Look Who’s Running for Council in 2024!

Last Friday was the filing deadline for candidates for Urban County Council, so we’re here to give you a rundown on all of the folks running for office! As a reminder, all of Lexington’s District Councilmembers are up for reelection this year. At-Large Councilmembers and the Mayor will not be on the ballot again until 2026.

Here’s how we have broken up the article below:

• We’ll start by walking you through who will be on the Primary Ballot on May 21, 2024 in Districts 1, 4, & 7.

• After that, we cover the races that only have two candidates, which means they won’t be on the ballot until November 5, 2024 — Districts 2, 5, and 12.

• Finally, we’ll briefly go through the uncontested races — meaning only one candidate filed — in Districts 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, & 11.

Given that the filing deadline just recently passed, many candidates don’t have campaign websites created and limited information is currently available about them. If any included details are wrong, please let us know!

Primary Elections

When more than two candidates file for a seat, all candidates appear on the ballot for the May primary. Only three District Council seats will have a primary. The 2024 Primary Election will take place on May 21, 2024.

District 1

Incumbent Tayna Fogle will be running for her second term, and will face two opponents in the primary election. Councilmember Fogle was first elected in 2022. She has been an organizer with the statewide advocacy group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and has been a longtime advocate for those in substance abuse recovery and incarcerated people facing reentry.

In her time on Council, Fogle successfully advocated for funding the creation of a Dignity Station Trailer, which travels through Lexington to provide restroom and laundry facilities to homeless individuals, among other projects designed for many of Lexington’s marginalized residents.

The other two candidates for District 1 are Tyler Morton and Darnell Tagaloa.

Tyler Morton currently works as an Anesthesia Technician in the University of Kentucky Healthcare system. He was Councilmember Fogle’s Legislative Aide for the first few months of her term  and has previously interned for the Urban County Council office. Morton is a first-time candidate for office.

Darnell Tagaloa is currently a Business Development Manager for iHeart Media. He previously ran for the District 1 Council seat in 2022, but did not secure a place on the general election ballot.

District 4

Incumbent Brenda Monarrez will be running for a second term, and will face two opponents in the primary election. Councilmember Monarrez was elected to Council in 2022. She has been a small business owner and previously worked for the Kentucky Housing Corporation. She also served as District 4’s representative on the Council Redistricting Commission in 2021.

Brack Marquette, who lost the 2022 general election to Monarrez, will be making another run for the seat. Marquette is the former Director of Governmental Affairs for Columbia Gas. He has also worked in higher education and for the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet.

Emma Curtis has also filed for the primary. Curtis is known for advocating against Senate Bill 150, the bill passed last year in the Kentucky State Legislature that regulated discussions on sexuality and pronoun use in the classroom, banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and more. Curtis unsuccessfully ran for the 93rd Kentucky House of Representatives seat in 2023. This is her first run for Urban County Council.

District 7

District 7 will be an open seat in the 2024 election, as incumbent Preston Worley announced that he is not running for reelection. Five candidates have filed for the office.

Joseph Hale is a Resource Management Analyst for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He ran for this seat in 2022, losing in the general election to Councilmember Worley.

David C. Osborne (not to be confused with Kentucky’s Speaker of the House David W. Osborne) is a Retired Army Colonel. He currently serves on the City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. This is his first run for office.

William Matthew Housh is a mail carrier for LFUCG. He is also a U.S. Navy veteran. He ran in the Democratic primary for Fayette County Judge Executive in 2014, and for Council’s District 10 seat in 2000.

Frank Cannavo is a US Army Veteran and retired business executive. This is his first run for office.

Heather Hadi is an immigration attorney. This is her first run for office.

Contested General Election Races

When only two candidates file for an office, no primary election is held. Only a general election is held for the seat, so you will not see these races on your ballot until November. The General Election is on November 5, 2024.

District 2

Incumbent Shayla Lynch is running for her second term. Councilmember Lynch was first elected in 2022. Lynch has previously served as the Executive Director for both the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and Ampersand, and worked for several years with the Lexington Fair Housing Council.

Councilmember Lynch was one of the lead sponsors for Lexington’s CROWN Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on hairstyle. Councilmember Lynch and District 6 Councilmember Denise Gray have also been holding town halls to discuss residents’ experiences with Code Enforcement.

Councilmember Lynch will face Jacques Wigginton, pastor of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. Wigginton previously served on Lexington’s Urban County Council in the 2000s.

District 5

Incumbent Liz Sheehan* will be running for her third term. Sheehan was first elected in 2020, and currently serves as the Chair of the Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee. Councilmember Sheehan is also a faculty member in the University of Kentucky’s Psychology Department.

Recently, Councilmember Sheehan has led a number of initiatives, including Lexington’s Short Term Rental regulations, a revised funding structure for Lexington’s Innovative and Sustainable Solutions for Homelessness Fund, and working closely with the Access Lexington Commission on ADA improvement projects.

Councilmember Sheehan is being challenged by Meredith Price*. Price is a realtor for Sotheby’s International Realty. She has served on Lexington’s Property Tax Appeals Board and the Stormwater Stakeholders Advisory Committee.

District 12

District 12 is an open seat, as Councilmember Kathy Plomin announced she is not running for reelection.

Hilary J. Boone IV is the owner of the restaurant Boonedogs and of Wimbledon Farm. This is his first run for office.

Chad Walker works for Walker Properties Management, which owns much of the commercial property on National Avenue, and owns several farms in rural Lexington. This is his first run for office.

Uncontested Races

The following candidates do not have any opponents in 2024, meaning they will be serving on Council from 2025-2027.

Amy Beasley, who is running uncontested in the District 8 election, will be the Districts’s next Councilmember. This seat is open, as incumbent Fred Brown is not running for reelection.

Beasley is a pharmacy technician for Kroger, and has a background in labor activism. She is the President of the Bluegrass Central Labor Council, and a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers. She has previously run for the District 8 Council seat in 2014, and for Fayette County School Board in 2020.

The following incumbent Councilmembers are running uncontested in 2024:

• Hannah LeGris*, District 3 incumbent

• Denise Gray, District 6 incumbent

• Whitney Elliott Baxter, District 9 incumbent.

• Dave Sevigny, District 10 incumbent.

• Jennifer Reynolds, District 11 incumbent.

How can you get ready for Election Season?

• Register to vote - the deadline to register is April 22, 2024.

• Find out what Council district you live in - you can only vote in your District primary election.

• Stay up-to-date with what we’re up to here at CivicLex! Before the primaries, we will be launching LexVote, our one-stop-shop for all things local elections.

* Disclosure: Councilmembers Hannah LeGris, Liz Sheehan, and Council candidate Meredith Price all have past affiliations with CivicLex. LeGris and Sheehan have both been members of our Governance Board, and Price has been a member of our Programmatic Board and has served as a paid contractor.