Sunday, May 30, 1999
Small race may get big interest
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It will be interesting, and a whole lot of fun, to see if the Campbell County Republicans get their act together and show some unity in this fall's race for property value administrator.
While that race sounds like it could be a real snoozer, it won't be for a whole lot of reasons.
For one, the office is operating under a cloud of controversy. Former PVA Bill Kaiser, a Southgate Democrat, quit last month after six years in office after it was revealed he was being investigated in connection with some missing money.
The Newport police say nearly $40,000 is missing from the public till. Mr. Kaiser, who has not been charged with a crime, is cooperating with investigators.
Gov. Paul Patton will soon appoint an interim PVA to serve until November, when the election will be held. Candidates for that race will be selected by the Republican and Democratic executive committees in the county.
Word has it that an Alexandria Democrat, Mariann Dunn, is the favorite to win the blessing of the party's executive committee. Mr. Patton will follow the committee's lead and appoint her to the interim post. Anything can happen, and there certainly are some other qualified Democrats seeking the appointment.
But that's the buzz among executive committee members.
So if Mrs. Dunn is the candidate she'll have the advantage of serving several months in office before the election. That should give the Demo crats a leg up at election time, meaning the Republicans should be prepared for a tough campaign.
Mrs. Dunn is also a part of the Guidugli clan, a politically active and successful family that is basically the Kennedys of Campbell County. You can't throw a rock at a political event without hitting one of them: Dan, a state Court of Appeals justice; Dave, a labor leader and Cold Spring city councilman; Tommy, the mayor of Newport; and Steve, a former Bellevue city councilman.
The Guiduglis are more connected in Campbell County than the Internet. And should Mariann Dunn turn out to be the candidate, the family will no doubt be calling in markers like a Vegas pit boss to help get her appointed and elected.
And finally, this will be the only local race on the ballot in November. It's going to get some attention.
So the GOP is facing a daunting but not impossible task of winning its third elected office in the Democratic-controlled Campbell County Courthouse. Judge-executive Steve Pendery and coroner Dr. Mark Schweitzer, two rising stars in the party, are the two Republicans holding county office.
The Republicans do enjoy one advantage in the race. Their nominee, Kevin Gordon of Alexandria, ran last year. And although he lost to Mr. Kaiser, he proved to be a hard-working and adept campaigner who has the luxury of having run a countywide race just a few months ago.
Mr. Gordon also scored the highest — 97 percent — of the six county residents who took the test.
But here's where the rub comes in.
The Campbell County Republican Party is basically split into two factions: Those in Fort Thomas, and everybody else.
Mr. Gordon is active on the Campbell County Republican Executive Committee, which doesn't get much respect, involvement, money or attention from a lot of Fort Thomas Republicans.
There's plenty of blame to spread around for the estrangement.
The Fort Thomas crowd feels they can handle things just fine on their own, thank you very much. And they have.
U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning lives in Southgate, but raised his family in Fort Thomas and considers the city his political base of power. In addition, State Sen. Katie Stine, state Rep. Joe Fischer, Dr. Schweitzer — Mark, not Albert — and Mr. Pendery are all residents in the town known as Big Cake, or Caketown.
Meanwhile, the executive committee can moan about being shunned by Fort Thomas, but let's face it: Camp bell County has trailed the other counties in Northern Kentucky when it comes to Republican gains, and a lot of fingers are pointing at the executive committee for not doing a better job raising and spending money, organizing and recruiting members and candidates.
But the PVA's race is a chance for everybody in the GOP to come together and make a decent run at grabbing another courthouse seat.
The PVA is not the most high-profile office in the courthouse, but a win for the Republicans would be a big boost in an election that will be the only local game in town come November.
The GOP could also use the bully pulpit of the office to make some obvious changes and beat on the Democrats for electing a PVA who resigned.
So what are the chances we'll see a united Republican Party for this race?
The early signs are not encouraging. Mr. Gordon has told friends he's called some of the Fort Thomas Republicans, but he can't get his phone calls returned.
Keep an eye on this one. We'll see how many “Gordon for PVA” signs show up on Fort Thomas Avenue after Labor Day.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at crowleys@cinci.infi.net.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for the Enquirer. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort.
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