Saturday, March 25, 2000
Lance Lucas chosen to fill Boone Co. Fiscal Court vacancy
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKFORT — Richwood Democrat Lance Lucas, a long-time party activist and the son of U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas, has been appointed to fill a vacancy on Boone County Fiscal Court.
The appointment by Gov. Paul Patton, which was announced Friday morning, inserts a Democrat on what has been an all-Republican fiscal court in the largest Republican-controlled county in Kentucky.
Mr. Lucas, 38, will replace Rob Arnold, who is moving out of state due to his job and resigning from the fiscal court March 31.
“I'm excited, but I'm also humbled and honored that the governor saw fit to appoint me,” Mr. Lucas said Friday.
Mr. Lucas said he will join the court without any preconceived ideas and wants to take time to learn more about the court and the issues facing Boone County, one of the fastest growing counties in Greater Cincinnati.
Mr. Lucas said he was aware that growth and construction of a proposed sewage treatment plant near Belleview Bottoms, a project western Boone County residents are fighting, are two of the top issues facing fiscal court.
“I'm a newcomer and a minority on the court, so I'm going in very open-minded with an idea toward working with the court and for the people of Boone County, and hopefully making a lot of good common sense decisions,” he said.
For Mr. Lucas, an attorney, the appointment not only formally begins his career as an elected official but also returns a member of the Lucas family to the fiscal court.
Before he was elected to Congress, Ken Lucas served on the court for 14 years, first as county commissioner from 1974 to 1982 and then as judge executive from 1992 to 1998.
Lance Lucas said has father “had nothing to do with my appointment.”
“He didn't discourage me from seeking it, he didn't encourage me. I made the calls to the governor. I'm worked for (Mr.) Patton's campaigns and he knows me.”
Boone County Commissioner Cathy Flaig, a Hebron Republican, said she anticipates that she and the other two Republican fiscal court members — Judge-executive Gary Moore and Commissioner Robert Hay — will get along fine with Mr. Lucas.
“He'll be welcome. He's a Boone County boy, so he knows what's going on. He'll have to learn the ropes but we can all get along on the court,” Mrs. Flaig said.
Boone County Administrator Jim Parsons said he does not anticipate many, if any, partisan battles among the court members.
“The vast majority of issues we deal with aren't partisan issues,” Mr. Parsons said Friday. “It is deciding if we build a road or dealing with growth or the budget or just responding to needs in the community.”
Mr. Lucas said he plans to leave partisan politics “at the door when I walk in the fiscal court chambers.”
Boone County Democrat ic Chairwoman Kristi Nelson said the appointment is not an example of political patronage.
“Lance Lucas has distinguished himself through community service, military service and through his profession as an attorney,” Ms. Nelson said Friday.
A special election will be held in November to fill the remaining two years of Mr. Arnold's term. The Republicans have not yet chosen a candidate.
Ms. Nelson said the executive committee will likely meet next week to formally nominate Mr. Lucas as the party's candidate in the November election.
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