8/13/2019 Six Seeking Lexington-Fayette's Top Spot

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8/13/2019 Six Seeking Lexington-Fayette's Top Spot

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By ANDY MEADOf The Herald Stoff

The ma yor of Lexington is paid100 ,000 for a four -year term , butthat's probably not why so many people have applied for the job.There were only two applicants

four years ago when the first ma yorof the new merged government wa schosen . This year there are six.All profess a great love for Fayette County (five were born here) andhave come up with six sets of plansto make it better (or prevent it fromgetting worse) _It s up to the voters to decidewhose plans are best. The decisionprocess begins with the May 24 election primary, when four names willbe pared from the list and the twotop vote-getters will remain to fight itout in the November general election.To help with that primary choice,here's a brief rundown on the candidates (in order of their appearance onthe ballot) along with some of thereasons why they want the job.

Scotty BaeslerScotty Baesler, a 35-year-oldlawyer, has been vice mayor of theUrban County Council the last threeand a half years.

With Mayor Foster Pettit not seeking re-election, Baesler is the closestthing to an incumbent in thisHis campaign has reflected such astance .Baesler points to the programs hehas initiated or had a hand in whileserving as vice mayor and asks for achance to finish the job as mayor_

The local g o v e r n m e n ~ already isrepairing potholes, synchronizingtraffic lights, improving intersectionsand planning new roads to make iteasier to get around in Lexington. hesays . Sewer projects, af ter years ofdelay, are beginn'ing to bear fruit andBaesler promises no person 's ownership of his home will be jeopardizedby assessments .He has led the field in disclosingdetails of his campaign finances,which he says is a basic issue inthe race .Baesler says he will appo int a senior citizens expert, expand communication and cooperation betweengovernment and education and workto boost the income from tourism andconventions .

Joe GravesY Joe Graves is a 47-year-oldbusiness consultant and first-term Republican state senator from the 12thdistrict, which includes abou t half the

population of Fayette County .-He also has served one term onthe old Lexington Board of City Com missioners and one term as state representative from the 78th legislativedistrict.Graves stresss the people-ori ented nature of his campaign andpromises citizens a greater voice insetting policies both in his campaignand in his administration.To that end, he says he will makea special effort to stay in touchwith constituents by taking a mobile

office into neighborhoods once amonth, inviting people selected at random to dinner and making randomcalls to ask people's opinions on issues .Graves promises to revamp trafficplanning by removing the presenttraffic engineer and bringing in a

proven person to head a new de partment of traffic and transportation.He also wants to synchronize alltraffic lights with a central computer.He says he will propose an ordinance that would require all new pro

grams to include a financial impactordinance so everyone would knowwhat they would cost.Terry Newman

II ' Terry Newman is a 30-year-old University of Kentucky graduate student who has never held public office.Newman describes himself as theonly conservative in the race andsays his effort is based on humanistic, professional leadership he haslearned as a student and socialworker.He says he will stop growth byhumanely discouraging the annual influx of over 6 000 new permanent residents.The power of the chief administrative officer would be greatly decreased in a Newman admihistrationand he has asked the present CAO,Dean Hunter, to hand in a resignationthe day after a new mayor is swornin.

Newman wants to remove railroadtracks from downtown Lexington andreplace them with a greenbelt parkthat could also serve as a trolley linefor commuters.He says he is the first publicvoice in Lexington to pledge myheart and soul to the protection of ourcommunity from the impending threatof nuclear technology for convenienceenergy and will fight to keep nuclearpower plants at least 100 miles away.

Roger WareII ' Roger Ware is a 36-year-oldbarber working on a cosmetology lice nse. He has never held public office.Ware is unique in the field. Hedoesn't want to be elected mayor ,only to have some kind of influenceon the policies of the . person whoeventually wins.The message he wants to getacross is that Lexington should domore -for its forgotten residents :the street people - prostitutes, winos,drug addicts and the extremely poor.None of the other candidates understand the magnitude of social problems in Lexington, he says.He wou.\d _oi ti te a metropolitianlottery to finance social programs andsays great sums of money could besaved if prisoners were put to work

digging sewers and people receivingfood stamps were given jobs directingtraffic.Ware also wants the works oflocal and state artists to be displayedin public buildings and says. operacompanies which perform in Lexington should give a performance in apublic park for poor people.

8/13/2019 Six Seeking Lexington-Fayette's Top Spot

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Nick MartinNick Martin is a 2l yearo ldformer radio newscaster who last

year was state coordinator for Eugene McCarthy 's unsuccessful independent bid for the presidency. Hehas never held .elective offiqe .Martin sees his candidacy as asounding board for opinions thataren't carried by the regular politicians and says his administrationwould bring about radical changes inthe way local government operates.He promises to support a vigorous nutrition program for the elderly, the poor and school children .He advocates rent control and believes the local government should

own utility companies.A strong, .supporter of DeanHunter, Martin says he would allowthe CAO more freedom in the day-today operation of the city and hepromises to establish a commissionerlevel post to deal with consumer andenvironmental affairs.He also strongly backs the citizen's advocate and believes we mustrefocus the priority of the police de- partment to that of public servicerather than crime-stopper.The government should subsidize a

women's center with a 24-hour rapecrisis unit, a female counselor andboarding for displaced homemakers, he says.

Jim AmatoJim Amato is a 43 -yearold lawyer and former Lexington poli ce

judge. He also has served as cit yprosecutor, state Alcoholic BeverageControl Commissioner and director ofKentucky Citizens for Judicial lmprovment , the group that lead a successful effort to revamp the state'sjudicial system.Amato's 54vote loss in the lastmayoral election sets the tone for hiseffort in this race. This Time -Amato is the theme of his campaign.The proposals he made in the 1973race still are needed to solve Lexington's problems although they havebeen ignored by the Pettit administration he says.He believes steps .s.w::h as usingtraffic directors at maj or intersections making most lanes one-way during rush hours and staggering workhours will help alleviate traffic problems.He raps the present administrationfor not doing more sooner on installing sanitary sewers and suggests thecurrent efforts on sewers is a politicalgesture.Amato favors downtown foot patrols for police and says as many as100 new officers may be needed.