Meet David
A Lifetime Connected To Florence
Get to know the experiences, values, faith, and family that have shaped David Rose and his lifelong commitment to the city he proudly calls home.
Home
When people ask me about Florence, I don't think about buildings or roads first.
I think about Wintergreen Court. That's where I grew up, just a short walk from Ockerman Middle School. It was where my best friends lived, where our bikes were always outside, and where every day turned into a new adventure. We didn't have smartphones or game systems. We had each other.
Most mornings, we knew we'd eventually find one another without making plans. We'd spend the day riding bikes, jumping ramps, playing basketball or tennis ball, and finishing with a neighborhood game of Round Up before heading home for the night.
I've often told my friends that we had the best childhood growing up, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Looking back, what made those years so special wasn't just the neighborhood. It was the people. There was a real sense of connection. Friends looked out for each other, neighbors knew one another, and Florence felt like the kind of place where kids could simply be kids.
Those experiences shaped the way I see community today.
More than anything, I want children growing up in Florence to experience that same sense of friendship, safety, and belonging that I was blessed to have.
Because when a community gives its children that kind of foundation, it gives them something they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives.
The Example They Set
When I think about the people who shaped my life the most, I think about my parents.
From as far back as I can remember, they taught me Biblical values—not just with their words, but by the way they lived every day. They believed in treating others the way they would want to be treated, showing compassion to people in need, helping whenever they could, and respecting everyone they met.
Those weren't lessons reserved for Sunday morning. They were simply the way our family lived.
Looking back, I realize I was learning far more by watching than by listening.
When I think about my parents, there isn't one memory that stands above all the others. What I remember most is the example they set. They invested in people. They were there when someone needed a listening ear, even when they didn't always agree. They showed me that compassion isn't just something you believe—it's something you practice. Watching them live that way made me want to become that kind of adult myself.
One thing they often taught me has stayed with me throughout my life: be the kind of person you hope others will be toward you. It's a simple lesson, but one that's guided the way I've tried to live, serve my community, and raise my own family.
I'm grateful for the foundation my parents gave me. Their example continues to influence the decisions I make and the way I try to treat people every day.
Serving The Community
After growing up in Florence, I had the opportunity to spend my career serving the people who lived here. I worked for the United States Postal Service for twenty-five years. For the first ten years, I carried mail, and for the next fifteen, I worked inside the post office. While my responsibilities changed over the years, one thing never did—I enjoyed getting to know the people I was serving.
Carrying mail gave me something many jobs don't. I met people on their own front porches, in their driveways, and in their neighborhoods. Over time, I came to know many of them by name, and that made my days feel like I was seeing friends more than simply doing a job.
One customer I'll never forget was Mr. McFarland on Merravay. He was a devoted University of Kentucky basketball fan and always looked forward to getting his copy of The Cats’ Pause. Every now and then, I'd keep it back in the truck for a few extra minutes just to tease him. I'd tell him it hadn't arrived yet, and he'd give me a hard time about it. After a few times, he knew I was teasing him and would just laugh while he waited for me to bring it back.
It was a small moment, but it says a lot about what those years meant to me. The best part of the job wasn't delivering the mail. It was getting to know people, earning their trust, and building friendships one conversation at a time.
Looking back, I'm grateful for those years because they reminded me that every person has a story, every neighborhood has its own character, and every interaction is an opportunity to treat someone with kindness and respect.
Faith
Faith has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember, but it wasn't until my family began attending Florence Baptist Church that my faith truly became personal.
At Florence Baptist, I found more than a church to attend. I found a community to belong to. Through the youth group, I built lifelong friendships, learned from leaders who invested in us, and experienced a group of people who genuinely cared about one another. Those years didn't just strengthen my faith—they helped lay the foundation for the person I've tried to become.
One of the greatest lessons my faith has taught me is to see people the way Christ sees me: imperfect, but worth loving and worth forgiving. That's something I've tried to carry with me throughout every stage of life. Whether serving my family, my neighbors, or my community, I've tried to see people for who they are—not for who I expect them to be.
I'm not a perfect person, and I don't want anyone to think I am. Like everyone else, I've made mistakes, learned from them, and continued to grow. My hope has never been that people would see someone who has it all together. My hope is simply that, through the way I live my life, they might see a little of Jesus in me.
My faith doesn't define me because it makes me perfect. It defines me because it reminds me every day that we're all imperfect, we're all in need of grace, and we're all called to love one another.
The Life We’ve Built
When I think about the life I'm most grateful for today, my thoughts always come back to family.
I'm thankful for the parents who raised me with both love and wisdom. They were disciplined, but they also gave me the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. They trusted me to become the person God created me to be, and that trust helped shape the way I've tried to live my own life.
One of God's greatest blessings in my life has been my wife, Tara. She is truly the love of my life, and I'm grateful every day for the life we've built together. Raising our family has been the greatest joy I've ever known.
Being a husband and father has taught me that love is unconditional. It's not based on circumstances or accomplishments. It's choosing to be there, to encourage, to forgive, and to always want what's best for the people you love.
One tradition that means a great deal to our family is getting together every year on the first Saturday in December, between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Life gets busy, and everyone's schedules are different, but making time to be together has always mattered to us. Those moments remind me that the greatest blessings in life aren't found in things—they're found in the people God has placed in our lives.
If my children remember one thing about me, I hope it's this: that I lived the same values I talked about. I hope they know that my actions matched my words, and that no matter what challenges we faced, everything I did came from wanting what was best for them.
Looking back, I realize that the greatest achievements in life aren't measured by titles or accomplishments. They're measured by the people we love, the relationships we build, and the legacy we leave in the lives of those closest to us.
Why I’m Running
I've lived in Florence my entire life, and I've watched our city change over the years. While we've grown in many ways, I believe something important has been lost along the way—the personal connection between city leaders and the people they serve.
That's why I'm running for Mayor.
I believe the people of Florence deserve a mayor who genuinely cares about its residents. Someone who doesn't lead from behind a desk or rely only on emails and phone calls, but who is willing to knock on doors, walk through neighborhoods, and have face-to-face conversations with the people who call this city home.
That's who I am, and that's the kind of mayor I want to be.
When I think about Florence ten or twenty years from now, I hope it's a place where neighbors know one another, where children are outside playing together in parks and front yards, and where parents feel confident that their families are safe. I want Florence to be a close-knit community where people look out for one another, just as they did when I was growing up.
If people remember anything about my time as mayor, I hope it's not a list of accomplishments. I hope they remember that I was present. That I listened. That I cared enough to be out in the community, talking with residents, hearing their concerns, and working every day to make Florence a better place for everyone.
My hope is that future generations will know Florence as one of the best places in Kentucky to live, work, and enjoy life. More importantly, I hope it's a city where every person—whether they've lived here their whole life or have just arrived—feels welcomed, valued, and like they truly belong.
For me, running for mayor isn't about holding an office.
It's about serving the community that has spent a lifetime shaping the person I am today.
