The Lexington Mayor's race is typically billed as non-partisan, but nobody buys that. They just don't run as Democrats or Republicans. But there is no doubt as to which is which in this race. Jim Newberry, the current Mayor, is a Republican running for re-election against the current Vice-Mayor Jim Gray, who is almost certainly a Democrat. Newberry has his problems and might lose this thing. If he does-and I am calling it for Grey-it will probably be because of objections to the water rate hike imposed by a foreign company who brought the lake and water system.
There are also questionable expenditures involving city contracts, and some disagreement as to how much money was wasted. Newberry says one certain project was under budget and that Gray voted against controlling costs. Gray says however, in a very effective ad, that due to cost overruns involving the paving of South Limestone by a company with connections to Newberry, the paving of one particular road ran to seven thousand dollars a foot. There have also been scandals involving public funds at Bluegrass Airport and the City Library, and Gray has attempted to lay these at the doorstep of Newberry.
Gray is accused of hiring illegal immigrants for his construction business, which he denies. And so it goes-accusations, denials, and counter-attacks. I think its going to come down to the water rates, which at 37 percent are significant.
For now, I'm calling this for Gray. I just have this sense that his campaign is making connections with the public while Newberry is mainly playing defense. We'll see.
And, sure enough, here's a poll that shows Gray leading in the polls by four points.
