Hil Boone wins 12th District council seat representing rural Fayette County
Hilary “Hil” Boone IV defeated Chad Walker for 12th District seat on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, a huge district representing much of Fayette County’s horse country.
Unofficial results indicate that Boone got about 64% of the vote.
Boone, 32, is a farmer and business owner who has said he will serve as “a truly independent voice focused on what’s best for District 12.” Boone has said one of his top priorities will be protecting Lexington’s green belt from development.
The 12th District covers 70% of Fayette County’s land area and includes horse farms as well as suburban neighborhoods. Several of Lexington’s largest parks are in the district, including Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Veterans Park and Hisle Farm Park. It also includes Blue Grass Airport, Keeneland and the Kentucky Horse Park.
Boone said his first steps would be “to get the transition period over, and get right to work getting to know all the other council members and the most pressing issues that are on the docket coming up.”
Boone said some of the top issues he wants to address are planning for the recently approved expansion of the urban service boundary, industrial solar farming, which he opposes on farmland, and short-term rental regulation.
He said he also wants to follow through on some projects started by Kathy Plomin, who has held the District 12 seat for four terms and did not run for reelection.
“Really just trying to get in there and make some friends and try and get some things done for the greater good of Lexington,” Boone wrote. “I look forward to representing the 12th and being their voice on council.”
Boone, a political newcomer, bested Walker, a developer focused on infill redevelopment who serves on the Board of Adjustments and chairs the city’s Vacant Property Review Commission.
Boone is a Louisiana State University graduate who owns Boonedogs Restaurant and Bar and Wimbledon Farm, which was founded by his grandfather, Hilary J. Boone Jr., a horseman and philanthropist for whom a faculty club and tennis center at the University of Kentucky were named.
All Fayette County council races are nonpartisan.
