BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- The shooting match for Kenton County sheriff will put Democrat Gary Lay against Republican Chuck Korzenborn this fall.
Mr. Lay, the chief deputy under current Sheriff Bill Steenken, soundly beat his two opponents in the Democratic primary, Don Catchen and Charles Ray King.
"I feel very proud to have been elected to represent my party in November," Mr. Lay said. He received nearly 56 percent of the vote in the three-way race.
Mr. Korzenborn beat Covington police officer Ray Murphy by 327 votes, or 5.1 percent, in the Republican primary. Mr. Korzenborn lost in 1993 to Mr. Steenken.
Mr. Steenken, who is retiring at the end of this term, has been criticized for not being aggressive in the service of outstanding arrest warrants, which had backlogged to more than 9,000 in the county.
Mr. Lay has been a deputy in the department for more than 12 years. Mr. Korzenborn is a semi-retired service-station owner.
In other races:
Dr. David Suetholz of Fort Mitchell easily was re-elected coroner over nurse James Michael Ward IV of Erlanger. Since there is no Democrat, the GOP primary victory is tantamount to winning the general election.
Democratic County Surveyor Jimmy Williams of Covington will face Republican James Michael Shumate of Villa Hills. Mr. Shumate defeated David Cooper with 54.2 percent of the vote. The position has no salary.
Incumbent Joseph J. Mueller of Covington also won re-election as a Kenton County constable over Lloyd Willis of Covington. No Republican ran.
