‘We need action’ Mayor Gorton appoints UK administrator to open Lexington council seat
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton appointed a University of Kentucky administrator to fill the unexpired term of Urban County Councilwoman Angela Evans, who resigned last month.
Lisa Higgins-Hord, an assistant vice president of community engagement at UK, will serve until the end of the year. Higgins-Hord began her duties immediately. She was sworn in at city hall Tuesday by her aunt, Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine.
“Lisa is a strong leader, who has considerable experience working with the community as assistant vice president for community engagement at UK,” Gorton said. “With her strengths and background, she can make an enormous contribution right now to our city. We are determined to root out systematic racism. Timing is critical as work continues on the Commission for Racial Justice and Equality, and Lisa can help by finishing Angela’s term.”
Higgins-Hord, who has never run for or sought public office before, said she felt compelled to serve.
“I look forward to being an advocate, and with my experience gained over the last two decades with regard to communities, it will be useful as I navigate with you the issues of the 6th District,” Higgins-Hord said. “I also recognize the city of Lexington is at a crossroads, and we are making a deliberate decision not be static. We’ve read the books, had the conversations around systemic racism, and now we need results.”
Evans, who resigned in July to attend graduate school at Princeton University, was up for re-election this year but dropped out of the race. That means David Kloiber, president of the Kloiber Foundation and the only candidate in the race, will occupy the seat come January. The 6th Council District includes neighborhoods in the rapidly-growing Winchester Road and Hamburg area.
Gorton said she chose to appoint Higgins-Hord instead of Kloiber because of Higgins-Hord’s long history of community outreach and engagement. Higgins-Hord has worked for UK for two decades. She has helped with its budget process, strategic plan and has served in other key positions at UK. She also has served on various boards, including the Carnegie Center for Literacy Board, the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame Committee and the Blue Grass Community Foundation Equity Fund Advisory Committee.
Kloiber will be an “excellent council member for the 6th District, but right now, timing is critical. We all know, this is not a moment to be wasted,” Gorton said.
Kloiber said late Tuesday that he hopes Higgins-Hord will continue to work with him when he joins the council in January.
“ I have never met Mrs. Higgins-Hord, but I am sure she will do an excellent job on council,” Kloiber said. “Her voice is one that will add much needed context to the current conversations, and I hope that she will continue to work with me after her appointment has ended for the betterment of the 6th District.”
The Commission for Racial Justice and Equality is expected to release recommendations in September on how to tackle systematic racism in law enforcement and the judicial system, health care, education, economic opportunities and other areas. It’s likely some of those recommendations will be forwarded to the council.
Higgins-Hord is the first-term mayor’s second appointment to the council. In March, Gorton appointed Mark Swanson, a UK professor, to fill the unexpired term of Jake Gibbs, who died suddenly in early March of natural causes. Swanson is not running for the 3rd Council District seat. He will serve until the end of December.
Higgins-Hord said Tuesday she has no plans to run for the 6th District seat.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 2:43 PM.
