"Meet the Candidates: The race for mayor
From the preparation for the World Equestrian Games to the fiscal challenges of EPA-imposed sewer and storm water improvements, Lexington's decision in the mayoral election on November 7 will likely influence the city and its businesses far beyond the promised four-year term. In this issue of Business Lexington, Editor in Chief Tom Martin joins Chevy Chaser/ Southsider Editor Kristin Ingwell Goode and W Weekly Editor Robbie Clark in interviewing the city's two candidates for the job: incumbent Teresa Isaac and challenger Jim Newberry.
KIG: Jim, what is your favorite thing about Lexington?
JN: That's a tough question because there's so many things I love about Lexington, but I would say the way that I try to express that most simply is just the quality of life. Lexington has a wonderful combination of things to do, places to go, people and other resources. I think it's an extraordinary place to live. I've been here 32 years, and there's no place else in the world I'd rather live.
KIG: What do you do for fun in town?
JN: I love riding bikes with my sons and occasionally with my wife. We typically ride around Commonwealth Stadium and that part of town. It's not a real exciting kind of thing, but it's just something we're able to do together and I enjoy that a lot, and sometimes early in the mornings before they get up, I enjoy just riding in lots of different parts of town. So, that's right now what I do most for fun.
KIG: What prompted you to run for mayor?
JN: A lot of it has to do with the frustration of seeing local government be as ineffective as it has been in the past. When you look at Lexington and you see all the attributes that this community has and you see a strong business community, you see a lot of strong neighborhoods, you see an absolutely spectacular landscape around our community, you know that Lexington has great assets. But our local government has not been as effective as it needs to be in order for all of those assets of our community to be reaching their full potential. I want to see local government do much, much better. I want to see us have a stronger economy: one based on horses, health care, and high-tech opportunities. I want to see us have a much more effective debate on growth issues. I want to see us have a more united community. In short, I want to change the way that local government does business so that it delivers its services in a much more cost effective and efficient sort of way and so that it provides more effective leadership for our community.
KIG: You were just mentioning some things you'd like to see. Can you give us some more specifics, like what would you do or what would you try to accomplish related to the economy, the landscape, some of the items you pointed out?
JN: Sure. In the economic development realm, we've got a lot to do. Last spring in May, Business Lexington reported that Forbes had ranked Lexington in a comparison of the top 200 metropolitan areas, as having the 145th highest level of job growth, and we were at 192nd in terms of income growth. So, we have a lot of work to do with our economy. I want to focus on the horse industry, which is an obvious strength; health care, which is another obvious strength of our economy; and the whole high-tech area, although we don't have a whole lot of high-tech businesses. We do have the University of Kentucky and we have a lot of small businesses that are trying to develop technologies of one type or another that I want to see us encourage and support in every way that we can. So, by focusing on horses, health care, and high-tech opportunities, I think we can make a lot of headway in the economic development realm.
On the growth front, we're right in the middle of the comprehensive plan update process now. That is an opportunity for the community to take a look at how we want to utilize our limited land resources. I want to see us get a lot of people engaged in that, because I think our growth debate is one of the most fundamental issues facing Lexington. And the more people we have involved in that debate, the more we focus on the real issues about growth - which are where, when, and how do we grow - the better decisions we'll reach as a community. So those are some things that I really want to do as mayor.
KIG: What kinds of road blocks have you identified that might prevent you from focusing on these things that you want to give some attention to?
JN: We have a number of real serious issues and challenges facing Lexington right now. I would argue this is one of the most important mayoral elections that Lexington has ever had. We certainly have all the issues that we always have every four years in a mayoral election: how are we going to pay our employees, how do we get the streets paved and the park swings painted. All those types of things are out there this time around, just as always. But on top of those things, we've got some real serious issues facing Lexington. We have, obviously, the consequences of the plane crash at Blue Grass Field. Urban county government is going to be involved in that in one fashion or another. We have the Ron Berry litigation that is coming back around that has the potential to be a very significant financial issue for Lexington. The United States Environmental Protection Agency is in negotiations now with us to enter a consent decree with respect to the fashion in which our sewer system operates here. So all of those are major issues with significant financial implications for the community that I'm going to have to deal with. Aside from that, in the plus category we've got the World Equestrian Games coming, which creates an altogether different set of issues for Lexington to contend with than what we've ever had to confront before. Those are positive opportunities for Lexington, but all four of those things have the potential to consume a lot of time and energy, and I need to surround myself with the finest people I can possibly find in order to make sure that we cover all of those issues effectively.
KIG: Of course the mayor is the leader, but there's definitely a team aspect to this. Can you point to a specific success that you've had in a team setting that would help you in your position as mayor?
