LEXINGTON, KY - Running on a heavy diet of how Lexington has improved since taking office in January 2007, Mayor Jim Newberry kicked off his reelection campaign Wednesday night in front of a politically friendly crowd. "Let there be no mistake, Lexington is a much better city today than it was three years ago," he said in his speech while surrounded by political supporters.
"While our progress over the last three years has given us wonderful momentum, momentum is a very fragile thing. It is easily lostÖ from 2003 through 2006 we totally lost it. Other cities moved ahead, we did not. Some of our elected officials accepted the status quo," Newberry said in his speech in one of a few lightly veiled references to former Mayor Teresa Isaac who is seeking a return to office after he unseated her with more than 62 percent of the vote in 2006.
"This is horse country and in horse country we know the track record is the best indicator showing our future performance, and the track records speak for themselves in this race very loudly," Newberry said in an interview after his speech.
Isaac isn't the only well known name to hold elected office who could challenge Newberry in his bid for reelection as Vice Mayor Jim Gray is rumored to be mulling a run.
"This campaign really won't be about me or any of my opponents, it's about the future of Lexington," Newberry said in his speech.
But he is expecting the field now only populated by him, Isaac and blogger Eric Patrick Marr to get more crowded.
"I expect there will be several people who will get in the race between now the filing deadline in January, and I am doing the things I need to do to get my message out and if I have an opportunity to do that effectively, I'm very comfortable with the decision the voters will make, regardless of who's in the race," Newberry said in the interview.
Newberry touted his empowering code enforcement to clear out illegal right-of-way signage, totaling more than 40,000 signs according to the speech; enforcing zoning and fire codes, mostly around the UK campus area; cleaning up Fayette County waterways and tackling the EPA mandate to repair the city's aging sewer lines; adding $70 million to the underfunded police and firefighters pension systems; responding quickly and efficiently to the early 2009 ice storm; assisting in the growth of UK and moving of BCTC to a new campus on Loudon and Newtown; working closely with the business community; helping revitalize downtown with a new streetscape plan and encouraging the expansion of arts and entertainment.
With all that he feels he's been able to accomplish in his three years as mayor, Newberry said he wants to see his job through to continue the progress made since he took office. "I am absolutely confident that the best days for this city we love lie ahead of us, not behind us," he said.