One backs 'stop and frisk.' One wants a casino. Meet 3 more Lexington mayor candidates.

Skip Horine thinks Lexington's police force is corrupt and needs to quit abusing its powers.

Ike Lawrence, a small business owner, thinks the city needs to focus more of its attention and resources on the city's north and east side. It should quit funding homeless and affordable housing programs.

William Weyman, who is the first deaf candidate for mayor, thinks the city needs to do more to address opioid addiction and crime. It should consider building a casino to help create more jobs.

The three men face four better-funded and well-known candidates in the May 22 mayoral primary.

Skip Horine

Horine, 50, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1993 and again in 2010, said as a life-long resident he has seen long-standing problems in city government that have never been addressed. "There are people who are being killed by the police," he said during an April 25 mayoral forum at the University of Kentucky. "I will actually get these problems fixed."

Horine said the government's main focus is safety. "But police should not harass you," he said during the April 25 forum. "Just last week, we had a guy who was cited for honking his horn. The citation said menacing. It took three cop cars and a bicycle cop."

If elected, Horine said he would go "line by line" through the budget and make sure that the city was spending its money wisely so it can pay for an expected jump in its state pension payments in coming years.

"We also need to streamline what it takes to start a business in this town," he said.

Ike Lawrence

Lawrence, 62, said he's a "can doer of 40 years" who is concerned about the city's growing debt. He's opposed to tearing down the Jefferson Street bridge, which connects High and Main streets, and does not think the city needs a new city hall. The city has been mulling a new home for more then a decade. It recently received four proposals from four developers.

Lawrence has said in forums and debates that despite spending millions of dollars on shelters and other homeless programs, the city's homeless problem continues. The city's affordable housing fund is hurting private landlords, he said. If elected, he would continue already-funded affordable housing projects but would eventually phase out the program.

The city should use delinquent youth to rehab abandoned buildings on the city's north and east sides, he said.

"The city's north end and in particular the east side needs more of the city's attention," Lawrence said during a May 7 forum.

On his website, Lawrence said the city should consider "stop and frisk", which means stopping suspicious people and frisking them, in high-crime areas. He also said there should be a no-baggy pants sidewalk policy. Critics say "stop and frisk" unfairly targets minority men.

"We have too many young people who are dying from fentantyl and too many African-American young men dying," he said.

William Weyman

Through a translator, Weyman, 51, said during a May 7 forum that he is a deaf Christian who has a" vision for a safer more beautiful Lexington. I want Lexington to be a more safe place to raise a family and a safer place for our children."

When asked about crime, Weyman said providing jobs is the best way to deter crime. "We need to get them occupied, doing things so they don't have idle time to do drugs," Weyman said.

Weyman said allowing casinos could help create jobs and joked during a May 7 forum that the city should talk to President Donald Trump about bringing a casino to Lexington. The state legislature has rejected previous attempts to allow casinos in Kentucky.

This story was originally published May 13, 2018 at 12:00 AM with the headline "One backs 'stop and frisk.' One wants a casino. Meet 3 more Lexington mayor candidates.."