UK asst. vice president Beatty to run for mayor

 

 

STAFF REPORT

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Anthany Beatty, UK’s assistant vice president for campus services, announced Tuesday that he will run against Mayor Jim Gray this year.

Beatty was the Lexington police chief from 2001-08 before taking the position at UK. In his current role, he oversees the UK police, parking and transportation, emergency management, and environmental health and safety departments. He is also the co-chair of the Tobacco-free Campus Initiative Task Force.

He plans to submit his election papers to the Fayette County Clerk’s office just after noon Tuesday.

“In order for Lexington to reach its highest mark, every Lexington citizen must have a voice, and everyone must be willing to hear the opinions and input of all who may be impacted by the decisions we make as a city,” Beatty said in a news release Tuesday morning. “Together we must take in information, digest data, and think analytically to arrive at the best outcomes which will serve to propel us forward.

“Lexington has the people and places that can and will allow us to progressively and productively plan for many decades to come, but we can only be successful with extraordinary leadership.

“I am that leadership and want to be your candidate of choice — Lexington’s next mayor.”

Beatty, 62, is a graduate of Henry Clay High School, Eastern Kentucky University and Kentucky State University.

In November 2010, Gray, then the vice mayor, beat incumbent Jim Newberry for the mayor’s seat. Gray is the former CEO of Gray Construction, based in downtown Lexington.