Incumbent Jim Gray and Challenger Anthany Beatty cast their votes in Lexington's mayoral race this morning.
At 10AM sharp, both candidates went to their local precincts, and were quite confident in their campaigns. Gray, speaking at Harrison Elementary School, credited a strong message.
"I’ve got a healthy level of confidence this morning. We’ve gone to the people with our message, creating jobs, running government efficiently, and building a great American city, so we’re ready," he said.
Further north, at Highland Baptist Church, Beatty cast his vote. While he said his stance on the issues was a major factor, he also credited the hard work of volunteers and campaign staff.
"We feel very good about our possibility for winning this election. We’ve had a lot of energy from the start. Our whole campaign team is energized and we’ve worked hard right to the last minute, and plan to work some more today before we go to the election watch tonight," he said."
At the same time, both candidates viewed the race as a chance for self improvement. Beatty says his outreach with providing a greater command of city issues.
"The outreach to people, getting to know so many people in Lexington, learning a lot about Lexington that I thought I knew but I did not know, and certainly understanding their concerns, wants, needs, and issues have been very good for me. The issues that we laid out in our platform have held firm and we heard it loud and clear from the citizens,” he said.
Gray, by contrast, said a second term is a chance to improve upon past successes.
"I believe in continuous improvement, and in the next four years, we’re going to try to do better, in the next four years what we’ve already done in these four years," he said.
Polls close at 6:00 sharp, and additional information on local races can be found here.
