Learn More About Where I Stand on Local Issues.

Urban Growth | Housing Stability | Community Safety | Public Infrastructure | Public Recreation

Protect what makes Lexington special — while building a city that works.

Urban Service Boundary & Growth Management

Lexington’s Urban Service Boundary exists for an important reason: to protect farmland, support the horse industry, and prevent inefficient sprawl.

I support that goal.

At the same time, simply saying “no” to growth is not a plan. If we expect the Urban Service Boundary to hold over time, we must make the core city capable of absorbing growth responsibly.

That means infill done correctly — not by squeezing more people into neighborhoods with failing infrastructure, but by rebuilding aging systems at the same time we redevelop.

Too often, this conversation is framed as a false choice:

  • expand outward into farmland, or

  • force density inward without fixing pipes, flooding, traffic, or utilities

Both approaches fail residents.

My position is straightforward: infill and infrastructure must move together. Growth inside the boundary should strengthen neighborhoods, not strain them. When infill is paired with reinvestment, it reduces pressure to expand outward later.

Preserving Agricultural-Rural land is essential to Lexington’s identity and economy. Groups like Fayette Alliance have played an important role in that work. Moving forward, preservation and growth should not be opposing forces — they should be coordinated parts of a long-term strategy.

That requires:

  • clear areas where infill makes sense

  • permanent protection for priority farmland

  • shared responsibility for infrastructure costs

  • and decisions guided by data, not ideology.

I don’t believe in governing by slogans or false choices. Lexington is smart enough to protect what makes it special and build a city that works for the people who live here now and in the future.

Homelessness & Housing Stability

Homelessness in Lexington is visible and growing. Encampments are increasing, public spaces are under strain, and too many people are stuck cycling between the street, emergency rooms, shelters, and jail.

This is both a humanitarian issue and a quality-of-life issue. And the public perception is right: what we’re doing now isn’t working.

What the Data Shows:

  • Homelessness in Lexington has increased ~30% since 2020

  • 2024 Point-in-Time Count: 825

  • 2025 city reporting: 925

  • Lexington has about 25 homeless individuals per 10,000 residents, higher than peer cities like Wichita and Lincoln

  • Median rent is up ~47% in five years

  • Lexington faces a housing shortage of roughly 22,000 units

Bottom line: Lexington’s homelessness problem is larger than comparable cities and trending in the wrong direction.

Why This Is Happening

This crisis isn’t ideological. It’s structural.

Housing costs have outpaced wages. Entry-level housing has disappeared. Emergency response exists, but exits to stable housing are slow. Zoning and process delays limit solutions. Camping bans move people out of sight without solving the problem.

We are managing homelessness instead of fixing the system that causes it.

My Position

Homelessness is a housing problem first, often complicated by mental health or addiction. Compassion for vulnerable people and accountability to neighborhoods are not opposites. They must work together.

We cannot arrest our way out of this.
We cannot manage it with temporary fixes.
We must build systems that move people off the street and back into stability.

The Approach

Track People, Not Estimates
Move beyond once-a-year counts by adopting a real-time By-Name List so outreach, services, and housing efforts are coordinated around individuals.

Build Transitional Studio Housing with Dedicated Funding
Lexington now collects lodging taxes from short-term rentals. I support pursuing legislation to dedicate a portion of that revenue toward small-scale, transitional studio housing designed to help people stabilize and move forward.

These units would be:

  • Temporary and time-limited

  • Tied to clear expectations and case management

  • Focused on transition, not permanence

This connects tourism-driven growth to housing responsibility without competing with families for existing rentals.

Use Outreach Teams Focused on Resolution
Expand Homeless Outreach Teams whose job is moving people from the street into services and housing, freeing police to focus on public safety.

Measure What Works
Create a public dashboard tracking reductions in homelessness, time spent on the street, repeat emergency calls, and successful exits to housing. If something isn’t working, we change it.

What Success Looks Like

Fewer people entering homelessness.
Faster exits to stable housing.
Less time spent on the street.
Fewer repeat crises.
A sustained decline in homelessness over time.

Homelessness isn’t solved by ignoring people or ignoring neighborhoods. It’s solved by housing stability, real data, and systems that actually work.

Housing Affordability

Housing affordability is one of the most pressing issues facing Lexington today. It affects families trying to buy their first home, renters hoping to save, employers trying to hire, and neighborhoods trying to stay stable.

This is not a problem unique to Lexington. Communities across the country are facing rising housing costs driven by national forces like interest rates, construction costs, and years of underbuilding. But while the problem is national, the impacts are local, and cities still have responsibility for how they respond.

The Problem (What Residents Are Experiencing)

Residents feel the affordability squeeze every day:

  • Home prices rising faster than incomes

  • Rent increases that leave little room to save

  • Fewer entry-level homes on the market

  • Young families and workers pushed farther from jobs and schools

For many households, housing has shifted from a stepping stone to stability into a source of long-term stress.

What the Data Shows (Ground Truth)

Lexington’s housing pressures are measurable and structural.

  • Home prices have risen sharply, with the most rapid increases occurring after 2019

  • Rents increased roughly 47% between 2019 and 2024

  • More than half of renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30% of income on housing

  • The city faces a housing shortage of roughly 22,000 units, affecting multiple income levels

This is not solely a low-income housing issue. It reflects a broader shortage that impacts working households, first-time buyers, and the local workforce.

