don Skidmore said. “Later, I provided the carriage rides at Christmas and Heritage Days at the Depot Park for almost twenty years. I think I have a lot to offer the city.”
Renee Skidmore was critical of the way some meetings have been conducted since the transition of governing by virtual meetings through video platforms like Zoom, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The banners that were installed on the utility poles on Commonwealth just appeared. Council did not have any say in what the criteria was to decide who was worthy of a banner,” she said. “The coronavirus made things a lot easier to have things pushed through without the proper research. We had most of the “corona” meetings via ZOOM which did not go well. Several of the councilwomen and councilmen men were muted, and had to hold up a sign that said, “Please un-mute me”. With a 12-person council, you need seven to agree with what has been proposed, and with a six-person council, you only need four to agree with you.”
None of the candidates mentioned above support reducing the size of council from twelve, they said.
As for the chief issues facing the city, Wichmann said that cooperation between the mayor and council is needed “to work as a team.”
Kathy Cahill argued that a senior/community center is needed and that the public works department needs a safe working environment now.
Tom Cahill wants to work to keep employees and residents safe until a COVID vaccine is released, and also to fund a facilities study to be followed with a plan to move forward to improve infrastructure.
Renee Skidmore said, “There are several areas that need worked on. The Duke sub-station that was put in behind Super Bowl was a blindside.”
Don Skidmore said, “The main issues facing Erlanger are: employees working in buildings that have serious sewer problems, turnover of employees in most of the departments because they fear being excessed or the service being contracted out. My thoughts are lowering taxes are great but not at the expense of the citizens and employees’ safety. Everyone needs to come to council and really see the true picture.
Jennifer Jasper Brown, Rebecca Reckers, Stephen Knipper, Tyson Hermes, Vicki Kyle, Ryan Elmore, Diana Nicely, and Gary Meyer are also running and participated in the NKY1 forum which can be seen below.
Brown said that she wants to see tax dollars continue to be spent in a wise way, and to keep lowering taxes, especially the insurance premium tax. She said that she works in insurance and she sees the amount of money people spend on that tax.
Incumbent Rebecca Reckers believes that the long-simmering tension occurring with the current council is the result of politics, and says with a large group there will always be differences of opinion. The main thing is, she explained, that council gets things done. She said she gets along most times with all of the council members, and she is there to serve all the residents. Differing opinions are healthy for a governing body, she said.
Knipper is looking to return to council after serving in state government in Frankfort. He was the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2015 and served as chief of staff to former Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton. He believes that Erlanger is located at a key spot in the area with regards to the highways, and that boosts the importance of businesses being located in the city. He said that he pushed hard to have Amazon locate in Erlanger.
Tyson Hermes is an incumbent council member after serving four years as mayor. He said that relations among council members have been strained from the beginning of his time in Erlanger government, but that he values some of the members of council. He still wants to lower the number of council members, because he thinks fewer people will work harder together.
He also wants to continue lowering taxes to avoid scaring businesses from locating in the city.
Kyle has been on council for 24 years. She grew up in Covington, but has been in Erlanger for 47 years. She is a retired teacher, and taught 34 years in Erlanger-Elsmere Schools, at Lloyd and St. Henry high schools. She believes in giving back to her city, and serving her city.Â
Ryan Elmore believes in an open mind and fresh new ideas. She wants the city to be a safe place to live and work in, and she wants to continue a balanced budget and lower taxes. She would like to see the council get things done by working as a team with the mayor, although she said that a large group of people are not going to agree unanimously.
Diana Niceley is the daughter of incumbent Don Niceley, who at 85 years old, is not running again.
Nicely wanted to run for council previously but said that she didn’t believe that she should serve with her father
She was raised in Erlanger, and she and her boys all went to Lloyd High School.
Nicely is currently on the alumni board in charge of raising money to help seniors. She has management experience with her father’s business, which has been in the city for 30 years.
Gary Meyer is on council now, and has also served in the past. He said that growing up in Cherry Hill gives that area a representative on council. He says a lot is happening in the city now, and the role of council is to set tax policies and to make sure the money is being spent correctly. He said the city is blessed right now, because with a $1.7 million surplus, they can do a lot of reinvesting in the city.
-Patricia A. Scheyer and Michael A. Monks