In the Tuesday, January 27th Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee meeting, Council will hear a presentation about the potential costs for developing new infrastructure in the parts of the Urban Service Area that were expanded in 2023.
In its Tuesday, January 20th, meeting, the Urban County Council will review a draft of the ordinance that would revise the expansion process for the Urban Service Area (USA). The plan was unanimously approved by the General Government & Planning Committee in December 2025.
The 2026 elections will bring big changes to the Lexington Urban County Council, with seven council incumbents not running for re-election, including many council veterans. This means Lexington voters will see lots of new faces on the ballot this year.
The 2026 elections will bring big changes to the Lexington Urban County Council, with seven council incumbents not running for re-election, including many council veterans. This means Lexington voters will see lots of new faces on the ballot this year.
Mayoral race
Mayor Linda Gorton will face a crowded field of challengers in the mayoral race. Six candidates are running against her:
Darnell Tagaloa, past candidate for Council District 1
Because there are more than two candidates, the race will have a primary election on May 19th to narrow the field down to two finalists who will compete in the November general election.
Council At Large
The three Council At Large seats are citywide positions, meaning all Lexington voters cast ballots for these races. This year, six candidates are running for the three seats:
Because there are only six candidates for three seats, this race won't have a primary and will go straight to the November general election, where voters can select up to three candidates.
District races
The 12 Council District seats represent specific geographic areas of Fayette County. Only voters who live within a district can vote for that district's representative.
Five districts have unopposed candidates who will automatically be elected in November:
District 1: Tyler Morton, incumbent
District 2: Shayla Lynch, incumbent
District 7: Joseph Hale, incumbent
District 12: Hilary Boone, incumbent
District 10: Chris Woodall (newcomer and former LFUCG Director of Long Range Planning)
District 5 is the only district race with a primary. Three candidates will compete on May 19th for the two spots on the November general election ballot:
Nicholas Wolter
Stephenie Hoelscher
Michael McLaughlin
The top two vote-getters will advance.
Five district races will be decided in November:
District 3: Griffin VanMeter will face past County Judge Executive Jon Larson
District 4: Incumbent Emma Curtis will face Brenda Monarrez, past District 4 Councilmember
District 6: Tina Bryson will face Tyler M. Pyles (both newcomers)
District 8: Incumbent Amy Beasley will face Tray Hughes
District 9: Incumbent Whitney Elliott Baxter will face Matt Miniard, a past Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor who was removed from office.
District 11: Richard Moloney (past Council At Large member) will face Cassandra Vogl
We'll have more information on these candidates and all the races in our voter guide Vote Local Lexington, which will be live next month.
Edit: This story has been updated to include the District 3 Council Race, we apologize for the omission.
This presentation will mark the final scheduled update in a year-long process that began in January. If adopted, this would be Lexington's new framework for determining how and if to expand the Urban Service Area
