Tuesday, April 13, 1999
GOP builds strong base in Boone Co.
Party chooses new chairman
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — The largest county in Kentucky controlled by Republicans now has at its helm a man who stuck with the party even in defeat.
Ed Moore, 50, elected as chairman of the Boone County Republican Party last week, didn't abandon the party or its candidates after Robert Hay beat him in the primary election for Fiscal Court and eventually the county commission seat.
“Ed lost, but he went out and supported Robert Hay and continued to work for the party,” said Republican state Rep. Paul Marcotte of Union.
“That showed good spirit and teamwork,” Mr. Marcotte said of Mr. Moore's efforts.
The Boone County GOP rewarded Mr. Moore by electing him by acclamation to be chairman.
According to the latest U.S. Census data, Boone County grew by 38.3 percent from 1990 to 1998, growing from 57,589 residents to 79,671. According to the Kentucky Secretary of State's office, Republicans now outnumber Democrats in voter registrations in the county, 19,960 to 19,741.
“I'm excited to be able to take over one of the largest, most successful Republican counties in Kentucky,” Mr. Moore said Monday.
“We have a very active
party membership and a very active executive committee that works very hard to keep Republican issues at the forefront in the county courthouse,” he said.
Mr. Moore also said he wants to increase membership in the party and help 4th District Republican Party Chairman Jay Hall, whom Mr. Moore replaced as county chairman, recruit a candidate to run next year against Democrat U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas of Richwood in Boone County.
“Ed has a great vision for the party,” Mr. Hall said. “And he's willing to work with me in the 4th District to help out in some of the other counties that aren't doing as well as the Republicans are in Boone County.”
Nowhere has Northern Kentucky's Republican Revolution, which exploded locally as it did nationally in 1994, taken hold as it has in Boone County.
In the mid-1960s, Democrats out-numbered Republicans by as much as six-to-one when it came to voter registration. Through the 1970s and into the '80s, it was rare for a Republican to run for office, let alone win a seat.
But with new residents pouring into the county, one of the fastest-growing in the state, the Republican Party found a fertile source of members. Many of those coming into the county were already registered Republican, or were Reagan Democrats who didn't have old-line ties to the once dominant Democratic Party in Kentucky.
The rise of the Boone County Republican Party hit an apex last fall when the GOP nearly swept the courthouse elections, taking for the first time all four fiscal court seats and nearly winning every contested county race.
Mr. Moore, who lives in the South Hampton Estates subdivision south of Florence, said he wants to build that lead during the final year of Mr. Hall's original four-year term.
“It's easier to recruit people than it once was in Boone County because of all the new Republicans moving into the area,” he said. “But one of my plans is to keep growing that county membership and put us in an even better position than we're in now.”
The party is having bumper stickers printed that will display a phone number that people can call if they are interested in registering Republican.
State Sen. Dick Roeding, a Lakeside Place Republican who represents Boone County in the Kentucky General Assembly, said Mr. Moore has “some big shoes to fill” in taking over for Mr. Hall.
“But Ed Moore is dedicated and he's ready, willing and able to help the party to continue to grow in Boone County,” Mr. Roeding said.
Will Newport bell rattle its neighbors?
Seniors score well on Ohio test
CPS improves on 12th-grade test
New Reds stadium could be delayed
Y2K poses monumental problem for cemeteries
Bridge connects Covington, downtown
Experts say contempt ruling hurts Clinton
Hyde appearance raises $100,000 for Chabot
Junior high kids back at home after fire
Proposed hate crime law takes hits from gay-rights opponents
School secretary pleads guilty to thefts
'Daddy Don't' takes tough look at sex abuse
Pokemon having monstrous impact
Tom Petty still young at his art
$56,000 to mail out mayor proposal
Bellevue getting veterans clinic in June
Campbell Co. school debating dress code
Cheyne Kehoe tells Ark. court his brother bragged of killings
Fairfield taking year off from summer festival
Family faces 2nd tragedy
GOP builds strong base in Boone Co.
Group works to buy fire truck
Kentucky school testing simplified
Lebanon making downtown plan
Man, 19, killed in Price Hill
Mason roads getting overhaul
Office manager pocketed funds
Road may be named after commissioner
Roommates charged in Indiana death
Students part of 'blitz build'
TRISTATE DIGEST
