BURLINGTON — Republican Gary Moore had never before sought public office when he ran for Boone County Judge-executive in 1998.

        More than three years after winning the highest county elected office, Mr. Moore is poised to seek reelection in a county where the GOP continues to gain strength.

        “I am very proud with what has happened in three short years and what the fiscal court has accomplished in Boone County,” said Mr. Moore, 44.

        “And I attribute so much of it to my staff and the court that I've had to work with,” he said. “We've had a lot of turnover (on the court). I've worked with six county commissioners in those three spots. But even through those transitions ... the accomplishments continued as did the support of the court on what our administration is trying to accomplish.”

        Among the accomplishments Mr. Moore is talking about in his campaign are:

        • Reducing property taxes all three years he has been in office by at total of 15 percent. The reduction was possible because of the county's growth — population grew by 50 percent during the 1990s to about 85,000 — as businesses and residents moving in generated new tax revenues.

        • Merging the Boone County and Walton police departments with the
Boone County Sheriff's Department and increasing the number of officers by 43 percent.

        • Starting construction of a county public safety center that will house the sheriff's department, the county jail and a fire training center.

        • Opening England-Idlewild Park near Burlington; negotiated an agreement with the Greater Cincinnati YMCA to develop up to four

        public pools, a new YMCA in Burlington and a community recreation center in Florence; and started work on new parks in Verona and Hebron.

        • Completed or started work on 50 miles of new water lines and completed sewer line projects in 12 communities, including Hebon, Union, Burlington and Richwood.

        At this point, Mr. Moore, who won with 59 percent of the vote in 1998, does not have an opponent.

        No Republicans are expected to challenge Mr. Moore in the May primary.

        Florence Mayor Diane Whalen was recruited by the Democrats to run, but declined. County Commissioner Tim Hamilton, a Florence Democrat, considered running against Mr. Moore but is now likely to seek election to the fiscal court.

        Mr. Moore is in a better political and financial situation than he was in 1998.

        He already has $66,000 in cam paign funds, more than he spent in winning the race against Democrat Jim Collins three years ago.

        And since taking office, the number of registered Republicans in Boone County - the largest county in Kentucky controlled by the GOP — has grown by 5,166. Democrats have added just 2,159 voters.

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