gorton
Lexington Vice Mayor Linda Gorton, who will mark 16 years of service on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council next year, has announced that she will not run for re-election in 2014.
At a media conference on Thursday morning, Gorton called the decision “the beginning of another chapter in my life.”
“This new chapter will offer me the opportunity to be retired with Charlie (Gorton’s husband),” she said. “I look forward to traveling, writing and serving our community. Lexington depends on its volunteers to serve and lift up our community, so I’ll become one of those volunteers.”
Gorton also said that she is also looking forward to spending more time as a new grandmother, with two more grandchildren on the way.
As of next year, Gorton will be the longest-serving councilmember since the merger. Gorton served as the Fourth District’s representative for her first eight years on the council and as an At-Large Member for the remaining eight years of her tenure, which will include next year. She has served alongside four mayors: Pam Miller, Teresa Isaac, Jim Newberry and current mayor Jim Gray. Among her many legislative efforts over the years, Gorton has pressed for environmental reforms including clean indoor air and water quality ordinances, in addition to the land preservation program and the local fairness ordinance. She is also co-founder of the Friends of the Dog Park.