Lexington’s new, diverse council will bring ‘unique perspectives’ to city, Wu says
Moments after Lexington’s most diverse city council in history was sworn in, new Vice Mayor Dan Wu said diversity was the city’s strength.
“I am proud to be Lexington’s first Asian-American council member and vice mayor but we are not here to check off boxes and we are not here just to be the first of anything,” said Wu to a crowd of hundreds Friday afternoon. “We are here to bring our unique voices, perspectives and lived experiences to city government.”
Wu, the rest of the 15-member Lexington Fayette Urban County Council and second-term Mayor Linda Gorton were all sworn in at an inauguration event in the University of Kentucky’s Gatton Student Center.
“For me, leading Lexington is hard work and always a labor of love,” said Gorton, who won re-election in November by a wide margin. “It’s a continuous focus on serving people. That’s what it’s all about.”
In the general election, Wu garnered the most votes in a six-way, at-large council race, making him Lexington’s first new vice mayor in eight years. Steve Kay, the previous vice mayor, could not run for another term.
That diverse council elected by Lexington voters includes the likely first-ever Latina, four Black people and nine women.
Wu, a chef and small business owner, was born in China and immigrated to Lexington as a child. He said on Friday his family celebrated their 40th anniversary of coming to America two weeks ago.
After speaking to the city’s strengths, Wu named a number of challenges that he hoped to tackle during his term, including poverty, rising housing prices, too many deaths from gun violence and the ongoing recovery of small businesses and restaurants brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So how do we tackle these daunting challenges?” Wu said. “We do it together with all voices at the table and an openness to out-of-the-box ideas. We make sure that the people of Lexington are truly represented.”
During remarks of her own, Gorton highlighted the city’s work in 2020 in response to the pandemic as well as to days of protest calling for racial equality and justice.
“Our response to this test was to take a good, hard look at ourselves in the mirror. Most of us didn’t like everything we saw,” Gorton said, calling back to the work of the city’s Commission on Racial Justice and Equality.
Gorton said city government will continue to pursue a new city hall, growing the local economy by attracting new employers and protecting “our working farms.”
Prior to being first elected to mayor in 2018, Gorton spent 16 years on the council, including four as vice mayor.
“Lexington is a very special place,” Gorton said. “Today, as we turn the page to begin another chapter, we stand on the shoulders of our history, confident that when we stand together, we meet any test.”
Aside from Wu, the council includes:
- James Brown (At-Large)
- Chuck Ellinger II (At-Large)
- Tayna Fogle (1st District)
- Shayla Lynch (2nd)
- Hannah LeGris (3rd)
- Brenda Monarrez (4th)
- Liz Sheehan (5th)
- Denise Gray (6th)
- Preston Worley (7th)
- Fred Brown (8th)
- Whitney Baxter (9th)
- David Sevigny (10th)
- Jennifer Reynolds (11th)
- Kathy Plomin (12th)
This story was originally published December 30, 2022 at 5:35 PM.