A slate of nine candidates are vying for one of six Covington City Council seats during in the November 3, 2026, election.
Last year, Covington voters decided to change its form of government from a City Manager to a City Council form of government. Covington will now have six legislative body members instead of four, who will serve on the legislative body with Mayor Ron Washington. Because fewer than 13 candidates filed nomination papers for this office, no primary election will be held in May.
I’m Covington’s former City Solicitor and City Manager. I’m now serving in my fifth year as City Administrator for the City of Dayton, Ky. I have announced my retirement as Dayton City Administrator at the end of this year, and I’m hopeful that I will be elected this fall to serve the residents and businesses of the City of Covington, starting in 2027.
My campaign platform primarily stands on four pillars:
Public safety is my biggest priority, but all four of these areas are interconnected. For example, the City must have a strong business environment that creates and maintains jobs in the City to fund City services, particularly public safety, i.e., the City’s police and fire/EMT departments.
In its 2025-26 Fiscal Year Budget, the City of Covington projected a $74 million annual budget. Of this amount, $43 million — almost 60 percent of the City’s revenue – will be used to pay for its public safety services.
This funding obligation means that funding from the City’s two largest revenue generators – City payroll taxes ($29 million) and insurance premium fees ($13 million) – must be used to pay for these services. Think about that. Funding generated by the City’s two largest revenue sources all be used to pay for public safety services, plus another $1 million from other sources.
That also means that the City’s remaining revenue sources must be used for all other City services — from Public Works and Code Enforcement to Housing and Economic Development efforts.
That’s why the City must focus on its internal finances while promoting economic development and job growth externally in the City. The cost of services that the City of Covington provides to its citizens rarely goes down. Annual operating costs almost always increase because of inflation and other increases in costs, negotiated contracts with the city’s three public unions, and the need to offer competitive pay to attract and keep qualified employees.
Similarly, clean, safe, and connected neighborhoods help bring new residents to and keep existing residents in our City, encourage investment and reinvestment in our housing stock, and support our local businesses.
A key component to ensure our neighborhoods are safe and attractive is maintaining a strong Code Enforcement Department, which requires property owners to maintain their properties in safe and sanitary conditions and eliminates blighted conditions in these neighborhoods.
The final pillar is Covington’s public schools. As a graduate of this school system, this issue is important to me, but it also important to every resident and business in the City. Fortunately for me, when I attended Holmes High School in the mid- to late-1970s — from an academic standpoint (and athletically, too) — Holmes was competitive with other high schools in our community.
This education provided me with a strong foundation for my post-secondary education and future careers as a journalist, lawyer, business owner, and city manager. Unfortunately, today’s Covington public schools are a mere shadow of the schools I attended as a young man.
As a result, Covington has trouble attracting and keeping families with school-aged children in our City. My own family is a prime example of this. When our kids were ready for grade school, we moved to my wife’s hometown, Fort Thomas, which has an outstanding public school system. In my mind, a high-achieving, thriving public school district is what our City needs to attract more families and keep them in our community.
While the Covington Independent Public School District is a separate taxing district and autonomously operating entity from the City of Covington, school district and City officials must build a strong relationship to work closely together as partners to achieve improvements in our public schools. As an alumnus, I have continued to work closely with Covington’s public schools, including serving as a board member and secretary of the Tom Ellis Athletic Memorial (“TEAM”) Foundation, which supports student-athletes at Holmes.
The Covington Board of Education now has an exciting opportunity to change the school district’s culture and its trajectory (and that of the City of Covington) by selecting a new superintendent to lead the district. I am excited that the school district has selected me to serve as a member of the committee that will interview the final candidates for the new superintendent’s job. That interview process will take place in March 2026, and the school board will select a new superintendent after this process is complete. Regardless of who the board ultimately selects, I will continue to work closely with this individual and the school district to continue to improve our public schools and student outcomes in the school district.
To learn about me and my vision for Covington, visit my campaign website at jayfossett.com.
Paid for by the Jay Fossett for Covington City Council Campaign