Mayor Joe Meyer, left, and Commissioner Steve Hayden will hold office for one more week.
As is tradition, resolutions honor retiring elected officials
COVINGTON, Ky. – The Covington Board of Commissioners will not meet this week and next week (Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve) but will kick off 2025 on Jan. 7 with the first meeting of the newly elected Commission.
But before the new Commission takes over, the current Commission last week said farewell to two outgoing members.
Neither Mayor Joe Meyer nor Commissioner Steve Hayden ran for re-election, and as is tradition, the Commission on Tuesday passed resolutions thanking and honoring the two for their service. City Clerk Susan Ellis read the resolutions – that part of the Dec. 17 meeting begins at 23:12 – and Meyer and Hayden were joined by Commissioners Ron Washington, Tim Downing, and Shannon Smith in talking about their time on the elected body.
But the mood wasn’t just solemn and nostalgic.
Meyer began by noting that he and Hayden were (quite) a bit older than the other three, and so “the most significant effect of tonight is that with Steve’s effective retirement and my effective retirement, we significantly reduce the average age of the City Commission,” he joked.
Hayden also began on a light note:
“I have a few things to say,” he said. “On the occasion of this being my last Commission meeting, I would like to say that these Commission chambers. Are. Terrible. The acoustics are almost non-existent and, um … anyway … ”
Mostly, however, the members praised the contributions of the pair in leading Covington to an unprecedent resurgence that has gained national attention in addition to energy in the urban core and downtown economy.
The ceremony first took up Hayden and then Meyer.
Hayden, who lives in the Historic Licking Riverside neighborhood, was appointed in August 2023 to fill the remainder of the term of Nolan Nicaise, who had stepped down early.
But despite the shortness of his stint on the board, the resolution pointed out that Hayden has been a familiar face to many around Covington given his service on numerous boards, commissions, and organizations since his retirement to the city in 2012, including the Covington Neighborhood Collaborative and the Devou Park Advisory Committee. He also helped establish pollinator gardens around Covington, served on the 2019 citizen task force that established the vision for a new future city hall, and helped in the laborious creation of the Neighborhood Development Code that re-fashioned the City’s approach to zoning and land use.
“Hayden,” the resolution reads, “has been a low-key but steady presence on the Commission, known for his insightful questions and reassuring demeanor as he always put the residents of Covington first.”
Added the others:
- Ron Washington: Called Hayden “a heckuva resource” and a “great asset” with whom he’d spent many hours discussing policies and directions of the City. Even before Hayden took office, he was the guy who come to meetings and afterward “would pull you to the side and give you some words of wisdom,” Washington said. “He would tell you about the history of the decisions that we were debating, and that was so helpful to me.”
- Shannon Smith: “I don’t think there’s anything else that I could possibly say that’s not already been said other than a sincere thanks for everything you’ve done. Thank you.”
- Tim Downing: “Just thank you again for your steadfast commitment to Covington, and what Commissioner Washington said regarding the encyclopedic knowledge of Covington’s history has been a real asset – it’s been a delight serving with you.”
- Joe Meyer: “Steve has been a terrific anchor in troubled waters at times. He brings the benefit of a lot of experience, a lot of different experiences, that he can analogize to our experiences here to help us make good decisions.”
With his typical humility, Hayden didn’t talk about himself but used the humorous (yet true) condemnation of the current Commission chambers as a segue to praising the vision and determination of Mayor Meyer in pushing for a new City Hall that is being built (on nearby Scott Boulevard) to better serve residents. Hayden also thanked the entire board.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve with of all my colleagues on this board and commission and thank you all for your camaraderie and accomplishments,” he said.
Meyer served two four-year terms as Covington’s mayor after previously serving 15 years in the Kentucky General Assembly and as Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet under Gov. Steve Beshear, among many other public sector posts.
His resolution lauded his leadership and said, “Meyer has been a fierce and vocal advocate for Covington, eager to engage with the city’s detractors and fight for its interests in arenas ranging from newspaper editorial pages to town hall forums to the halls of Frankfort and offices in Washington D.C.”