Why This Is So Hard to Fix

Housing costs are shaped by many forces at once, and cities only control part of the equation.

Some factors are national:

  • Interest rates

  • Construction material prices

  • Labor availability

Others are local:

  • How long it takes to approve housing

  • What types of housing are legal to build

  • Whether infrastructure exists where growth is allowed

  • How public land and public dollars are used

This is why simply “building more” does not automatically create affordability. When costs rise and processes are slow or unpredictable, new construction is pushed toward higher price points.

What the City Can and Cannot Control

What Lexington can influence

  • Permitting speed and predictability

  • Zoning rules that determine what housing types are allowed

  • Strategic use of public land

  • Sequencing housing with infrastructure capacity

What Lexington cannot control

  • Mortgage interest rates

  • National supply chains

  • Federal housing policy

A realistic approach focuses on fixing what is within local authority, rather than promising outcomes no city can guarantee.

My Approach

I am approaching housing affordability in phases, grounded in data and real-world constraints.

  • Phase 1: Establish clear, undisputed facts about prices, rents, and supply

  • Phase 2: Identify the specific local barriers that make attainable housing difficult to deliver

  • Phase 3: Advance solutions that are legal under Kentucky law, operationally realistic, and measurable

  • Phase 4: Track results publicly to ensure follow-through

I am continuing to refine this work as new information comes in, because housing policy must survive legal review, engineering realities, and market conditions to actually help people.

The goal is not unchecked growth or one-size-fits-all solutions.

The goal is:

  • More attainable housing options

  • Greater stability for renters and homeowners

  • Less displacement pressure on neighborhoods

  • A city where people who work here can afford to live here

Housing affordability will not be solved overnight. But it can be improved by focusing on systems, not slogans — and by making thoughtful, durable changes that stand up over time.

Community Safety & Emergency Response

Safe neighborhoods start with systems that work when people need them most.

In Lexington, we have heard too many stories of 911 calls taking an hour or more to receive a response. When that happens, trust breaks down, prevention suffers, and families are left wondering if help will arrive when it matters most.

Before adding new government programs or committing to major capital spending, we must make sure the basics are fully functioning.

That means fully staffing our Police and EMS departments and restoring reliable emergency response times.

This is not about politics or pointing fingers. It is about priorities. Public safety is the foundation that everything else is built on, and it must come first.

Addressing gun violence and community safety requires more than slogans. It requires coordination, accountability, and emergency systems that are equipped to respond quickly and effectively. When first responders are stretched thin, every other effort becomes harder.

As your councilmember, I will focus on fixing what is broken first, using data to guide decisions, and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent on the core services that keep our neighborhoods safe.

Traffic Safety, Speeding, & Road Infrastructure

Traffic safety is one of the most common concerns I hear from neighbors across the 5th District. Speeding, dangerous intersections, delayed construction, and limited pedestrian crossings affect how safe our neighborhoods feel every day.

One important reality is that many of Lexington’s major roads are owned and managed by the state. That means real progress requires coordination, not finger-pointing.

As a councilmember, I will work directly with state transportation officials in Frankfort to advocate for the needs of Lexington neighborhoods and ensure our concerns are addressed in planning, funding, and construction timelines.

My focus will be on three priorities:

Safer roads and calmer traffic
Using crash and speed data to identify problem corridors and intersections, then pushing for proven safety measures such as better lighting, clearer markings, traffic calming, and improved signage where appropriate.

Timely and accountable construction
Road projects should not drag on indefinitely. I will push for clearer timelines, better communication with residents, and accountability when state or city projects fall behind schedule.

Safer options for pedestrians and families
Major roads should not feel like barriers between neighborhoods. I will advocate for more frequent and safer crossing options, including well-marked crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and designs that protect people walking, biking, or using mobility devices.

Traffic safety is not about slowing the city down. It is about making sure people can move through it safely. By working collaboratively with state partners and focusing on practical solutions, we can make Lexington’s roads safer for drivers, pedestrians, and families alike.

Parks, Recreation & Responsible Use of Tax Dollars

Parks are one of the most important pieces of our quality of life. They are where families gather, kids play, neighbors connect, and communities stay healthy.

Lexington recently approved a new parks tax with the promise of improving our park system. With that investment comes a responsibility to make sure the money is spent appropriately, transparently, and proportionally across the entire city.

That means not just investing in already well-equipped parks, but prioritizing the parks that are behind on basic amenities, safety upgrades, and accessibility.

This is not about focusing on one district over another. Every family in Lexington deserves access to clean, safe, and welcoming parks, regardless of their neighborhood.

As a councilmember, I will push for:

  • Clear accountability on how parks tax dollars are allocated

  • Investment that prioritizes need, not just visibility

  • Improvements to safety, accessibility, and basic amenities

  • Long-term planning that keeps maintenance from falling behind

Lexington does not have to reinvent the wheel. Cities like Louisville have made meaningful progress by pairing dedicated funding with clear priorities and accountability. There is a lot we can learn by studying what has worked and applying those lessons locally.

Parks are not a luxury. They are core infrastructure for families, health, and community life.

I will work to ensure the investment voters approved delivers real, visible improvements across Lexington.