BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
RICHWOOD -- It was a warm day in early September 1997 and Ken Lucas, the Boone County judge-executive and a long-time fixture on the Northern Kentucky political and civic scene, had just announced he was running for Congress.
Bill Robinson, an Erlanger attorney and member of the campaign's inner circle, was asked by a reporter about Mr. Lucas' legacy in Northern Kentucky.
Mr. Robinson, in a rare loss of words, didn't immediately answer. "That's hard to nail down," Mr. Robinson said. "There's so much Ken has been involved in. I guess that's it. I've known Ken Lucas for years and it would be hard for anyone to match his record of community involvement."
Mr. Robinson is obviously close to Mr. Lucas, but there's no disputing he has had a hand in starting, building or running many of the major institutions and several governmental bodies over his more than 30 years of community service in Northern Kentucky. Consider Mr. Lucas' public credentials:
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LUCAS FILE
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Age: 65.
Home: Richwood.
Hometown: Dry Ridge.
Family: Wife, Mary, and five children.
Religion: Florence Christian Church.
Education: Bachelor's in business, University of Kentucky; master's degree, Xavier University.
Military: Major, Air Force.
Work experience: Sagemark Consulting of Lincoln Financial, formerly CIGNA, 1967-present.
Political career: Elected to Florence City Council, 1967; re-elected to Florence Council, 1971; elected Boone County commissioner, 1974; re-elected county commissioner, 1978; appointed Boone County judge-executive, 1992; elected judge-executive, 1993; won Democratic 4th District congressional primary, 1998.
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A Northern Kentucky University regent who helped establish the university; a member of The Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport, the Florence City Council and the Boone County Fiscal Court; active in the Florence Christian Church; a board member at St. Luke Hospital; the past chairman of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; a founding member of the Tri-County Economic Development Corp.
Mr. Lucas has been, and in some cases still is, a part of them all. Much of his public life has been defined by his involvement in politics, business and community organizations, and with the region's top government and business leaders.
"Ken has a reputation of being a consensus builder," said Campbell County Commissioner Dave Otto of Fort Thomas. "So many times he has put politics aside to do what was best for this region, not what was best just for Ken Lucas."
Always involved
And that involvement is, at least in some way, motivating his run for Congress.
"I'm running for Congress because I still believe in public service, but not politics as it is practiced in Washington," Mr. Lucas said. "And I'm running because I have been fortunate enough to live the American dream, and I want to make sure that all Kentuckians have the opportunity to make the most of their lives."
Mr. Lucas has been fortunate. He is a millionaire who made his money as financial adviser to businesses and as an insurance salesman. His clients include The Drees Company, owned by his friend Ralph Drees, and Griffin Industries in Campbell County.
Years ago he borrowed a few thousand dollars and invested in Boone State Bank, a new bank that was being formed by a group of Northern Kentucky businessman.
The bank grew and Mr. Lucas became chairman. When Cincinnati's Fifth Third Bank bought it, many of the original investors -- including Mr. Lucas -- became wealthy, and in some cases wealthier, men.
Mr. Lucas then served a stint as chairman of Fifth Third Bank of Northern Kentucky.
"Ken Lucas will be the first to tell you he has been blessed with good fortune," said Boone County Administrator Jim Collins, whom Mr. Lucas hired almost seven years ago when he was first elected Boone County judge-executive.
"And he's a very generous man who is willing to share that good fortune, and he does that by serving his community," said Mr. Collins, the Democratic candidate for county judge executive.
But Mr. Lucas' critics and political opponents maintain he is too close to the business establishment. They in particular point to his relationship with developers and builders who have donated to his campaigns.
Many of those donors also completed residential, office and commercial developments in fast-growing Boone County while Mr. Lucas served as county judge-executive.
Though the media has investigated those relationships in the past, no glaring improprieties have ever been uncovered. And Mr. Lucas dismisses such talk as election-year mud-slinging.
"Every land deal or transaction I've ever been involved in is recorded in the courthouse. Every donation I've ever received is on my campaign finance reports," he said earlier in the campaign. "To try and make something out of that stuff is a joke. Anybody who knows me knows I play it way above board."
Mr. Lucas and his wife of 37 years, Mary, have five children. The couple lives in one of the most eye-catching and expensive homes in Triple Crown, an exclusive Richwood country club and residential community.
Some Republicans have tried to paint Mr. Lucas as an elitist who lives in a ritzy neighborhood, drives a Jaguar and owns a condo in the Florida Keys.
But it's not that simple to describe Mr. Lucas. He was not born into a life of money and opulence.
He was raised outside of Dry Ridge on a Grant County tobacco and dairy farm. He was one of the first members of his family to attend college.
"My parents, not to mention a childhood of milking cows and working in tobacco, taught me to respect the land and the people who work it," he said.
"They taught me to value faith and family, hard work and common sense, fairness and opportunity. And they impressed upon me the need to remain true to my word."
While attending the University of Kentucky, Mr. Lucas worked as an overnight desk clerk at a Lexington hotel, studying during the long hours between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
While at UK, Mr. Lucas joined a fraternity and became friends with an engineering major from tiny Fallsburg in the eastern Kentucky mountains. His name was Paul Edward Patton.
Like Mr. Lucas, Mr. Patton returned home and built a successful business minig coal before entering county politics. He was elected governor in 1995 and was one of the people Mr. Lucas huddled with before deciding to run for Congress.
Friends with Patton
But Mr. Lucas has also used his influence with Mr. Patton, recommending earlier this year that the governor appoint Independence businessman Rodney "Biz" Cain the interim Kenton County judge-executive. Mr. Lucas and Mr. Cain are friends.
After graduating from UK, Mr. Lucas joined the U.S. Air Force, where he became a pilot and attained the rank of major.
His political career started in 1967 on Florence City Council. He was also a Boone County Commissioner and served two terms as county judge-executive before stepping down earlier this year to run his congressional campaign.
Mr. Lucas helped steer Boone County through a never-ending growth spurt, working to extend water and sewer lines and attract jobs to the county.
Critics contend Mr. Lucas and the fiscal court have let the county grow too fast with too little regard for planning. Among those calling for better planning have been Gary Moore and Robert Hay, Republican candidates for Boone County Fiscal Court.
"I've heard that in my campaign, and my answer is, if Boone County is in such bad shape, why are so many people moving in," Mr. Lucas said. "To me, it proves we have a great place to live because people and companies want to move here."
Nearly two dozen developers have donated to Mr. Lucas' campaign, prompting concerns he is tied too closely to builders, road contractors and others who do or have done business in the county.
Mr. Lucas' campaign said people have donated to his campaign who believe in his message and the job he's done as judge-executive and will do in Congress.
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