WUKY civics intern Gavin Breunig reached out to all seven mayoral candidates to learn more about their campaigns. Three responded: incumbant Mayor Linda Gorton and challengers Raquel E. Carter and C. E. Huffman.
Why are you running for mayor?
Gorton: My love and passion for serving the people of Lexington runs deep, rooted in my days here as a University of Kentucky nursing student. As a Registered Nurse I spent my career assessing the health and wellness of patients, developing care plans for them, and taking action based on those plans. Similarly, serving as Mayor of Lexington has been an honor as well as an opportunity to look at the wellness of our community and take action to make it better for all people. I want to continue leading my team to do the hard work of lifting up all people in partnership with various community groups and residents. We anticipate coming issues, as well as pivot when an unanticipated issue becomes a challenge, such as during my leadership of Lexington in the Covid-19 timeframe.
Carter: I am running for mayor because Lexington deserves leadership that is focused on the future. We live in a great city, but housing has become increasingly unavailable and unaffordable, the opportunities to find good-paying jobs are fewer and the investments being made in our city’s basic services, streets and roads, technology and economic development are not adequate. I have spent the last 25 years focused on growing a business, advocating for home ownership and affordable housing, serving on local boards and commissions, participating in policy discussions,and volunteering for organizations focused on youth, entrepreneurship and community building. This combined experience along with my proven leadership style makes me uniquely qualified to address our current issues while focusing on a more vibrant, innovative vision of the future with opportunities for all.
Huffman: I want to be Lexignton’s next mayor to deliver dignity to every Lexingtonian that calls Fayette County home! I’m going to make our government more accessible and accountable. I’m a journalist by training and profession. That means I know how to ask tough questions and demand quality results. I also know how to meet folks where they are, listen, and process concerns.
How do you stay connected with our local community and how will you strengthen that connection if elected?
Gorton: I am an extrovert who gains energy from other people. I am in conversations every day with residents who have ideas, concerns and proposals. Some other ways I've connected are my regular Faith Leaders Listening Sessions, electronic newsletters, social media updates, emails, phone calls, Town Halls, public calls for ideas about specific issues and in-person meetings. I'll also continue regular meetings with other leaders in the community.
Carter: As a business owner, I have forged strong relationships with local business owners and professional organizations including Commerce Lexington and Women’s Business Center of Kentucky. As a real estate professional, I have championed home ownership and worked with homeowners, builders and developers to create communities, affordable housing and investment opportunities. As a mother, I believe deeply in our youth and have partnered with Fayette County Public Schools, BMW Academy, and UK Gatton College of Business through mentorship, sponsorship and scholarships. As mayor, I will prioritize these key relationships and ensure that our city leadership is a partner to our local organizations and businesses. I will also be an accessible, in-touch leader and vow to bring city hall to the community and the people it serves.
Huffman: I will reach out to diverse groups and build relationships across the county. But, more than anything…I actually have a plan to MOVE FAYETTE COUNTY FORWARD!
As a black, openly gay, working class man, I’m well aware of the struggle to believe that the government will deliver and protect the most vulnerable. I’m not attached to any group or organization, I’m fully independent and focused on creating a government that will give every taxpayer a greater return on their investment in this city and county. I will improve community connections with better city planning and focus our economy on long-term growth that invests in small businesses and entrepreneurs.
What’s one major change that you’d like to implement?
Gorton: In 2025 I appointed my Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness. In the next couple of months, I anticipate that the Task Force will give me recommendations to approach homelessness in new, creative ways. This is one of our greatest challenges and it is intertwined with mental health as well as substance use issues.
Carter: Attacking the city’s housing crisis is the most urgent plan of action I will implement. Lexington is currently over 22,000 units behind in satisfying the housing needs of our residents. This shortfall includes a need of at least 17,000 affordable units which are essential for our young people just getting established, low-to-moderate income families and seniors. I will move to increase the Affordable Housing Fund, reduce red tape and barriers to creating new housing options, and propose incentives for home ownership and rental assistance programs.
Huffman: My most important focus is on public mobility. That means all the ways humans get around. I will prioritize public mobility infrastructure with complete overhaul of public transportation, with a focus on building out regionally including: buses, streetcars, airport, traffic engineering. Installation of a Smart Signal Traffic Centralized Management System called “Fayette Forward” to connect every traffic light in the county will be a main priority.
