Lexington council candidate stricken from ballot now mounting a write-in campaign

A Lexington council candidate who was stricken from the ballot by court order filed Tuesday as a write-in candidate for the 8th District Council race.

Christian Motley’s decision to re-enter the race as a write-in will likely cause some confusion for 8th Council District voters.

Ballots are prepared several weeks prior to the Nov. 6 general election, so Motley’s name will still appear on the ballot in the district, which includes many neighborhoods south of New Circle Road between Tates Creek Road and Alumni Drive.

Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr. said a sign will be posted at all 8th District precincts telling people that any votes cast for Motley on the official ballot will not be counted.

There also will be a list of all write-in candidates for all offices at the precinct that voters can request. “But it is not posted,” Blevins said.

Anyone who wants to cast a vote for Motley will have to write-in his full name, Blevins said.

A three-judge panel of the Kentucky Court of Appeals last week upheld a Fayette Circuit Court decision that said Motley only had 93 of the required 100 signatures of voters in the district that he needed to run. Councilman Fred Brown, the incumbent, filed a lawsuit in late July challenging the validity of the signatures on Motley’s petition.

“Fred Brown’s unfortunate attempt to take this critical decision about the future of our community out of the hands of residents represents everything people hate about politics,” Motley said. “I am continuing my campaign because I intend to keep my word to residents to whom I’ve committed to share a new approach to getting results. And, quite frankly, I was raised to finish what I start.”

Brown, an accountant, served on the council from 1994 to 2004. He was elected again in 2014 and in 2016.

Brown said he was surprised Motley was allowed to file as a write-in candidate because he thought the deadline to file as a write-in candidate had passed. Brown said he will not fight the decision to allow Motley on the ballot.

“I don’t think he knows all of the election laws. The courts have already ruled against him,” Brown said of Motley. “I am not going to challenge anything but I am not taking anything for granted. I am out campaigning and have been putting out yard signs.”

The race is non-partisan, but Brown is a Republican and Motley is a Democrat.

Motley, who has previously been a deputy executive director for the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood and a staffer for the U.S. Department of Education, is a first-time candidate. He currently works for an education nonprofit.

This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 11:33 AM.