Joseph U. Meyer has had a long career in public service in Kentucky. He retired as Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet in 2013, where his major accomplishments include reorganization of secondary career and technical education, establishment of the early childhood advisory council and the governor’s office of early childhood, and the creation of the Center for Education and Workforce Statistics. In addition, Mayor Meyer developed the Workforce Investment Board’s strategic plan for Gov. Steve Beshear and implemented its programs such as work ready communities and sector strategies. He also helped resolve a $1 billion obligation to the federal government for funds borrowed to meet Unemployment Insurance payments during the Great Recession of 2008-09.
Mayor Meyer also served 15 years in the Kentucky General Assembly, in both the House and Senate. He chaired the House Cities Committee and later the Senate State and Local Government Committee. He also chaired the Senate Education committee during the early years of Kentucky’s education reform.
Mayor Meyer has served as a member of the Covington Board of Education, and for several years, also served as school board attorney for two school districts in Kentucky. In addition, Mayor Meyer served as the city attorney for Bellevue.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Bellarmine University in Louisville, a Master’s in urban affairs from St. Louis University, and a law degree from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at NKU. Additionally, Mayor Meyer completed the program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University.
Mayor Meyer and his wife Dale were “urban pioneers” in the mid-1970s, and played major roles in reviving Old Seminary Square, where they demonstrated that there’s plenty of life in Covington’s older neighborhoods. Their four children and two grandchildren all continue to reside in Covington.