Jake Gibbs for District 3 council

Jake Gibbs’ advocacy for pedestrians and trees and his easy accessibility to constituents have earned him a third term on the Urban County Council.

Gibbs has a strong grasp of the needs of District 3, which includes downtown, the University of Kentucky and surrounding neighborhoods. Gibbs also brings compassion and a strong sense of justice to citywide issues, such as the need for affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage.

His challenger, Renee Jackson Shepard, was president of the Downtown Lexington Corp., which promotes downtown, before leaving the nonprofit to become a consultant. She has been chair of the city’s Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Board and also would bring impressive knowledge of the district.

Gibbs, however, already has strong working relationships with other council members, city agencies and officials that would serve the district well. And he’s growing as an elected official.

Gibbs readily volunteers that he should have communicated sooner and more effectively with Cooper Drive residents who opposed a road swap with the state. The possibly avoidable controversy produced a needlessly expensive compromise.

We’re confident that he learned from the experience and urge him to pay more attention to timely communication in the future. Many of his constituents already give him high marks for listening and responding to their individual and neighborhood concerns.

Gibbs’ attention to Lexington’s tree canopy – something that’s easy to overlook until it’s gone – is especially commendable and important. Aside from the aesthetics, trees are critical to a healthy environment, and Lexington’s trees are at risk from a variety of threats, including insect infestations and age. Gibbs has advocated for the local government’s Urban Forestry Program. He also was a founder and is board president of a new nonprofit, Trees Lexington!, that is working to raise awareness and promote tree planting on private property.

District 3 voters should re-elect Gibbs on Nov. 6

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 7:40 PM.