Lexington's New Administration and Council Take Shape

As 2019 begins, I am thankful to have the opportunity to serve in my third term as an At-Large Councilmember and in my second term as Lexington’s Vice Mayor. A new Council and Administration who share a commitment to public service join me, and I am excited to continue our community’s good work towards an even better Lexington. The Gorton Administration and Council are making key leadership decisions. What follows is an update on the new structure to give you a clearer picture of your local government in the coming years.

As you likely know, Mayor Gorton provided her first State of the City/State of the County government address on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. She expanded the title of the address to note the interests of the county, reflecting the urban and rural character of our community. In her speech, she covered a series of priorities including the opioid crisis, the promising context for economic development, positive news in public safety, good work on trails, and other highlights from the LFUCG divisions.   The full speech is available here to read, and it provides a helpful roadmap for the Administration’s strategic priorities. You can also watch video of the speech at this link.

Mayor Gorton has also appointed her staff, who are as follows:

  • Tyler Scott – Chief of Staff
  • Andrea James – Special Projects Coordinator
  • Craig Cammack – Community Outreach Liaison
  • Heather Lyons – Director of Arts & Cultural Affairs
  • Quin Welch – Aide to the Mayor
  • Ashton Potter-Wright – Local Food Coordinator
  • Brandi Peacher – Director of Project Management
  • Elodie Dickinson – Workforce Development Officer
  • Kevin Atkins – Chief Development Officer
  • Laura Hatfield – Director of One Lexington
  • Maureen Watson – Executive Assistant to the Mayor
  • Melissa McCartt-Smith – Administrative Specialist Senior
  • Susan Straub – Communications Director
  • Sally Hamilton – Chief Administrative Officer
  • Glenn Brown – Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
  • Aldona Valicenti – Chief Information Officer

Mayor Gorton has appointed and the Council has approved the following Commissioners:

  • Bill O’Mara – Commissioner of Finance
  • Charlie Martin – Commissioner of Environmental Quality & Public Works (acting)
  • Chris Ford – Commissioner of Social Services
  • Ken Armstrong – Commissioner of Public Safety
  • Geoff Reed – Commissioner of General Services
  • Susan Speckert – Commissioner of Law
  • Sally Hamilton – Commissioner of Planning, Preservation and Development (acting)

You can watch the confirmation hearings here.

Below is a list of all current Councilmembers and a link to our contact pages.   I’m providing the contact pages links in part because city government is upgrading to a more reliable phone system. As part of that upgrade, we must all migrate to new office phone numbers. My office number is changing from (859) 258-3202 to (859) 280-8250. The complete list of Councilmembers and our contact pages can be found below:

Of these Councilmembers, Josh McCurn and Jennifer Reynolds are starting their first terms on Council.   Chuck Ellinger has served previously on Council and is returning after being out for four years. All other members were re-elected.

You can view Council Standing Committee composition and information at the links below:

Each committee is composed of ten members.  addresing issues facing our communityThe Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee is unique in that the three At-Large Councilmembers and the chairs of the other three Committees serve ex officio.

With these key leadership roles in place, the Council and Administration are now starting the important work of addressing issues facing our community and crafting the 2020 Fiscal Year budget. As a reminder, the 2020 Fiscal Year starts on July 1, 2019 and ends on June 30, 2020.

I look forward to continuing productive work with all my colleagues in city government and all our allies throughout the community.

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