Lexington Reddit questions why mayor’s street was plowed. City says it’s not favoritism
As Lexington residents continue to deal with the fallout of Winter Storm Fern and the clearing of city streets, some are taking to social media to question why Mayor Linda Gorton has a street clear of snow and ice.
A satirical post on the r/lexington subreddit Jan. 31 drew attention to the mayor’s Lexington home on Beechmont Road and shared a photograph of the street, which appeared freshly plowed.
Monday, a Herald-Leader reporter drove along and walked down the street, which was drivable and mostly free of ice. Other streets in the immediate area were also largely clear.
Records from the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator show Gorton and her husband Charles own a home along Beechmont Road, near the University of Kentucky Arboretum in the Shadeland neighborhood.
Lexington’s current snow and ice removal plan follows a ranking system that assigns top priority based on traffic volume, with higher consideration given to public transportation, emergency services and schools.
Neighborhood streets typically receive a lower priority ranking as crews work to keep major corridors clear. As a result, many smaller roads may see little or no activity from crews and contractors. Monday, the city could not give the Herald-Leader an update on how many neighborhood streets had received maintenance.
According to the city’s snow removal map, all of Beechmont Road and much of the Shadeland neighborhood is a rank 4 street, lower on the priority list.
In a phone call Monday, Susan Straub, a spokesperson for the mayor, said she had seen the Reddit post, but any plowing activity in the area was not the result of preferential treatment for the city’s top official.
“There’s absolutely nothing to it. There’s no preferential treatment involved. The mayor never asked for anything like that,” Straub told the Herald-Leader.
Asked why the mayor’s street is rank 4 but was cleared, Straub said “I don’t know the answer to that.”
“She has never asked for any kind of special treatment or preferential treatment. Period,” Straub said.
Tuesday morning post-publication of this story, Straub sent the following statement via email: “Mayor Gorton is currently not living on that street. She derives no benefit from it being cleared. It’s a non-story.”
For her part, Mayor Gorton has acknowledged issues with the city’s response to Winter Storm Fern.
Over the weekend, Gorton signaled the city needs to revisit its snow and ice removal plan to account for severe winter storms and prolonged periods of cold. Winter Storm Blair in early 2025 prompted the city to invest more resources into winter storm response, but Saturday, Gorton said the city needs to do more.
“People are frustrated and want to get back to normal, as do I … I hear you loud and clear,” Gorton said. “What used to be a very rare occurrence — a significant ice storm, followed by an extended period of extreme cold — has now occurred two years in a row.”
Resident frustration over street clearing has continued to build since the Jan. 24 to 25 storm. Several candidates for public office have also criticized the city’s response.
Mayor Gorton is currently seeking a historic third term as Lexington’s mayor, and she will face six primary challengers this spring. If successful, it would be her third and final term running the city’s government.
Straub was also critical of the Herald-Leader’s reporting on the topic.
“I think this is the worst kind of journalism,” Straub said. “You all are responding to rumors that are on social media, and I think this is low, gutter-level journalism.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 10:26 AM.