As a former Lextran bus driver for over two years, I plan to sit directly on the Lextran board. We’ll work with the Lextran Board to add more accessible, safe, and weather-protected bus stops. Lextran will build out more neighborhood connector cross-town routes that limit the need to transfer downtown. I will create positions of Walking and Biking Czars. The positions will do daily walk and bike rides throughout the county to research, analyze and provide immediate and long-term solutions for improved sidewalk and bike lane access.
My mobility plan is focused on improving safety for our most vulnerable citizens (children, elderly, disabled, etc.).
What’s one existing city initiative that you’d like to continue?
Gorton: Jobs are necessary to the well-being of our residents, enabling Lexingtonians to enjoy a higher quality of life. This goes hand-in-hand with local government's ability to continue to provide services to people. So, I am excited about finishing our two business parks to get them up and running. The infrastructure for our Legacy Business Park, bounded by Georgetown Road and Interstate 75, is currently under construction to make it shovel ready for businesses to locate there. A partnership with Lexington-Fayette, Scott, and Madison Counties, along with the city of Berea, has resulted in the creation of our Central Kentucky Business Park Authority, the first regional public business park in Central Kentucky. As I continue to be part of bringing these business initiatives on-line, our team anticipates bringing thousands of new jobs to our people! This focus on jobs stretches into our jail, where we partner with Jublilee Jobs to prepare inmates to be ready to get a job when they are released. Another piece of the job focus is our new Work-Lex job center at Davis Park. All of these job initiatives have come to fruition during my tenure as Mayor.
Carter: Lexington has made great strides in investments and beautification of our parks system. I will build upon this momentum by including programming for youth, seniors and neighborhoods, creating long term plans for maintenance and updates, and ensuring that park funds are allocated in an equitable process to every area of Lexington.
Huffman: The sanitary sewer projects and wastewater treatment plant upgrades are current areas that I think are working well and efficiently.
The LFUCG is required to achieve compliance with the Clean Water Act by the Consent Decree, which settled a lawsuit brought forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Kentucky against the LFUCG. The LFUCG will continue towards Consent Decree compliance through the implementation of the Remedial Measures Program over the next 5 years. RMP Program is scheduled to end in 2030.
How do you plan to incorporate Lexington’s large population of college students into the community?
Gorton: I continue to strengthen relationships with the leaders of the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, BCTC, and Sullivan College. We work to understand the needs of students, e.g. housing, activities such as Thursday Night Live, spaces for outdoor play, and other focus. We focus on keeping a strong business community where students shop, work, etc. Our solid work on keeping Lexington a safe city makes it a better place for students to live and attend school. Our local government encourages and enables college students to have internships inside government and shadowing opportunities to get a flavor of different types of jobs.
Carter: Lexington’s large college student population is a major asset to our city that is often overlooked. My plan focuses on the future and providing opportunities for jobs, entrepreneurship and affordable housing. These opportunities will encourage college students to stay in Lexington and build their lives here instead of us continually losing great talent to other cities. Our college students are leaders both today and into the future. They will be the innovators of new industry, business and solutions to the challenges we face. I will strengthen the relationship between our universities and create pipelines to the workforce in both private and public sectors.
Huffman: As mayor, I want to bridge the great work and research at the university to the greater Lexignton community. I want to work with faculty to get their students out of the classroom and into the community to work on some of the real challenges that are facing the county.
I will also work to improve entertainment and leisure areas to be more walkable and safer.
I’m also the only candidate running who is employed by UK.
What’s one thing that you’d like the public to know about you or your campaign?
Gorton: Everything I do as your Mayor is people-focused. Servant leadership for the people is, in my opinion, the only reason our local government exists. I lead 3000+ employees who work in many different areas of government. We value cooperation, team-work, brainstorming and doing our daily work to make Lexington a better place for everyone who lives and works here!
Carter: I’d like the public to know that I have spent my entire career with a focus on giving back and adding value to the community where I live and work. My campaign for mayor is not a career move, but an opportunity to serve the city that I love and that I call home. I hope my campaign encourages others to find ways to serve and use their gifts to make their communities better.
Huffman: I’m the only candidate running for mayor who has attended almost every council meeting over the last four years. My knowledge of the council’s agenda and needs of our entire county far outweigh my competitors. I have a bold agenda and the focus to govern on behalf of the taxpayers first.