Jim Gray Cares Enough to Confront!

Is there really any other choice, with Jim Gray running for Mayor? How could anyone turn their back on Jim Gray? He's generous, he's a visionary, a respected businessman, and he has shown his passion for our city both privately and publicly, by donating heartily to good causes and vigorously confronting the boll weevil of Lexington, Dudley Webb.

[Sidebar: Dudley Webb is a necessary evil, in my view, for without The Dud, nary a soul would be tweeting every move of every council member in the somewhat-weekly LFUCG meetings. Accordingly, I have to say, thank goodness for Dudley Webb and his questionable business ethics, because even though we lost an entire historical block of downtown before we even knew what happened, Dudley's woeful disregard for the people and cityscape of Lexington has awakened a community spirit that seemed to have died on the Vine with le Cafe Chantante years ago. Not that the Duddley-Diddley purposely did a good deed, but it's an observation that I've made and will continue to make, because apathy is just so wrong and so not-my-generation. So a tip of the hat and a swift kick in the butt to Dudley Webb for all the unwitting good he has done for us.]

Back to my original thought, though: Who would NOT love for Jim Gray to be our Mayor? The guy has energy, he is articulate, he is a class act -- and he RESPONDS to the needs of those who are marginalized, he does not ignore the arts, he answers questions, he tells it like it is. I would absolutely feel secure and proud to have him represent our town and be its leader.

However, I was also really impressed with former Mayor Teresa Isaac because of her tireless efforts on behalf of those who put so much time and devotion into bringing us visual, musical, spoken and dramatic art. In fact, I can think of very few arts events in the past year or so where Teresa Isaac was NOT in attendance. She's everywhere. She pays attention. She is, I think, a great, effective, determined advocate and I remember her years of service as Vice Mayor - and so her role as Mayor seemed to be inevitable, and she handled it well. She had somewhat of a handicap to deal with, however, and that was Vice Mayor Mike Scanlon. Without his albatross-like presence around her neck and in our local government, T.I. most likely would've won the last election, hands down. Now that Scanlon has slipped back into the murky water from whence he came and is no longer putting a black eye on our city, I am positive that Isaac could very well thrive as Lexington's leader.  


However, the primaries - like the gentle Springtime we enjoyed - are a faint memory, and Isaac has now emphatically endorsed Jim Gray, is going door-to-door and working as hard as she can to get Gray elected.  God love her for this - because she is truly dedicated to public service and once she made her commitment, she stuck to it.

Jim Newberry, I believe, is a sincere man. I believe he sincerely wants what is best for Lexington. I also believe he sincerely wants to remain Mayor. He doesn't seem approachable, though; he does not answer emails or phone calls and although he wants our support, he is not willing to handle matters himself; he is perfectly happy, it seems, to have someone within his office field questions for him, usually a day late and a million dollars short. I've written for years about many issues that have a heavy impact our community, everything from the anniversary of the crash of Flight 5191 to the Pet Milk project; from Holler Poets Series to Art-in-Motion -- just to name a few - and while writing all those stories, all I wanted were a few words of wisdom from our Mayor - and so I called, I wrote, I sent emails, hell, I even befriended him on the great social media experiment (cough...return to junior high school) we call Facebook - and what sort of information or answer or quote was I ever fortunate enough to receive from Newberry? Nada. Bupkis. Goose egg. Zero. 'Nuff said.  The man is a nice man, but he doesn't have any business being Mayor.  Former Mayor Scotty Baesler's endorsement as Jim being a "steady hand at the wheel" rings in my head, because I'm thinking - ANYBODY can be a steady hand at the wheel...we need someone who cares enough to confront - and that takes someone with passion, with vision, and with enough care in his heart to approach ALL citizens, no matter what their circumstance, with a friendly smile and an open heart, and the resolve to confront, and that man is Jim Gray. 

Again, Jim Gray has always been a responsive advocate for the arts, for community improvement like Art-in-Motion, for theatrical events like SummerFest - he never looks the other way.  Jim Gray plants his feet firmly, and looks at every situation with an open mind, with a clear conscience, and with a breath of fresh air ... and fresh air is the best cure for just about anything.  


Vote for the breath of fresh air on Tuesday. Vote for Jim Gray.

pray for peace,

Kimmy