By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COVINGTON - Covington City Commissioner Jerry Bamberger will take over as executive director of the MainStrasse Village Association on April 1.

Bamberger said that he has no plans to give up the City Commission seat he has held for nearly 12 years when he begins his new full-time position.

"I talked with (City Solicitor) Jay (Fossett)," Bamberger said. "It's not a conflict. If an issue came before the City Commission involving the MainStrasse Village Association, I'd recuse myself. That's what I did when I worked for Cincinnati, Gas & Electric Co."

TOP TEN EVENTS

• Danville Heritage Festival - March 1-3 • MainStrasse Village Maifest, Covington - May 16-18 • American Quilters Society's 19th Annual Quilt Show and Contest, Paducah - April 23-26 • Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville - April 12-May 3 • International Bar B-Q Festival, Owensboro - May 9-10 • Corvette 50th Anniversary Bash, Bowling Green - April 24-26 • Lane's End Stakes (formerly Jim Beam Stakes), Florence - March 22 • Southern Kentucky Festival of Books, Bowling Green - April 11-12 • Farm, Home & Garden Show, Lebanon - April 5-6 • Woodford Reserve & American Institute of Wine & Food Bourbon & Chocolate Sampler, Versailles - March 16

Bamberger, who earns an annual salary of $19,480 as a city commissioner, recently lost his job at Aurgroup Financial Credit Union in downtown Cincinnati because of downsizing. The 60-year-old Covington native declined to say what his salary would be as executive director of the MainStrasse Village Association.

He replaces Paul Wolgin, who resigned in December. Bamberger's appointment was announced at the same time that the Kentucky Tourism Council chose the MainStrasse Village Maifest as one of the commonwealth's spring "Top Ten" events.

Criteria include popularity of the event, its impact on the local tourism economy and its cultural and historical significance.

Bamberger said that his first order of business will be meeting with members of the MainStrasse Village Association Board of Directors and neighborhood residents to determine their priorities and concerns.

Danielle Eulitt, president of the MainStrasse Village Association, said that Bamberger stood out among the four Tristate candidates for the job because of his reputation in the community, his grant writing abilities and his 30 years of management and accounting experience.

"Jerry Bamberger is well-known and well-received within the city," Eulitt said. "He knows where the resources are and how to get them. He knows how to write grants and how to get corporate sponsorships. We need someone who has the initiative and the drive to get things done."

Eulitt said she would like to see Bamberger help fill some of the vacant residential and commercial buildings in MainStrasse.

"We'd like to see him bring in some bakeries, perhaps a theater," Eulitt said. "Within the next two years, I hope we can see a huge turnaround and get a lot of these buildings filled."

Fossett said he didn't see Bamberger's new job posing a conflict with his elective office.

"The MainStrasse Village Association is a separate entity unrelated to the city," Fossett said. "If any issues involving MainStrasse come before the City Commission, he won't be allowed to vote on any of them."

The last time an issue involving the MainStrasse Village Association came before the Covington City Commission was just over a year ago, Fossett said.

In November, 2001, representatives of the village association asked the City Commission to let them resume their public Mardi Gras celebration after the association's 2000 Mardi Gras celebration got out of control.

Eulitt said about 70 percent of the nonprofit organization's annual budget comes from festival proceeds, with the rest coming from corporate sponsorships and membership dues. Besides Mardi Gras, the village association also sponsors Maifest and Oktoberfest. She added the village association pays for all security, portable toilets and cleanup at its festivals and doesn't receive any grants or direct funding from the city of Covington.

Bill Thielen, general counsel for the Kentucky League of Cities, said that he didn't see a problem with Bamberger serving on the Covington City Commission and leading a local nonprofit group that serves as an advocate for MainStrasse interests.

"A conflict is only created where it involves a personal interest or personal gain in the person voting," Thielen said. "There may be some decisions he would choose for political reasons not to participate in, but I don't see where this would present a conflict problem."

Thielen said that Kentucky law prohibits city officers or employees from being involved in any contracts with that city, either directly or through others. He said that does not apply in Bamberger's case.

He added that common law and the league's model ethics code that most Kentucky cities have patterned their ethics codes after also would not prohibit Bamberger from holding the two positions.

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com