After nearly three decades in city government, Shannon Cox has set his sights on the top job in county government. The Winchester city commissioner is one of four candidates vying for the Republican nomination for county judge-executive.
He has served in local government in Clark County longer than any current official on the May 19 primary ballot.
“I’ve got the experience. I’ve been in government for a long time, through some very good times and some very lean times, and I know that everyone has to work together,” Cox said.
He said one of his strengths is a particular set of skills.
“This will be my 28th budget with the city … and I think the Fiscal Court needs a person who is experienced in preparing a budget and can do things in a fiscally responsible manner,” he said.
He mentioned that he also has previously served on a budget committee for the county school district. With the county facing financial challenges because of rising costs and other issues, that experience could be important.
“My first step would be to do what we’ve always done with the city, and that is to overestimate your expenses and underestimate your revenue,” he said. “We would work with each department … and say, ‘OK, what do you absolutely, positively have to have? And you work from there.”
Asked whether he would consider any tax increases, Cox answered: “I don’t want to do it and would hate to do it, but in order to keep the county fiscally sound, I’m not going to say we absolutely won’t.”
It would have to be the “last resort,” he added.
One thing that has to be a concern, he said, is that the state Department for Local Government could take over the process and set the county’s tax rates.
“We need to keep that local control,” he said.
A native of Morehead, Cox, 66, has lived in Winchester since early childhood. He graduated from George Rogers Clark High School and the University of Kentucky, and has graduate degrees from UK and Eastern Kentucky University.
“I was in education here for more than 30 years,” the former high school history and psychology teacher said.
He also coached football for 30 years and other sports, including girls’ basketball, baseball, track, and tennis.
After Cox retired from Clark County Public Schools in 2016, he and a partner owned and managed several Jiffy Lube oil change businesses across the state for about a year before selling them. Since then, he has worked at the Lowe’s store in Winchester.
Cox is unmarried and has no children, but he has several nieces and nephews, is close to a couple of former students he coached, and “their kids call me Grandpa,” he said.
For many years, Cox has been active in community service. He is on the local Habitat for Humanity and Salvation Army boards, and he created a work camp to bring teenagers here to do home repairs.
He said the project he’s proudest of as a commissioner is the urban renewal project on Lincoln Street, initiated by the city government and involving Habitat for Humanity.
“We are providing a home ownership opportunity for folks who may never have another opportunity to own a home,” he said.
He said the city has a similar renewal project on Mutual Avenue, where the Kentucky River Foothills Development Council will build multi-family housing.
Cox was asked what his priorities would be as county judge-executive.
“Jobs, jobs, and jobs,” he answered.
“The better paying jobs, the better community we’ve got,” he said. “You can’t have more housing without more jobs. They go together.”
Cox wants to work with Clark County Public Schools and Bluegrass Community and Technical College on workforce development.
“There’s an old expression, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ And we’ve got to raise the tide.”
Cox said he has a “unique idea” that he’s talked with officials in adjoining counties about, and that is using opioid settlement money to establish an apprenticeship program for recovering addicts who would work with local employers. The employers would pay them, but the settlement money would pay for their schooling to become electricians or HVAC repairmen.
Asked about new development, Cox said he wants the infrastructure in place before construction begins. That means water and sewer lines, as well as fiber-optic cable for internet service. He would prefer that growth occur where infrastructure already exists, but if developers want to build where it isn’t, they should pay for it.
He also wants large-scale developments to include green space and parks.
“We’ve got to get our roads and bridges in shape,” Cox said, noting that he would visit the state Transportation Cabinet often to ask, “What are you going to do for us?”
Cox said he would like to create a joint city-county emergency medical services program that is administered by a board similar to the way Winchester Municipal Utilities or Parks and Recreation operates, and he wants an ambulance station on the south end of town, where growth is anticipated.
Merging the city and county fire departments could be a long-term goal, but “just not right now,” he said.
Employee retention is a short-term goal.
“You have to take care of your employees,” he said.
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If he becomes judge-executive, Cox said, he would hold monthly lunch or breakfast meetings with every magistrate and department head to better understand their concerns and strengthen relationships.
“The idea is that we have to work together,” he said. “You can’t have animosity.”
Cox said he knows that administering county government isn’t easy.
“It’s going to be a walk through the mud every day for a while, but I’ve got a good pair of boots,” he remarked.
