COVINGTON — Two well-known politicians vying to be Covington's mayor used a Thursday night debate to refute charges made by their opponents in campaign literature. Commissioner Butch Callery and Bernie Moorman, a former city commissioner and mayor, want the part-time, nonpartisan job of mayor of Covington, the largest city in Northern Kentucky. On Nov. 7, voters will decide who should lead Covington the next four years.

        Mr. Callery accused Mr. Moorman of exploiting the death of 6-year-old Dylan Roberts, who drowned two months ago in a municipal pool that had closed in 1997 because of flood damage. Within a week of the boy's death, Covington public works crews had filled in Rosedale Pool.

WHAT'S NEXT

One more debate involving Covington's political races will be held at Holmes High School before the Nov. 7 election.     At 7 p.m. Thursday, six candidates for four city commission seats will take part in a debate.     Last night's debate of Covington's mayoral candidates will air at 8 p.m. today, 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday on Insight Communications' channel 15.     An earlier debate featuring Covington school board candidates will air at 8 p.m. Monday on channel 15.

        Mr. Moorman has said the drowning is a sign of the current Covington administration's inattention to neighborhoods.

        “You've exploited the death of a child, and I think it's disrespectful to the family of the child,” Mr. Callery said at Thursday's debate in the Holmes High School auditorium.

        Mr. Moorman said he met with the child's mother before addressing the issue in his literature and was acting in accordance with her wishes.

        “The city commission has been negligent on that issue and should have taken care of the pool years ago,” Mr. Moorman said.

        Mr. Callery said records recently released under the Freedom of Information Act showed that he had written several memos on the need to fix Rosedale Pool and build a new pool for the Latonia neighborhood. Covington's vice mayor added that that was unsuccessful, despite giving “(his) best effort.”

        Mr. Moorman responded: “If you see a problem out there that you're really committed to address, you should really pursue it. You don't just stop with a memo.”

        Mr. Moorman criticized Mr. Callery for passing out literature in Covington's Peaselburg neighborhood that he said wrongly claimed Mr. Moorman wanted to tear down St. Augustine Church and school to make way for a light rail system.

        Mr. Moorman said that the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments on which he serves did not propose running light rail through that area. He maintained that tearing down St. Augustine Church and school was never in any plan, and he called for Mr. Callery to stop claiming that.

        Mr. Callery said that he won't stop repeating the allegation. He said OKI did recommend running light rail through the area where St. Augustine Church and school are located.

        Mr. Callery, 59, has served 21 years on the City Commission, longer than anyone in Covington's history, and he has the endorsement of Covington's police and firefighters unions. If elected mayor, he said his top priorities would be public safety, development of a responsive government, and reducing the number of vacant and blighted buildings.

        Mr. Moorman, 62, has had 25 years of political experience, first as a Covington commissioner and mayor and more recently as a Kenton County commissioner. His top priorities include rehabilitating at least 250 housing units a year, strengthening the safety operations, and leading open discussions of city issues to include all interested citizens.

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