During the forum, Lexington Vice Mayor Dan Wu wasn't alone in criticizing UK's relationship with the city, especially on the increasingly fraught issue of housing.
He had this to say about the increase in large, privately-developed student housing complexes, which have generated backlash in downtown communities: "This is a really, really tough balancing act that we have here. UK does not seem to be willing to help us with this problem, and they are contributing to this problem, and I'm kind of big mad about it."
A number of other candidates said more responsibility should fall on UK's doorstep, but UK spokesman Jay Blanton said the dynamic in Lexington between the university, private developers, and the city isn't unusual, and he defended UK's work when it comes to building dorm room space on campus.
"We can always do more, and we always need to be in conversation about what that looks like, but the numbers are pretty compelling, I think, about what the institution has done, particularly over the last decade or so," he added. "We have had the single largest housing revitalization and transformation project going on in public higher education. More than $500 million has been invested in new student housing over the last 15 years. That's more than 7,500 rooms."
Blanton said the city's wider housing shortage is irrespective of anything UK is doing or has done.