James Brown for District 1 council

In his three years on the Urban County Council, James Brown has accomplished some important things and started others. Voters in the 1st District should re-elect him so he can see through what he has begun.

Brown’s accomplishments include the Douglass Park rejuvenation, winning approval for a $4.5 million road extension that will connect the physically isolated Winburn neighborhood to Citation Boulevard, and focusing attention on the many pressures bearing down on residents of fast gentrifying neighborhoods.

At Brown’s behest the city formed the Task Force on Neighborhoods in Transition, in response to an influx of investment and newcomers that is driving up rents and property taxes, and pricing longtime residents out of their neighborhoods. The1st District, home to many low-income residents and historic building stock, is feeling the pressures most sharply now. As the push for infill and redevelopment gains momentum, other areas of Lexington will feel similar pressures. The task force, which Brown is chairing, has important work ahead.

His challenger, Anita Franklin, is a hero to many, including us, for her anti-violence activism in the wake of the death of her son, Antonio Franklin, an innocent bystander killed by gunfire in Duncan Park in 2014. A nurse working now in the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office as community outreach coordinator, Franklin worries that the gentrification task force has come too late for some neighborhoods. In addition to public safety, her priorities include bringing healthier food and improved public transportation to the district.

Even with so compelling a challenger, District 1 voters would hurt themselves by forfeiting the knowledge, experience and trust that Brown has earned during his time on the council.

A former president of the Radcliffe-Marlboro Neighborhood Association and a PTA activist, Brown was appointed by Mayor Jim Gray in 2015 and won the seat in a special election later that year. He worked at Toyota for 13 years before becoming a real estate agent.

Brown is open, a good listener, attuned to neighborhood concerns. He has earned re-election.

This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 7:44 PM.