Lexington's First Civic Assembly

In Spring 2026, CivicLex will host Lexington’s first-ever Civic Assembly on representation, trust, & participation in our local government.

Guide the Civic Assembly process!

Take a 10-15 minute survey about the Urban County Charter (the local constitution) and your responses will directly guide what pieces of the Charter the Civic Assembly will look at changing.

Take the survey

What is a Civic Assembly?

A Civic Assembly brings together a randomly selected group of community members to dig into a big local issue. Over several days, they learn from experts, hear different perspectives, talk things through with one another, and create thoughtful recommendations for how things should change.

Participants are compensated for their time and trained facilitators help guide the conversations so everyone feels heard and supported. Learn more about the process of a Civic Assembly here.

Lexington’s Civic Assembly

Lexington’s Civic Assembly will have 36 community members chosen at random that match the city’s demographics across age, race, education, home-ownership and more. The Assembly will focus on making local government better represent and respond to the needs of our community by looking at what changes need to be made to the Urban County Charter - the document that lays out how our local government works. Learn more about Lexington’s Civic Assembly here.

Take this survey to help guide which parts of the Charter the Assembly will focus on!

Frequently Asked Questions

Civic Assemblies are a new concept to Lexington — we’re here to answer your questions!

We know that the concept of a Civic Assembly may feel a bit confusing, so we’re here to answer any other questions you may have. We’ll continue to populate the list below with questions that we receive from the public about the process. Don’t hesitate to reach out to info@civiclex.org with any additional questions.

  • Lexington’s first Civic Assembly is being planned by CivicLex staff and an Advisory Group of external experts:

    • Catherine Annis, Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky Martin School

    • Joshua Douglas, Acting Associate Dean for Research & University Research Professor; Ashland, Inc-Spears Distinguished Research Professor of Law, University of Kentucky; CivicLex Board Member

    • Andi Johnson, Chief Policy Officer & Director of Regional Engagement, Commerce Lexington

    • Susan Lamb, Fayette County Clerk

    • David Lowe, Fayette County Commission, Parks Advisory Board Member

    • Christian Motley, Vice President, Partnerships and Community Impact, Results for America

    • Abby Piper, Founder & Managing Partner, Piper Smith

    • Martin Rivers, Senior Services Commission Member

  • CivicLex is a local nonprofit based in Lexington. We are focused on strengthening the civic health of our community. We help you get involved in local issues, connect with your neighbors, and have a say in decision making. We want to make sure Lexington is able to solve any problems we face, together. Learn more about us here.

  • The primary role that Lexington’s local government will play in the Assembly is in receiving the recommendations. That said, we expect that current and former LFUCG officials will be asked to provide testimony and help Assembly members understand the scope of what Charter changes could mean.

  • No.
    CivicLex has spent the past year fundraising to make the Assembly possible with no local government funding.

Project Timeline

We are here!