Two Lexington council members aren’t running for re-election. Deadline to file is Jan. 10
Two veteran Lexington council members have announced they will not seek re-election in 2020.
Candidates who wish to file for the open seats have until Friday, Jan. 10 to do so. The filing deadline for non-partisan and partisan state races is much earlier this year.
The filing deadline has been the last Tuesday in January for years. A law passed two years ago bumped up the filing deadline.
Councilwoman Jennifer Mossotti, who is in her fourth term serving the 9th Council District, said in a telephone interview Monday she has decided not seek a fifth term. The 9th District includes neighborhoods around Shillito Park from New Circle Road south to the Fayette County line. Mossotti also served four terms as a council member from 1997 to 2004, prior to returning for the seat in 2012.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed it and love working with Mayor Linda Gorton,” Mossotti said. “But my husband retired in January and we recently had our sixth grandchild. I think now is the time to take a break. But this is not a decision I made lightly.”
Mossotti has pushed for more than two years for the first-ever downtown Lexington statue honoring the achievements of women. The statue by artist Barbara Grygutis of Tuscon, Ariz., is scheduled to be unveiled at its new home at the Fifth Third Bank Plaza on Vine Street on Aug. 18, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote.
“I will still be very much involved in seeing this project through,” Mossotti said of the Breaking the Bronze ceiling effort. Mossotti said she has not ruled out running for office again.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman Jake Gibbs, whose district includes much of downtown, the University of Kentucky and surrounding neighborhoods, announced in October that he was stepping down. Gibbs was first elected to the seat in 2014.
“While I’ve enjoyed my 3 terms representing the 3rd District, I’m ready for some non-political adventures,” Gibbs wrote in a Facebook post in October. “I’d like the freedom to travel and spend more time with friends and family.”
But Gibbs said his name may appear on the ballot again.
“I may run for office again down the road,” Gibbs wrote. “But for now I’m ready to reduce my obligations.”
Mossotti and Gibbs will not leave office until December 2020.
All 12 of the council district seats are up for re-election in 2020. Council district members serve two-year terms. At-large council members serve four-year terms. None of the at-large seats are up for re-election. In 2019, council members earned $33,038. Council district seats are nonpartisan.
Some incumbent council members have already filed for re-election, according to the Fayette County Clerk’s office. According to its website, the following candidates have filed as of 4 p.m. Monday:
- Josh McCurn, who represents the 2nd Council District, which contains Masterson Station, Meadowthorpe and other neighborhoods along Leestown Road.
- Preston Worley, who represents the 7th Council District, which includes neighborhoods between New Circle Road and Interstate 75 along Richmond Road.
- Jennifer Reynolds, who represents the 11th Council District, which includes neighborhoods along the Versailles Road corridor.
In addition, Liz Sheehan, who ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Councilman Bill Farmer Jr. in the 5th Council District in November 2018, has filed to run again in the district that includes Chevy Chase and parts of the Winchester Road corridor. Farmer said Monday he will file soon to run for the seat he has held since 2010. He previously served on the council from 1997 to 2006.
Christian Motley — who filed to run in the 8th Council District in 2018 but was eventually disqualified due to a lack of required 8th District registered voters’ signatures — has filed to run in 2020, according to a written release Motley sent late Monday. The clerk’s office was closed Tuesday, so the filing could not be confirmed. Fred Brown, the incumbent for the council district that includes neighborhoods surrounding the Tates Creek schools campus, said earlier this week that he will seek another term and plans to file paperwork with the clerk’s office soon.
Candidates wishing to file to run in the nonpartisan council races or partisan state House and Senate races have until 4 p.m. on Friday Jan 10, according to the Fayette County Clerk’s office. To find out more about the 12 council districts and how to file to run for office go to https://fayettecountyclerk.com/web/elections/becomingacandidate.htm.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 10:03 AM.