Said the others:
- Ron Washington: “(Me) not having an opponent in the (recent) race for mayor I attribute to Joe Meyer’s strong leadership of the city. We tend to get opponents when people feel like things aren’t going right. But it’s just the opposite – things are going great here in our city. … For the last few months for me, it’s been like drinking from a fire hose as Joe has tried to get me up to speed. I will say this: I wear a size 14, but I will not be able to fill this man’s shoes.”
- Tim Downing: (who took office the same year Meyer became mayor) “I remember one of our first meetings … and we started talking about policy and what he wanted to bring to Covington, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that meeting because I said, ‘so, do you have any ideas, anything concrete?’ and he pulled out like 33 pages and he sat them down in front of me, and he said ‘I was hoping we could walk through every one of these items,’ and I said, ‘ok, well that’s a good start.’ … I’d be here for quite some time if I were to hit all the different accomplishments, so I’ll just say this: It has been an incredible eight years … I feel like it’s understated to say that you’ve been a force of nature for this city and you’ve helped establish our vision and you’ve helped illuminate our path …”
- Shannon Smith: “I’m going to kind of echo what Commissioner Downing said. This truly, what was said today, is a kind of highlight reel, and I could say that there’s not much more I could say but there is, and we would be here for weeks if I tried, so I just want to basically boil it down and say ‘thank you.’ I literally learned to do this job and play this role and serve this city alongside you. So I just want to say ‘thank you’ for everything that you’ve done for me, for all of us, for the city. You will be sorely sorely sorely missed.”
- Steve Hayden: “A brief recollection: My early days of attending City Commission meetings go back to 2012 … I experienced those City Commission meetings for about four years before Mayor Meyer got into the saddle and I can tell you that IMMEDIATELY change happened. We went to the caucus followed by legislative structure, and it was ordered, quiet, reasoned, and the efficiency of the government machine happened IMMEDIATELY. It did not take him years to turn the boat around in the harbor.”
Responded Meyer, “Y’all are stroking my ego here pretty good, I have to say.”
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In prepared remarks, Meyer then listed much of Covington’s progress and recognitions and said he was proud to have played a part in it.
“This is the end of a journey that began for me 49 years ago,” he said, referring to the dilapidated building he and his wife, Dale, bought to renovate in Old Seminary Square.
“We thought rehabilitation would take maybe six months, and we had some vague concept that Covington some day would be a great place to live. Forty-nine years later, our house is almost finished, and Covington is succeeding beyond the best-case scenario we could have imagined back in 1975,” Meyer said.
“You heard some of the comments tonight, but look, you can see and feel the change all around. Just walk down Madison Avenue. Look at the sidewalk traffic. Look at the reinvestment in the city, the business activity. All the people moving back into the city – throughout the city – and their preference for our architecture, our values, our socialization. Our opportunities are real and they’re just beginning.”
He then stressed that “politics and government is team work” … insisted that “the city’s best days are definitely ahead” … urged the new Commission to “remember that we work for the people of Covington” … praised Covington’s values: “we’re quirky, historic, diverse, urban, safe, fun, inclusive, unapologetic” … and said he had “complete confidence in Mayor-Elect Washington’s leadership.”
In closing, “I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the people from throughout Covington who have advised, participated, (and) supported my service as mayor. Even those who have objected to my service have sometimes offered valuable insights, which I recognize. I am very proud of my work over the past eight years and the city’s progress and the role that I’ve been able to play, bringing my lifetime of experience to the benefit of my hometown.”
***
Following the meeting, the five newly elected members of the 2025-26 Covington Board of Commissioners were officially sworn in, effective Jan. 1, during a brief ceremony as required by law. They are Mayor Ron Washington, returning Commissioners Tim Downing and Shannon Smith and new Commissioners Tim Acri and James Toebbe.
A ceremonial and public swearing in will take place Jan. 3. Details will follow.
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