Mary Pat Behler was born and raised in Kenton County . She and her husband, Tim Gold, have lived in Independence off of Taylor Mill Road since 1989, first in the Plantation Heights area and now in the Claiborne subdivision. She received a BA in English from Northern Kentucky University and a MEd from Xavier University in Cincinnati , OH . Additionally, she is a graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky through the Chamber of Commerce and the Independence Citizens Police Academy . Her professional career has been in the education and nonprofit sectors. She presently is the Director of the Youth Substance Abuse Treatment Collaborative (YSAT) through NorthKey Community Care.

She is committed to being involved in her community. For the City of Independence she has served one previous term on city council and has served several years on the Code Enforcement/Ethics Board. Regionally she serves as a board member for the Children?s Law Center, the Banklick Watershed Council and the Community Youth Development Council. Statewide she is a board member for the Kentucky Adolescent Substance Abuse Consortium and a Community Advisory Member for the Foundation for a Healthy KY.

Because of the rapid residential development in Independence , she is most concerned about two issues: recruiting business to our city to supplement our tax base, as well as smart city planning to balance residences, businesses, recreation and green space.