‘I’ve fought for this city.’ Former NAACP chief files to run for Lexington mayor
Adrian Wallace, a past president of the Lexington-Fayette NAACP and president of a community development corporation, has filed to run for mayor of Lexington.
Wallace filed his paperwork Monday with the Fayette County clerk’s office.
“I was born in this city. I’m raising my children in this city. Since leaving the military, I’ve fought for this city,” Wallace said on Facebook. “Now, with your help, I want to work alongside our city council to lead this city.”
Wallace has served as president of the Lexington-Fayette NAACP and has served on several of its committees. He current serves on the state NAACP political action committee. He is president and CEO of The Bishop and Chase Foundation, a community development corporation. He has also worked for Community Ventures, a nonprofit community development corporation, and Employment Solutions, a nonprofit that focuses on employment for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.
Wallace ran unsuccessfully for one of three at-large positions on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council in 2018. He finished fourth out of a field of six.
A former U.S. Army Veteran who served in Iraq, he is also a minister and serves as a community chaplain for the Lexington Police Department.
Wallace faces three other candidates in the May primary. Incumbent Mayor Linda Gorton announced she would seek a second term in August. Urban County Councilman David Kloiber officially kicked off his campaign in December. William Weyman, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019, has also filed to run.
The race is nonpartisan.
Gorton has not done enough to address poverty, homelessness, affordable housing and rising homicide rates, Wallace said.
“I feel like this mayor is out of touch and doesn’t understand the needs of this community and that’s why I decided to run for mayor,” Wallace said.
Gorton said she has allocated money toward homelessness prevention and affordable housing.
“We have put a significant amount of funds into homelessness prevention, housing first initiatives and shelters, “ Gorton said. “Our program to pay rent for residents who need help because of the pandemic recently won national recognition. We have already distributed over $15 million in rental and utility assistance payments.”
Wallace said more money needs to be spent on strengthening impoverished neighborhoods and more youth intervention programs. “Those are proven to reduce crime,” Wallace said.
Gorton said she has added more neighborhood resource police officers and upped funding for violence prevention programs.
“I have brought in more people to work on violence. My Director of One Lexington Devine Carama is bringing new people and resources into his work every day,” she said.
Wallace also said more money from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funding should go toward homelessness and affordable housing. The council has set aside more than $10 million of COVID federal stimulus money for various homelessness initiatives and programs. In addition, it has set aside $10 million for the city’s affordable housing program and $9 million for nonprofit capital projects.
But Wallace said that’s not enough.
“If you look at the guidelines from the U.S. Department of Treasury, many of the projects the council is considering don’t necessarily fit those guidelines. It’s supposed to go to people most affected by COVID,” Wallace said. “Many are council pet projects.”
The council has not made final decisions on most of the $120 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding allocation. Those deliberations are expected to continue later this month.
Wallace is the third Black man to run for Lexington mayor. Harry Sykes, the city’s first Black councilman, ran unsuccessfully in 1971. Former Lexington Police Chief Anthany Beatty Sr. ran against incumbent Mayor Jim Gray in 2014 and lost.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 10:02 AM.
