mossotti
Jennifer Mossotti certainly isn’t a stranger to local politics, and after a nearly decade long hiatus, she has returned to her familiar seat as the 9th District Councilmember.
Councilmember Mossotti answered a few questions for us about her plans and goals for her district and Lexington.
What was the impetus behind your wish to return to the Urban County Council this past year?
I thoroughly enjoyed previously serving on the Urban County Council for four terms from 1997-2004 and was honored that neighbors and residents of the 9th District continued to urge me to once again seek to represent our neighborhoods down at City Hall.
With the many challenges our community faces I felt that my previous council experience could benefit the families and small businesses of the 9th District. We need active, proactive leadership downtown with a clear set of priorities.
What have you been doing professionally since leaving the Council in 2004?
For the past 14 years, I have been a professional real estate agent, both residential and commercial.
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In 2013, what are the most important issues facing the 9th District and how do you plan to respond to them?
Completion of the Clays Mill Road Widening Project is high on the list, and making sure it is properly funded is paramount. Phase 2A of the project is basically complete and now we are moving on to 2B, which includes the section of Clays Mill from Higbee Mill Road to Twain Ridge Road. Construction is projected to begin this July with an anticipated completion by late December. The entire project is projected to be complete by Jan. 2015.
Beyond that, Lexington as a whole is facing many serious issues, including public safety staffing, pension funding, storm water, sanitary sewers, ongoing budget woes, and infrastructure needs that have to be dealt with. Quality of life in the 9th District is directly affected by all of these issues. I will continue to ask the tough questions and work diligently toward achieving common sense solutions.
In the coming year, what are the most important issues facing the city as a whole and how do you plan to respond to them?
Nothing is more important than the safety of our citizens. Coming from a public safety background, I’ve seen that appropriate funding for firefighting and police is not just good in theory, it is an absolute necessity. As always, I will stand up for our citizens to see that the systems which keep us safe are in place. The number one job of government is to protect our citizens.
What are the goals you hope to accomplish during your upcoming term?
I want to serve the 9th District by working to keep it a community where all of us can find work, raise families, and live in a healthy and safe place. Lexington deserves an energetic, ideas-driven government.
My focus will be on preserving the integrity of 9th District neighborhoods through the improvement of basic services and to help existing small businesses succeed and expand. Together, we as a community must also work tirelessly to attract essential new business.
We must develop online services that will enable citizens and businesses to complete tasks via the internet that streamline local government transactions and procurement processes, thus eliminating redundant, time-consuming and costly activities that currently exist that negatively affect the processing of transactions for government services.
I will also endeavor to achieve better long-range planning in Lexington’s budget process.
In addition, I will strive to see that there is increased communication between city government and our citizens. Our community deserves to have a government as good as its people – one that provides each and every citizen with essential services and opportunity.
Councilmember Mossotti may be reached at (859) 258-3215 or via e-mail at jmossotti@lexingtonky.gov. Follow her on Facebook at Facebook.com/councilmemberjennifermossotti and on Twitter at @mossotti9th. To be receive her office’s monthly 9th District e-Newsletter, contact rbolson@lexingtonky.gov.