Why councilman Kevin Stinnett wants Lexington’s top job and what he's promising

Kevin Stinnett’s political career started on a baseball field.

Stinnett, a youth baseball and football coach, was frustrated after city officials told him it would be impossible to get lights for the sports fields at Kenawood Park, the same park where the Lexington native played baseball and football as a kid.

Stinnett was appalled. At 28, he filed to run in the 6th Council District seat. He won in 2004. Stinnett, a financial adviser and business owner, had just gotten married and told his bride, Shaunna K. Stinnett, he would serve two years, get the lights for Kenawood and step down. He never did.

“I’ve eaten my words several times now,” Stinnett said. “I’ve stayed on because I enjoy helping people where I grew up and getting things done.”

Background

Stinnett, a Democrat, said his 14 years at city hall mean he already knows the key issues facing Lexington. A graduate of Bryan Station High School and Centre College, Stinnett returned to Lexington after college and started his own financial investment and insurance company. He played football and baseball for Centre and has been a youth sports coach most of his life.

He’s also been involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters since 1996.

The IRS put two tax liens on Stinnett’s home for back taxes owed from 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009. The total amount of the liens was $110,022.13, according to documents filed in the Fayette County Clerk’s office. Both liens have since been released or withdrawn.

“The IRS and I had disputes over how much I owed in years prior to 2010,” said Stinnett. “I went through a lengthy appeals process and successfully resolved the disputes at a lower amount than the IRS originally claimed. Those disputes were resolved to the satisfaction of the IRS. It is a non-issue.”

Stinnett did not list the IRS liens as a debt or a creditor on his financial disclosure forms filed with the city’s ethics commission for 2009 through 2011, the years the tax liens were filed. Stinnett said he did not list the tax liens because he didn’t think it was required.

Experience

He served as the 6th Council District member from 2004 to 2014. In 2014, he was elected to his first four-year term in the at-large council race, a citywide race.

Stinnett, 44, said his experience on council gives him an edge in a crowded field.

He said he’s proud that he pushed the council to start a debt management plan and a program to beef up the city’s rainy day fund, which now has more than $30 million.

Jobs

Stinnett said he’s backed the creation of career academies at local Lexington high schools, which are sponsored by Commerce Lexington. Those career academies connect high school students directly to career paths, he said. He would like that program to be expanded to all six high schools.

He wants to create an office for economic development in the mayor’s office to bring all of the city’s job-training programs under one roof, he said.

Crime and drugs

Earlier this year, Stinnett asked the council to consider passing a resolution supporting state legislation that would increase penalties for people determined to be in a gang. Stinnett ultimately backed off after several members of the black community expressed concerns that the bill, which will soon become law, would disproportionately affect young black men.

“Children should be our focus,” Stinnett said. “Kids are being recruited by gangs and are taking the fall for adults.”

“Expanding access for kids to all activities, whether it be arts or sports, is key,” Stinnett said.

He said mentoring programs should also be expanded to help reduce youth crime.

Stinnett also pushed the city to hire a substance abuse and intervention coordinator.

“We have to start by expanding our substance abuse office at city hall,” Stinnett said. “It needs to be more far-reaching than it is. We need more treatment beds and more recovery options.”

The city also needs to partner with more nonprofits to increase recovery options in Lexington, he said.

Growth and development

Stinnett has said he supports keeping the city’s current growth boundary, but during debate on whether to expand the boundary earlier this year he offered an amendment that would have allowed for expansion in some areas under certain circumstances. That amendment was ultimately defeated.

There is land close to Interstate 75 and Interstate 64 that is currently not part of the urban service boundary that should be used for economic development, he said.

“I wanted to allow some flexibility for jobs and things like senior living, but only senior living that was contiguous to the urban service boundary and it had to be sewerable,” Stinnett said. “We have made a great start with our affordable housing program but there is a real need for senior affordable housing.”

Stinnett said he’s not pro-growth or pro-development.

“I’m pro jobs,” he said. “Our (employment tax) collections have gone flat over the last several years.”

Stinnett said he has voted to support the Purchase of Development Rights program, which uses taxpayer dollars to buy conservation easements that protect farmland from future development.

“The argument has always been growth or no growth,” Stinnett said. “That’s not where we are at anymore.”

Traffic continues to be a problem in Lexington, he said. Man o’ War Boulevard is “already over capacity” and should be widened, he said.

Minorities

The city needs to make sure it’s budding technology sector is open to everyone, he said.

“Lexington could become a niche market for minority and women-owned technology companies,” Stinnett said.

He also has said he supports efforts to increase the number of contracts the city awards to minority-owned businesses.

New city hall?

One big-ticket item that Lexington’s next mayor will likely have to decide is whether to build a new city government center.

The deffered maintenance on the city’s main building, the former Lafayette Hotel, is more than $22 million alone, Stinnett said. The city has received four proposals from developers to build a new city hall.

The city will have to carefully analyze costs before determining if a new city hall is a good buy for taxpayers, he said.

“We have to be very efficient, “Stinnett said. “But we also have to be accessible to the public and our current buildings aren’t accessible.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Why councilman Kevin Stinnett wants Lexington’s top job and what he's promising."