Two open Lexington council seats will have May primaries. Find out who is running.
The majority of incumbents on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will have no opposition in 2020.
Seven district council members drew no challengers for re-election. Friday was the filing deadline.
Two open seats drew more than three candidates, which means there will be a May primary in those races. The top two vote getters move on to the November general election. The races are nonpartisan.
Four candidates filed to run for Council District 9, a seat currently held by Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman Jennifer Mossotti. Mossotti, now in her fourth term, shocked many when she announced in late December she would not seek re-election.
Those who filed to run for the seat, which represents neighborhoods around Shillito Park in the Reynolds Road area, include some political new comers and familiar faces. Colby Khoshreza, a lawyer, and Whitney Elliott Baxter, a real estate agent, are both first-time candidates. Jacob Glancy, who owns Jake’s Cigar Bar in Jessamine County but lives in Fayette County, ran against Mossotti in 2018 and lost. Willy Fogle, an insurance agent, served on the council for nine years from 1994 to 2002, worked for Mayor Teresa Isaac and also served as a council aide for six years.
In Council District 3, third-term councilman Jake Gibbs announced this fall that he would step down at the end of his term. The 3rd District includes much of downtown, the University of Kentucky and the surrounding downtown neighborhoods. Much of Lexington’s redevelopment — and the resulting fights — are in the 3rd District.
The four candidates who have filed in that race are: Hannah LeGris, a recruiter of top academic students for UK; Jessica Mohler, the communications and marketing director for the Carnegie Center for Literary and Learning; Christine Stanley, a lawyer; and Charles D. Smith, a retired workforce development specialist who has previously worked for the city’s traffic engineering department.
District council members serve for two years. In 2019, council members made $33,038. The council also has three at-large members, who serve for four years. Those seats are not up for re-election this year.
In addition to races in the 3rd and 9th Districts, there will be three contested council races in the November general election. That’s far less than the 11 contested council races in November 2018.
Other contested races include:
▪ Council District 4: Bill Farmer Jr., a jeweler and small business owner, is in his fifth term representing the district that includes Chevy Chase and the near south side neighborhoods. Farmer will face Liz Sheehan, a UK psychology senior lecturer, who unsuccessfully tried to oust Farmer in 2018.
▪ Council District 6: Angela Evans, a lawyer who is in her third term, will face David Kloiber, a first-time candidate who is the president of the Kloiber Foundation. The 6th Council District includes neighborhoods along the Winchester Road corridor, including Hamburg.
▪ Council District 8: Fred Brown will face Christian Motley in a repeat of the 2018 race. Motley was booted from the ballot after Brown successfully sued Motley over the number of valid signatures on Motley’s petition. Candidates must get 100 signatures of voters in their district to file for office. Brown, an accountant, is in his third term. He previously served on council in the 1990s. Motley has worked in early childhood education in former Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration and in former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Seven district council members have no challengers. They are:
Council District 1: James Brown
Council District: 2: Josh McCurn
Council District 4: Susan Lamb
Council District 7: Preston Worley
Council District 10: Amanda Mays Bledose
Council District 11: Jennifer Reynolds
Council District 12: Kathy Plomin
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
