Denise Gray wins election to 6th District seat on Lexington Urban County Council

Denise Gray will represent District 6 on the Lexington Urban County Council, according to unofficial election results.

Gray is a former Fayette County Public Schools employee and ran unsuccessfully for state senate in 2018. She won 55% of votes in her bid for District 6, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State website, with 100% of precincts reporting on Tuesday night.

“Every single failure, every single time that I’ve fallen down and come short, it was all building up for this moment right now. ... This is what I’m supposed to be doing,” Gray said Tuesday night.

She was facing Charlie Rowland, an attorney and former adviser in the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. The two were running for the seat held by David Kloiber, who ran for mayor, leaving the seat without an incumbent.

Gray said she was excited to see a more diverse council elected on Tuesday, and hopes to use her position to represent those who may have been ignored in the past.

“This is my opportunity to take all those times that I saw that we were being forgotten about ... and make sure that we are at the forefront of every single decision that is being made,” Gray said. “For me, it’s the fifth district first and foremost, but all the other areas that have been forgotten about over the past several decades when policy was being made too.”

Speaking to the Herald-Leader last month, Gray said public safety is the top issue in her district.

Gray said she would like to provide more community resources, and would like to see more activities for youth in District 6, including sports at parks and mentorship to keep young people out of crime.

“Safety is much more than policing,” Gray said. “It’s a community, collaborative issue. ... This is about making sure we keep talking about it, and we start acting.”

This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 9:27 PM.

Monica Kast

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-334-0595

Monica Kast covers higher education for the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. Previously, she covered higher education in Tennessee for the Knoxville News Sentinel. She is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. Support my work with a digital subscription