First of a series on Florence council candidates
Catching up with retired Florence Mayor Diane Whalen at a locally owned coffee shop on Burlington Pike resulted in a question-and-answer session in which Whalen was stoic and straightforward.
Whalen was at the helm of the City of Florence for 24 years prior to her 2022 retirement. It would be difficult to find a place in Boone County where she isn’t immediately recognized, so her interactions with customers wishing her well and with the shop’s owner were to be expected.
In a surprise to many and perceived as a rejection of the current administration, she said, “I truly care about the City of Florence. I care about the future of the City, and I care about the residents that call Florence home.” Whalen agrees that the divisive nature of the political scene, along with the ability for continuity of leadership played a role in her decision to step aside. Now, less than two years into her time off, Whalen is ready to knock on doors once again.
Discussing recent losses, specifically that of longtime City Attorney and friend Hugh Skees, the retirements of CFO Linda Chapman and Police Chief Tom Grau, and, her feeling the city is slowly losing its portal to history, Whalen said, “There will come a time when someone will question when an event took place, but, there will no longer be someone there to explain how or why it happened. Knowledge and experience is vital in those moments.”
Whalen, proud of the accomplishments of the city, appeared glossy-eyed as she reminisced of the leadership provided by Skees, along with friend and mentor – the late Ted Bushelman.
When it comes to the financially plagued Florence Aquatic Center, and how to fund it, Whalen is clear, “I have never shied away from the fact that I think the Aquatic Center is a money pit. While we never thought it would cover the capital costs to build it, we had planned on it raising revenue to pay for the operation costs year to year. I believe the majority of the people using the Aquatic Center are not residents of Florence – but it is the Florence taxpayer who is footing the bill.” She cited the closing of Coney Island and other local pools as possibly pushing residents of neighboring communities to the attraction.
When asked if she would support selling the naming rights to the center or advertising banners to display within the facility, Whalen says, “It would be difficult to do so without strict guidelines on the types of advertising that would be allowed. Not all businesses are something you would want advertising on city property that is geared toward children.” The Former Mayor reminds us, however, that a city survey concluded 50% of citizens were in support of keeping the venue open.
When pressed about the city’s Skate Park lighting being inoperable at night, Whalen shed light on the issue: “When the lights were installed, they were vandalized more than once. The lighting can be fixed, and probably should be, but there needs to be accountability. Trash is another issue. If those using the park consistently leave trash and litter in the bowl, they create a danger to those skating and boarding while creating additional work for the Public Services department to clean up.”
Whalen, fiercely criticized the heated political environment. “The bully pulpit is not good,” she said. “I always hope for conversation rather than accusation. There seems to be more accusation than conversation in the current environment.”
Asked about recent claims that city leaders cancel too many official meetings, Whalen insists that is a non-starter. “We canceled plenty of meetings in our time. When we wrote the ordinance (regarding meetings and requirements to schedule them), we wrote it in a way that would make it easier to cancel a meeting than to call a special meeting, which, required additional notice to the media and staff, incurring an additional cost to the citizens.”
The former mayor, and her team and council members at the time the ordinance was written, felt it would be easier to have multiple meetings on the schedule, to prevent delays required to call them spontaneously and forgo the additional funding required – pointing out that it costs “zero dollars to cancel a meeting” that is unneeded.
When asked about recent criticism of Council approving a near 70% pay increase for the Mayor, (beginning after the 2026 election), Whalen reflected upon her own service, stating she only received one pay raise outside of the State-Mandated Cost of Living Increases for Elected Officials and acknowledging the city did approve her attaining health insurance, which was not a large expense for the self-insured city. She refrained from criticizing the current mayor or any current members of City Council, insisting her focus is on the citizens of Florence and their future.
On fiscal responsibility, Whalen firmly believes, “Just because there is money in the bank, doesn’t mean you have to spend it.” Reflecting on large surpluses in the General Fund during her tenure, she insists the reserves are necessary in cases of natural and/or economic disaster. “In order to keep Police, Fire, EMS, Public Works and City Staff on the ground during such a crisis, those reserves are necessary. Those services are vital to all citizens and those are the folks we rely on daily to ensure the safety of our city.” Whalen insists depleting General Fund Reserves would leave citizens vulnerable during an unforeseen disaster.
Though Whalen saw great expansion of the city’s retail corridor, industrial base, and hospitality industry during her service, there were moments of heartache. Specifically, Whalen recounts the embezzlement scandal involving the late Ron Epling, the city’s former CFO. “There was such a feeling of being violated. It was the lowest moment we experienced.” Whalen recounted being informed of the scandal, then notifying the authorities through the former City Attorney.
Whalen led the city through the scandal. “I knew they were going to walk him (Epling) out in handcuffs. I knew he was going straight to the Boone County Jail. I scheduled a press conference for that day.” She intended to reassure citizens and local business owners that city leaders were determined to be upfront, transparent, and vocal about the criminal acts of Epling. Still, Whalen credits retiring CFO Linda Chapman for her knowledge and experience during that time. “Linda is the best. She made sure that it couldn’t happen again. We recovered most of the stolen funds. The two of us even spoke at seminars about preventing embezzlement after that.”
Facing her fair share of criticism, Whalen sided against housing homeless folks in local hotels during the COVID 19 pandemic, citing the risk posed by bringing individuals of outside populations into the city, possibly increasing the spread of the virus.
She defended the City of Florence once again, after a former resident killed one individual and injured many others at a political rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 – driving his car into a crowd of attendees in a racially-motivated attack. Whalen insisted his values did not represent the ideology of Florence residents and that his actions were his own. She further cemented her views on equality in recent years, supporting the removal of “Mr. Rebel” – a controversial civil war-era General as Mascot of her alma-mater, Boone County High School.
The 1973 Boone County graduate delivered the school’s commencement address, 45 years later, to the Class of 2018. “It was surreal. It was a highlight for me, and I so enjoyed getting to speak directly to those graduates. I told them, there is more to life than Facebook and Instagram. Look up from your phone occasionally and enjoy your life.”
Her father, C.M. “Hop” Ewing, was Mayor for 20 years. She served as mayor for 24 years. The Ewing name has been synonymous with City Hall, now found on “Ewing Boulevard.”
“He was a great leader, a true visionary,” says the daughter. “Looking at what he created during his time in office we found a true foundation for our city moving forward. His impact is on every street, the famous landmark – the Florence Y’All water tower.”
Today, she says, “There is more to be done.”
Questions remain as the election approaches: Will Whalen be returned city government? Will she become Vice Mayor by getting the highest number of votes? Will she run for Mayor in the 2026 Election?
The voting residents of Florence will answer the first two questions in November. As for speculation about question three – residents will have to wait until 2026.
William E. Woods is a Northern Kentuckian, small business owner, and a Kentucky Colonel. He has run for public office and aims to use his two decades of business and political experience to enlighten citizens on public issues relevant to them.