| Mayor of Lexington, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1832 |
| First holder | Charleton Hunt |
| Website | Office of the Mayor |
| Elections in Kentucky |
|---|
 |
 Government |
This is a list of mayors of Lexington, Kentucky. [1] [2] The city and Fayette County governments were consolidated in 1974. [3]
The current mayor is Linda Gorton, a registered Republican, elected in the nonpartisan 2018 mayoral election and reelected in the 2022 mayoral election. [4]
| # | Mayor | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H. Foster Pettit | 1974 | 1977 |
| 2 | James G. Amato | 1978 | 1981 |
| 3 | Scotty Baesler | 1981 | 1992 |
| 4 | Pam Miller | 1993 | 2003 |
| 5 | Teresa Isaac | 2003 | 2006 |
| 6 | Jim Newberry | 2006 | 2011 |
| 7 | Jim Gray | 2011 | 2019 |
| 8 | Linda Gorton | 2019 | |
Lexington is a consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the second-most populous city in Kentucky, the 14th-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 59th-most populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 30th-largest city.
Fayette County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky and is consolidated with the city of Lexington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 322,570, making it the second-most populous county in the commonwealth. Since 1974, its territory, population and government have been shared with Lexington. Fayette County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.
John Fowler was an American planter and political leader in Virginia and Kentucky. He was a Jeffersonian Democrat who served as a Democratic-Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky in the United States Congress from 1797 to 1807. Fowler was also an early settler and civic leader in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Lexington Herald-Leader is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paid circulation of the Herald-Leader is the second largest in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Edwin Porch Morrow was an American politician, who served as the 40th Governor of Kentucky from 1919 to 1923. He was the only Republican elected to this office between 1907 and 1927. He championed the typical Republican causes of his day, namely equal rights for African-Americans and the use of force to quell violence. Morrow had been schooled in his party's principles by his father, Thomas Z. Morrow, who was its candidate for governor in 1883, and his uncle, William O. Bradley, who was elected governor in 1895. Both men were founding members of the Republican Party in Kentucky.
Ernesto Scorsone is an LGBT advocate, American lawyer, politician and retired judge from Kentucky.
A County Judge/Executive is an elected official in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky who is the head of the executive branch of a government in a county. The Judge/Executive is an ex officio member of the Fiscal Court, the county's legislature. The position is established by section 140 of the Kentucky Constitution. In other states, similar positions are often titled county executive or county mayor.
Ruth Ann Palumbo is the longest-serving woman in the Kentucky House of Representatives and has represented District 76, which covers downtown Lexington, Kentucky and eastern Fayette County, since 1991. Palumbo is a member of the Kentucky Democratic Party.
The 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2011, to elect the governor of Kentucky and the lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear won re-election, defeating Republican challenger David L. Williams, then the president of the state senate, and Gatewood Galbraith, an independent candidate. Statewide turnout in this election was 28%.
James P. Gray II is an American politician who is the Kentucky Secretary of Transportation in the administration of Governor Andy Beshear. He is the former two-term mayor of Lexington, Kentucky. Gray served as the city's vice-mayor from 2006 to 2010 before being elected mayor in November 2010. Gray won re-election to another four-year term on November 4, 2014. In 2016, he ran for the United States Senate seat held by U.S. Senator Rand Paul. Gray won the May 17 Democratic primary with nearly 60% of the vote, becoming the first openly gay man to win the U.S. Senate nomination of a major political party. Gray lost the November 8 general election to Paul.
Claude M. Johnson Jr. was an American printer who was Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1893 to 1900, and a six-term mayor of Lexington, Kentucky.
The following is a timeline of the history of Lexington, Kentucky, United States.
The 1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1983. Democratic nominee Martha Layne Collins defeated Republican nominee Jim Bunning with 54.50% of the vote, replacing outgoing governor John Y. Brown Jr., and becoming the first female governor of Kentucky.
Linda Gorton is an American politician currently serving as the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky. Gorton previously spent 4 years as vice mayor and 16 more on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, becoming the longest-serving member of that council. She is also a registered nurse. Gorton was elected mayor in 2018 in a nonpartisan election. She was re-elected in 2022.
Lexington, Kentucky held an election for mayor on November 6, 2018, with the primary election held on May 22. It saw the election of Republican Linda Gorton.
Lexington, Kentucky held nonpartisan elections for mayor and city council on November 4, 2014. The primary election took place on May 20, 2014, and the deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election had to file for candidacy before January 28, 2014. Urban development and crime were major issues that were brought up in the election that shaped the 2014 election cycle. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Jim Gray.
Killian Timoney is an American politician, educator, and Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 45th House district since January 2021. His district comprises parts of Fayette and Jessamine counties. Timoney was defeated in the 2024 Republican primary by challenger Thomas Jefferson.
Daniel A. Fister is an American politician and Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 56th House district since January 2021. His district is composed of Woodford County as well as parts of Franklin and Jessamine counties.
Lexington, Kentucky held nonpartisan elections for mayor on May 17, 2022, and November 8, 2022. It saw the re-election of Republican Linda Gorton, who had been serving as mayor since January 6, 2019.
Mayor Linda Gorton is a registered Republican.
| Central city |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Municipalities with population over 10,000 | ||
| Municipalities with population 5,000-10,000 | ||
| Municipalities with population under 5,000 | ||
| Counties | ||
