Here’s where District 9 candidates for Lexington council stand on top issues
.png "Incumbent Whitney Elliott Baxter, left, and James Lombardi are running for the Urban County Council District 9 seat. The election takes place on Nov. 8, 2022.")
The two candidates for the District 9 council seat both see crime as a top issue that needs to be addressed, as well as the need to expand the current Urban Service Boundary.
Whitney Elliott Baxter, who was elected as the District 9 council member in 2020, is running for re-election. James “J.J.” Lombardi, a former police lieutenant, is also running for the seat.
District 9 includes parts of Lexington between New Circle Road and the Jessamine County line, including Palomar and the area around Fayette Mall.
Who are the candidates?
Baxter serves as the District 9 council member and is also a realtor, and said she hopes to use the experience and momentum from her current term if re-elected.
“My work’s not done,” Baxter said. “I still have things I want to accomplish. I still have goals for my district and for the city as a whole.”
Lombardi is a former Lexington police lieutenant who said he decided to run in order to address two main issues: crime and affordable housing.
“The primary component of my platform is public safety,” Lombardi said. “We have issues we need to deal with staffing in the police department ... those all have to be abated. Affordable housing is important and good stewardship of our tax dollars is important.”
Crime, public safety is top issue
Both Baxter and Lombardi agree that public safety is the top issue in District 9 and across Lexington.
In District 9, especially near Fayette Mall, Baxter said there has been an uptick in crime. She supports Lexington’s pilot program placing license plate cameras around the city.
“I think they’ve been highly successful,” Baxter said. “It’s no secret we have a police shortage, and so if we can utilize technology to assist, I think that’s really important.”
Increasing the number of cameras would allow them to be evenly distributed around the city, she said, and help stop further crimes. Baxter said she hopes to bring more collaboration across the government to address violence in Lexington, including working with schools to address youth violence.
Lombardi agreed that crime is among the top issues in the city, as well as affordable housing and economic prosperity.
Lombardi said he would like to see additional funds go towards policing and programming to addressing crime, with a focus on fixing current shortages within the police force. Lombardi said he has looked at Lexington’s budget and has concerns about “superfluous spending,” and has plans for how money could be allocated differently. That includes more financial support to police to address the rise in violence, he said.
“Crime is nearly at a crisis level in Fayette County,” Lombardi said, adding that steps have to be taken to bolster the police force in Lexington.
Urban Service Boundary
Both Baxter and Lombardi said they support expanding the Urban Service Boundary, and creating additional housing in the area is needed.
Baxter said she supports the expansion based on the committee’s findings and the need for more affordable housing in Lexington. In her role as a realtor, Baxter said she has seen how the increased price of housing has pushed people away from Lexington.
“I don’t want to be a city that shuts our doors to people,” Baxter said. “I want to be a welcoming city. I think it’s very important for us to consider future growth.”
Housing prices in Lexington concern Lombardi, and are part of why he supports expanding the boundary. He would like to see Lexington find a way to expand without impeding on horse farms in the surrounding areas, he said.
“It’s about supply and demand,” Lombardi said. “The inventory is extremely low. We’re not building homes, and the demand is exceeding the supply.”
.jpg "Councilmember_Whitney_Baxter (2).jpg")
Whitney Elliott Baxter
Age: 39
Previous work experience: Realtor (currently)
Any offices currently or previously held: Current 9th District councilmember; Planning & Public Safety Committee; General Government & Social Services Committee; Lexington Children’s Museum/Explorium Board Member; Lexington Area MPO Transportation Policy Committee; City Employee Pension Fund Board Member; LFUCG Internal Audit Board Member; LFUCG Redistricting Workgroup.
Family members: Married to Mac, a daughter, a son and a yellow lab named Willie.
James Lombardi
Age: 62
Previous work experience: Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (Instructor III retired) 2017-2022; U.S. Marshal’s Office Lexington (Court Security Officer) 2014-2017; Lexington-Fayette Urban County Division of Police (Lieutenant retired) 1986-2014.
Any offices currently or previously held: None.
Family members: Wife Pamela Lombardi, Daughters Samantha and Kristin