LEXINGTON, KY - It's been a tough year for Lexington.
In addition to the battering recession that began to catch up to the Bluegrass more fully late in the year, our city has weathered serial executive mischief from airport to library, repeated setbacks in the Thoroughbred business, contentions over coal, and the usual fiery debates about proposed development.
The last 12 months had a few bright moments, but all in all, this is one year that I think we as a city are happy to put behind us. In life's never-ending relay, 2009 was a difficult leg of the race, but 2010 stands ready to grasp the baton firmly and launch into a promising and jam-packed agenda that could help us regain our footing - if we don't fall on our face.
Will 2010 be the year when we find our rhythm? Few of the challenges we faced in 2009 have been fully resolved. Our preparations for the World Equestrian Games are far from complete. We have hardly begun to resolve our sanitary and storm water problems with the EPA. City government is facing possible layoffs in its efforts to balance its budget. We have much unfinished business to attend to, and there is no certainty that our economic circumstances will improve.
Earlier this month, Vice Mayor Jim Gray announced his candidacy in next year's mayoral race, which will be decided by voters next November, shortly after the World Equestrian Games have drawn to a close. Mayor Jim Newberry and Gray, along with former mayor Teresa Isaac will offer a strong contrast for voters to consider, in everything from their long-term vision to their individual leadership styles, and the race is certain to spur more debate on Lexington's most contentious concerns.
If there was ever an easy time for someone to serve as Lexington's mayor, this is not it. The city's budget is shrinking, its needs are growing, and its impatience is building. In everything from water quality improvement to city pensions to bonding capacity, we are in the uncomfortable position of having to pay for our past mistakes. We are a city full of wonderful ideas that we can't fund, and smart people who can't agree on much.
So when the worldly masses descend upon our town in September, clutching maps, asking for directions in foreign tongues and focused on all things equine (while concerned little about our ongoing local reality show), will they find a citizenry capable of concealing the exhaustion wrought by months of debate and preparation? Will it be apparent to our visitors that we have spent the last year pummeling one another's best ideas through public campaigns aimed at garnering votes for the city's highest elected office?
Whether the 2010 Games prove to be a boon or a bust for Lexington, I hope we won't limp away from it feeling sabotaged by our own internal city struggles. That requires us to set aside our differences and put our better selves to the common task of getting our city through 16 days of hosting the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games unscathed. Maybe, with a little luck and a lot more planning, we'll even be pleased with the outcome.
But there is no doubt that we as a city have more at stake than the 2010 Games.
And when we wake up on November 3 with either a reelected or a new mayor (as well as some new faces on the Urban County Council), hopefully we will have managed to keep our wits and remain a civil community throughout the drama of feather-ruffling political warfare.
We're all for a spirited debate about the full range of issues confronting our city. And even in less extraordinary years we would hope for intelligent and civil discourse. Right along with the candor we rightly expect, in 2010 we'd also like to see very genuine efforts to prevent the character of the mayoral race from steadily declining into a divisive, angry spectacle - an unwelcome distraction at a time when we'll all be trying our best to concentrate on ensuring that our city lives up to the charm touted in its marketing. At this time, that's a polite request of the candidates and their campaign teams.
Business Lexington
will adhere to an editorial policy against endorsing candidates for elective office. If this mayoral gets ugly, however, we won't hesitate to call out the perpetrators.
Basically, what we're saying to our political types is: don't screw this up for the rest of us.
2010 is shaping up to be another challenging year. Exciting, yes, with a few glimmers of optimistic possibility, but also fraught with potential pitfalls. What will be the critical assessments of our ability to host an event on the scale of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games? And who will be wrapping his or her mind around being called "mayor" for the coming four years? What will Lexington look and feel like after the dust that's been kicked up by all of this running and hustling finally settles?
There is no real finish line in this relay race of life. Let's just try not to trip ourselves up along the way.