JN: My life is nothing less than a series of those kinds of examples. Very little have I been able to accomplish on my own. I can cite two or three real quick examples. I started a law firm with a couple of great partners in 1990, and we achieved a considerable amount of success. I will assure you that was a team effort; it was not just Jim Newberry alone. We had some outstanding lawyers who participated in that effort, particularly Jamie Hargrove and Bill Rambicure, who were not only partners but great friends and continue to be great friends. I was acting secretary of the natural resources and environmental protection cabinet for a brief period of time between the Wilkinson and Jones administrations. One of my challenges there was to mediate a very controversial environmental dispute down at Lake Cumberland, and as a consequence of a lot of people being involved in that mediation effort and my being able to bring very contentious groups together, we were able to forge a solution. So those are just a couple of examples.
But most every significant accomplishment I've had in my life has been the consequence of a lot of help from a lot of different folks. Maybe the most significant team effort has been at home. My wife, Cheryl Ann, has just been a terrific supporter and has helped me accomplish so much during our 26 years of marriage that everything we do is a team effort, so lots of examples.
KIG: What political aspirations have you considered beyond the position you're currently running for?
JN: None. There's plenty of opportunity and challenge in being mayor of Lexington. I haven't precluded anything, but I certainly haven't been focusing on anything other than getting from today to November 7th and then from November 7th through the end of 2010 as being as outstanding a mayor as I can possibly be for Lexington.
KIG: Okay, thank you.
TM: Since the primary, I have to believe it's been quite a journey, largely a learning curve. I was wondering, what has changed since the primary? What has Jim Newberry learned since then?
JN: I've learned a lot of things. The level of attention that people pay to the mayor's race now is much greater than it was in the spring. I think people understand that we're sort of down to the short rows in this whole process and as a consequence of that, people are paying much more attention. I've had the chance recently to go to Aachen, Germany, and observe the World Games that have just recently concluded there. That was a tremendous educational opportunity, and I think I came away from that with a much greater understanding of some of the potential that exists for Lexington as we prepare to host the World Equestrian Games in 2010. The summer has also permitted me to have the opportunity to broaden my network of relationships in the community. I have spent a good bit of time trying to meet some people I didn't have a chance to meet prior to the primary, and all of those relationships will prove very valuable as I prepare to serve as mayor.
TM: Based on the experience in Aachen and other things that have come up since the announcement of the World Games coming here, what would you consider - projects or things, if you will - that must be done in order to make us ready in 2010 to be the host of this world event?
JN: Tom, my experience in Aachen helped me to understand that this whole project is so much bigger than what I had appreciated before I went and I'm convinced it's much, much larger than the vast majority of people in Lexington currently understand.
We definitely need to get some infrastructure improvements completed at the Horse Park. That's not going to be so much Lexington's responsibility as it will be the state's, but anything we can do to help that happen is something that we need to be focused on. There are probably some road improvements that need to be considered and implemented, particularly Newtown Pike, and because that is going to be one of the main entrances to the Horse Park, not only in 2010 but beyond, and so we have a substantial interest in making sure that is done quickly and in a fashion that is in keeping with the landscape out there. So that's a major project. But a lot of what needs to be done isn't so much the bricks-and-mortar types of things as it is just a lot of planning and preparation. While in Aachen, I had a chance to visit not only with the mayor of Aachen, who provided enormously useful insights, but also with the folks who were responsible for transportation, for security, for some of the marketing efforts that Aachen undertook in anticipation of the games, and we've got a lot of planning and execution that we need to undertake immediately so that we can get the full benefit associated with serving as host of the Games. Aachen did that very well, and I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned from what they did, and so I think the biggest challenge is making sure that Lexington takes full advantage of the economic opportunities that are going to be presented by the Games.
TM: In your earlier remarks to Kristin Ingwell Goode you sketched out what could be, I think, defined in some ways as a perfect fiscal storm on the horizon for Lexington and the area. The suit, the lawsuit of course, has significant potential. The EPA mandate, given what we've seen happen in communities around Lexington, also has important significant potential for Lexington. Some things could be bonded away; some can't. We don't even really have that much elbow room where bonding is concerned, because we're about at our capacity. The next mayor will inherit a lot of this. How do we deal with it?
JN: There are a lot of very serious challenges for our community. Most of these issues are ones that are still in some degree of flux, and so we are going to need to try to utilize the very best talent available in order to bring those issues to an outcome that is as favorable as possible for Lexington. The Berry litigation, the U.S. EPA consent decree negotiations, and the issues surrounding the Comair crash are all matters that are still yet to be fully quantified, so we need to work diligently and use the very best minds available in order to make sure those outcomes are as favorable as they can be for Lexington. Once we know what they are, then we'll need to sit down and figure out the best way to deal with them. We also need to be doing some things with respect to our fiscal management that will help us have the maximum degree of financial flexibility. We need to utilize our internal audit fund at urban county government more effectively. We need to look at where every nickel is going in order to make sure that we're getting the most mileage for the buck, and so that's working on the expense side of the ledger. We've got to make sure we're spending what money we presently have as effectively as we can, but there's also the revenue side of the ledger - the income side. We've got work to do on that front, too, which is why I think it is incredibly important for this community to focus on economic development as rapidly as we can, so that we can bring the jobs to Lexington that will provide us with the payroll tax receipts necessary to fund the operations of local government and to generally spur and stimulate our economy. So, we've got to work on maximizing our revenues, minimizing our expenses, and at the same time, working to structure these issues in such a fashion that we have the most favorable outcome we possibly can.
