From the Kentucky Club for Growth blog.
NKY Politicians keep trying to send smokers across the river to Ohio by pushing a smoking ban.
Typically, the chief advocate is the CJE of Kenton County, who is attempting to drive it through before he retires.
But there's a sense that it's now or never: Kenton Judge-executive Ralph Drees, a driving force behind the ban, will retire at the end of the year.
Few other local officials have the political clout to bring all three counties to the table on such a controversial issue, as anything dealing with regionalism inevitably is in Northern Kentucky.
The feelings of Kenton County residents are probably well represented by the CJE's likely successor.
(Plus, Drees' likely successor, Steve Arlinghaus, opposes the ban.)
In Boone County, the CJE seems to have understood the results of the recent election that he barely escaped. From the NKY Tea Party:
At the Boone County Tea Party meeting last night, Judge Exec. Gary Moore said that the ban has no traction among the current or incoming fiscal court, especially in a bad economy because it could hurt small businesses.
Still, it's an agenda item in all three counties. If you'd like to make your voice heard on this issue, here are the next meeting dates:
Boone - Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 5:30pm at the Administration Bldg. in Burlington.
Campbell - TODAY Wednesday, July 21, 2010 @ 5:30 at 1098 Monmouth Street in Newport
Kenton - Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 7:00PM at the Independence courthouse
Not mentioned in the original blog post is that the make-up of Campbell County’s Fiscal Court could very well change in November and if so it is unlikely that the votes for a smoking ban would still be there in Campbell County.
To see how popular opinion is shaking out on this issue –
