Salute to county leaders: Gary Moore

Key Takeaways

Boone County, Ky. Judge/Executive Gary Moore rose to prominence among county leaders 10 years ago when he served as co-chair of the joint NACo-NLC Opioid Task Force. He took office as NACo president in 2020, and when the world pivoted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, he launched the NACo Broadband Task Force. Over 28 years as judge/executive, he focused on governing regionally, because the fates of Northern Kentucky, Southwestern Ohio and Southeastern Indiana are so deeply linked.

How did you know that county government was your calling? 

When I was a teenager, my father was the Pendleton County sheriff, so after school, I used to take to the courthouse and hang around until he was done with work. That time spent around him and the work he did made me want to be a county commissioner someday, even when I was working in the private sector. When I started to explore running, the county executive position became available so instead of running for county commissioner, I ran for county executive.

What were your proudest achievements in Boone County? 

I merged law enforcement agencies into the county sheriff’s department in my first term and that was a huge accomplishment. People said it couldn’t be done and that it would be politically volatile for me, but the sheriff and I worked together. The transportation infrastructure has transformed in Boone County, going from traditional two-lane rural roads to highways with single-point urban interchanges, roads with roundabouts and we’ve turned our airport into a major cargo center. 

What did you learn from NACo that you brought home to Boone County? 

The Broadband Task Force was really a win-win, because it was the work with NACo that made me aware of the opportunity [to add broadband to his county], and then we were one of the pilot regions that pulled it off; that then benefited other partners of NACo. 

My work with the Opioid Task Force really catapulted us to file lawsuits against the distributors. That work helped all of our Kentucky counties and cities. When the settlements were being entered into, many states grabbed the money that really was generated by the counties’ work. I sat with the speaker of the House, the president of the Senate and our state attorney general, and they were trying to take the money. I was able to negotiate a 50-50 split for our cities and counties with the state. It was my knowledge of the NACo work that enabled me to hold the ground, hold our ground and get us a good deal. 

How did you change as a county leader over your tenure? 

You’ve got to be listening and learning, and that never stops. But midway through my career, I started sharing more with others rather than just listening to others, and then by the end, becoming a mentor to others. 

I think this will become more and more important as NACo goes forward. There is such turnover right now in the election process, and in many cases, individuals don’t seek to hold the office as long as some of us did in the past. I think the longevity of county officials will be shorter, but that puts pressure on to train and retrain and deal with turnover. 

Why are you optimistic about the future of county government? 

I was elated at the number of first-time attendees at this conference (nearly 500). And the same thing back at the Legislative Conference. I was very worried about the future of our counties and NACo, but when I see the first-timers coming and engaging, that makes me feel much better, and I have hope. But we have to engage those first-timers, we have to help train those first-timers and make sure they have access to experienced elected officials to learn from them. 

What advice do you have for your successors?

We have to make sure that newly elected officials understand that you can’t be as effective at home. If you’re not part of your state association or NACo, you’re not doing all you could do, because there’s so much experience there, and there is the fact that whatever idea you have, somebody else has probably already done it and can help.