TM: As mayor, would you favor or would you oppose a regional approach to planning for land use, infrastructure and services and such?
JN: I support it. It is absolutely imperative for Lexington and our neighbors to work cooperatively on a whole range of land use planning issues. As I told a group recently, if Lexington does the very best job of preserving our farmland, and Woodford, Scott, and Bourbon county just decide they want to subdivide their entire counties and consume the farmland in those counties, the horse industry's over. We have got to make sure we work collaboratively with our neighbors, because if we don't and they're making decisions contrary to our interests or we're making decisions contrary to their interests, we're all going to be worse off. We have a lot of work to do on that front. The political relationships are limited to the extent they exist, and it is going to be necessary for the mayor of Lexington to start that process. No one else in the region can do it; it's got to be Lexington that leads that process, and that's going to take a while, but we have got to get at that problem. Our economy, our infrastructure, our ways of doing business and working and living, are so inextricably linked that we have got to work very, very closely with our neighbors all around Fayette County and, I would say, not just those counties that are contiguous to Fayette County. Lexington's influence extends well into eastern Kentucky, from Frankfort to Pikeville, and from Cynthiana to Whitley City. We have a profound impact on the entire eastern half of the state, and we need to be very aware of those relationships in the future.
TM: Thank you very much.
RC: Concerning the World Equestrian Games, Lexington stands to make a lot of fans, so apart from infrastructure, what do you think needs to happen culturally to convince some of these people to come back to town after their first impression?
JN: In visiting with the mayor of Aachen, he told me that he viewed the World Equestrian Games as being equal parts sport and culture. That was an interesting perspective, but the more I thought about it, the more accurate I think he is. If you just view it as a sporting event, you're really underselling the potential that the Games have for our community. So, what I hope we'll be able to do is to link our arts and cultural opportunities here with the Games in such a fashion that those folks who come to visit for the Games primarily will, inevitably, come to develop some appreciation for our local arts and culture. In some instances, that might be a symphony or ballet; in other instances, it might be a rock and roll or bluegrass band, but we need to make sure we provide a lot of different cultural opportunities for our guests and for that matter, for our community. One of the things I learned in Aachen was the Games were a lot of fun for the people in Aachen. Each evening in downtown Aachen, they had a world of opportunities for people to participate in the Games. They would bring the participants who had won medals that day at the Games to the downtown venue, and they would re-present the medals and explain to the people there a little bit about the winners and what they had done to get there. They would also, in the same venues, have the jazz bands, the bluegrass bands, the rock and roll bands, and it was a great party atmosphere in downtown Aachen. So it can be a lot of fun for Lexington as well as a great economic development opportunity.
RC: What changes or additions would you like to see in our downtown entertainment options?
JN: Additions more, I think, than changes. I like what's there now, but I would love to see us have a broader array of venues for music. I'd love to see Lexington develop its own identity, perhaps in the bluegrass realm. That seems to me to be an interesting fit potentially, but perhaps others. I'd like Lexington to develop its own reputation for being a place where there's a lot of creativity in the music scene. I'd like for us to continue to expand the restaurant options. I'd like for downtown to be viewed in the future as the place where Lexington comes together for all of the things we currently do, like Festiva Latina, the Fourth of July festival, St. Patrick's Day. But also it's where we come together when we want to have a good time, like Thursday Night Live. So I hope we'll see more of what we're beginning to see downtown.
RC: As mayor, how would you go about increasing the number of graduates and young professionals who stay in Lexington?
JN: One of my favorite questions. I proposed during the spring, primarily as a result of an article that was in Business Lexington last December, that we create a scholarship program, which I called the Lexington First Fund. The idea is that we need to have in Lexington, a strong supply of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in order to sustain this sort of high-tech and health care economy that I talked about a few minutes ago. I've proposed that all Lexington high school graduates have the opportunity to receive a tuition scholarship to one of the schools in this general vicinity, within an hour's drive roughly of Lexington, so that they'll not have any financial impediment to going to school and majoring in a science, technology, engineering, or math major - the stem majors, as some folks in education call them. In exchange for those tuition scholarships, they would have an obligation to stay in Lexington to help us build the kind of economy that we want to have. So, if you received a four-year scholarship to become an electrical engineer, you'd have an obligation to stay in Lexington for four years after completing your education. By providing that sort of financial assistance I think we'll have more and more scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in the Lexington economy that will make Lexington an easier place to sell for engineering firms, for health care-related firms, and for other types of firms that are dependent upon having that kind of expertise in the workforce. I'm excited about that. I think it has the potential to provide some very meaningful long-term benefit for Lexington's economy.
