Mayor-Elect Linda Gorton has announced the members of her transition team, which will be working to ensure a smooth changeover from Mayor Jim Gray’s administration.
“We want this transition to be seamless, and to put citizens first,” Gorton said, in a release announcing the team. “There should be no interruption in the services the city provides citizens, and progress should continue uninterrupted on long-range projects.”
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University of Kentucky College of Law professor Chris Frost (left) and Wil James (right), former president of the Georgetown Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant, will co-chair Mayor-Elect Linda Gorton's transition team.
The transition team will be co-chaired by Wil James, former president of the Georgetown Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant, and Chris Frost, University of Kentucky College of Law professor, will co-chair the Transition Team. Frost previously headed up the transition between the mayoral administrations of Jim Newberry and Gray.
Additional transition team leaders will include Lexington attorney Phil Scott, who will work with the Law Department; educator Eunice Beatty and UK College of Law professor Carolyn Bratt, who will work with the Planning, Preservation and Development Department; urban planner Ed Holmes, who will work with the Environmental Quality and Public Works Department; former U.S. attorney Kerry Harvey, who will work with the Public Safety Department; workforce development expert Roy Woods, who will work with the Social Services Department; Blue Grass Community Foundation President Lisa Adkins, who will work with the General Services Department; and UK Martin School professor and former state budget director Merl Hackbart, who will work with the Finance Department.
The transition will focus first on internal issues, and later on priorities for external issues, Gorton said. Lexington's commissioners and division directors will brief members of the transition team on issues and projects in their areas in the next few weeks.
Gorton will officially take over as Lexington's mayor on January 6, with an inauguration ceremony planned at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6, in the ballroom of the University of Kentucky's Gatton Student Center, located at 160 Avenue of Champions. The event is free and open to the public.
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Back row from left: Councilmember James Brown, Kerry Harvey, Lisa Adkins, Roy Woods
Middle row from left: Phil Scott, Councilmember Jennifer Mossotti, Councilmember Angela Evans
Standing on floor from left: Councilmember Richard Moloney (far left), Chris Frost, Mayor Gorton, Wil James, Dr. Merl Hackbart