It’s a tough choice, but we endorse Hannah LeGris for Third District LFUCG council seat

The voters of Lexington’s Third District are on the horns of a dilemma when it comes to the Urban County Council election to replace the late, great Jake Gibbs: Both Hannah LeGris and Jessica Mohler are exemplary candidates with very similar platforms that include affordable housing, police reform and a brighter budgetary future. We believe either one would do a great job on council.

It’s an extremely difficult choice. Mohler works at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, but spent her early career in international relations in D.C., which gives her a view beyond Lexington. She also worked in state government as an aide to Rep. Kelly Flood, D-Lexington, and has a deep understanding of challenges that face low-income residents, particularly in a pandemic. She is personable and engaged.

But we’re going to give the edge to Hannah LeGris, only because she seems to have more detailed plans for some of the more thorny issues facing the Third District, which encompasses part of commercial downtown, many increasingly squeezed residential neighborhoods and the inexorably spreading University of Kentucky.

Affordable housing, for example, is a huge need all over Lexington, LeGris said. She wants to see more funding in the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund for low-income and middle income aid, and better definitions of what constitutes both measures. She supports more density and infill, but would also push for better regulations of ADUs (accessory dwelling units), so they adequately fill a need for seniors and others and don’t just become party houses. She also supports a proposed ordinance on licensing short term rentals, a potential new revenue source for Lexington’s ailing budget. She’d also like the city to study the potential for landlord licensing to keep better track of who owns and properly takes care of properties.

As someone who uses her bike as a major form of transportation, LeGris understands the need to improve traffic, walkability and safety for pedestrians and bikers around town. “We have to incentivize public transport, make sure that public transport is not a compromise but a convenience,” she said.

LeGris works for UK as a counselor and lecturer and so has a face to face relationship with UK, which if often the tail wagging development’s dog in the Third as Kentucky’s flagship continues to grow. She’d like to see a stronger relationship between the city and UK, as both sides “consider the mission of a land grant university,” she said. “Some of that comes from leadership, transparency and accessibility — how do you make sure the right people are at the table?”

The experience of counseling college students through school and beyond has shown her how to connect the dots, — data and people — at a massive institution, experience that would serve her well on council. Like every city in America, the next few years will be extremely challenging for Lexington as it continues to struggle through a pandemic-driven budget nightmare. We believe that Hannah LeGris will be an excellent person to represent the Third District through those struggles.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 1:58 PM.