RC: How can the city strengthen its relationship with the universities in town?
JN: We've got a lot of work to do there. I visited with Charles Wethington about that very issue a little more than a year ago, and he said the most significant part of the relationship between the university and the city is the relationship between the mayor and the president. He said if that relationship is strong, the rest of it seems to work out very well. Fortunately, I have had a long-term, very strong personal and professional relationship with Lee Todd. I am absolutely confident that I can work effectively with Dr. Todd, and not only with Dr. Todd but with several other of his key administrators; I know a good many of those folks at UK. The same is true with Transy and Dr. Shearer as well, but especially the relationship with UK and the city needs to be strong because of the enormous impact that the University of Kentucky has on Lexington from a fiscal standpoint, from a cultural perspective, from an economic development perspective. UK is an enormous player in Lexington and having a strong relationship between the city and UK is vital. I'm confident I can do that.
RC: OK, thank you very much.
KIG: Jim, could you talk a little bit about your experiences with neighborhoods and neighborhood associations prior to announcing your candidacy?
JN: It's limited, and as a consequence of that, I have made a significant effort over the course of the last couple of years to spend as much time as I could with as many different neighborhood associations as possible. I've lost count of how many neighborhood association meetings I have attended over the course of the last couple of years in an effort to shore up my understanding of neighborhood association issues, but a lot. As a consequence of attending a lot of neighborhood association meetings, I've learned a good bit about some of the key issues: their interest in having greater police protection, their interest in trying to address some of the sewer issues, trying to take care of just some fundamental things, like making sure the neighborhoods are clean and trash collection is working as it should. It's basic services and if, as mayor, I can deliver those services cost effectively and efficiently, many of the neighborhood issues will be resolved. But I also plan to stay in close contact with the Fayette county neighborhood councils so as to continue to be aware of those issues that are of importance to neighborhoods around the county.
KIG: OK, thank you.
TM: On a scale of one to five - one being the low, five being the best - how do you rank the relationship between the Lexington business community and our government?
JN: One on a good day. It's been bad. it's been nonexistent. The mayor's absence from the chamber trip is symptomatic of the problems in that relationship. Lexington cannot progress without a number of strong public-private partnerships. They are critically important in terms of developing our economy. They're critically important in terms of maintaining our quality of life. They're just critically important for the whole community's benefit. So, we have got to do a lot of work in order to shore up those relationships in the months ahead. If we don't have urban county government working in tandem with the business community to address our community's problems, Lexington will be much worse off. That isn't to say that you do everything the business community always wants. There certainly are going to be disagreements that will arise between urban county government and the business community from time to time, but you've got to develop a relationship there such that when those disagreements arise, you disagree agreeably and you work through whatever the problems may be and then you move on and tackle the next problem. We have got to develop that kind of culture in Lexington in order for us to progress as a community, and I know we can do that.
RC: There's a large age group of students and other residents in Lexington who don't have many entertainment options downtown because they're under the age of 21. Do you have any ideas of how we can integrate these young people into our nightlife culture?
JN: It is critically important for us to find ways to more closely link the campus, well both campuses - Transy and UK's - with downtown. I suspect the private sector is going to be able to a lot better job of addressing that question than the public sector is, because the private sector has a far better understanding of what it takes in order to have a profitable venue for offering alternative forms of entertainment for that particular age group. I hope we will find ways to make the Limestone Street corridor a very active entertainment corridor and a link between downtown and the campus that will provide a lot of different entertainment options for folks in the age groups you were talking about. I anticipate most of that is going to be done privately, but to the extent we can help facilitate those kinds of developments through expediting the permit processes and making sure that we do what we can to make it easy for the businesses to develop in that area of town particularly, I hope we'll do that. And I'd love to see us have those kinds of venues. I mean, look at my own situation - I came to Lexington as a UK student and wound up staying here because I liked the experience I had here in Lexington. It is, for the long-term benefit of this community, vital that we create a place where our students want to stay. If we do that through having the kinds of venues you're talking about, we have the opportunity to have this constant infusion of new people and new ideas that can make Lexington a terrific place in the future, so whatever I can do to help facilitate the private sector's development of those kinds of venues, I'd love to try to do.
RC: Well, thank you very much.
TM: That concludes our questions. We appreciate your time Jim Newberry.
JN: It's a pleasure to be here."