Emma Curtis
Emma Curtis is a member of the Lexington City Council in Kentucky, representing District 4. She assumed office on January 6, 2025. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Curtis is running for re-election to the Lexington City Council to represent District 4 in Kentucky. The primary for this office on May 19, 2026, was canceled.
Biography
Emma Curtis was born in Lexington, Kentucky. She earned a bachelor's degree from Centre College in 2018. Curtis' career experience includes working as a filmmaker and organizer.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: City elections in Lexington, Kentucky (2026)
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for Lexington City Council District 4
Incumbent Emma Curtis (Nonpartisan) and Brenda Monarrez (Nonpartisan) are running in the general election for Lexington City Council District 4 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Emma Curtis (Nonpartisan) | |
 | Brenda Monarrez (Nonpartisan) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary
The primary scheduled for May 19, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Emma Curtis (Nonpartisan) and Brenda Monarrez (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Lexington City Council District 4 without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: City elections in Lexington, Kentucky (2024)
General election
General election for Lexington City Council District 4
Emma Curtis defeated incumbent Brenda Monarrez in the general election for Lexington City Council District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Emma Curtis (Nonpartisan) | 51.7 | 4,657 |
| Brenda Monarrez (Nonpartisan) | 48.3 | 4,344 | |
| Total votes: 9,001 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Lexington City Council District 4
Incumbent Brenda Monarrez and Emma Curtis defeated John Marquette in the primary for Lexington City Council District 4 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brenda Monarrez (Nonpartisan) | 48.2 | 1,276 |
| ✔ | | Emma Curtis (Nonpartisan) | 30.2 | 801 |
 | John Marquette (Nonpartisan) | 21.6 | 572 | |
| Total votes: 2,649 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Curtis received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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Campaign website
Curtis' campaign website stated the following:
ON THE ISSUES
Safer Roads & Reduced Traffic
District 4 spans from Nicholasville Road to Tates Creek Road—and like most in our community, I’ve spent far too much time sitting in standstill traffic on both of these roads.
But these roads aren’t just inconvenient and inaccessible—they’re dangerous.
Along with my colleagues, community partners, and constituents, I will work towards new solutions that incorporate innovative multimodal intersection design to improve traffic flows, cut our travel time, and make our roads safe for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Affordable Housing
Renters and homeowners alike deserve homes they can thrive in at prices they can afford.
We must implement policies that prioritize Lexingtonians, not predatory out-of-state corporations or special-interest groups.
As your councilmember, I will continue to push to create more emergency housing for those experiencing homelessness, overhaul our zoning ordinances and land-use guidelines, and fight to increase the amount of money we allocate to the Affordable Housing Fund.
Civil Rights
In Washington and in Frankfort, our elected officials have chosen to waste time and taxpayer money attacking the civil rights of marginalized communities.
In Lexington, we have proudly stood for the rights of all people. We must continue to protect our Fairness Ordinance and support people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, and everybody whose freedoms are at risk.
Fair Taxation
I pay taxes and city fees like every other Lexingtonian, but I don’t always feel the impact of my tax dollars.
That’s why it’s so important to me that we reduce waste, eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy, and ensure that every taxpayer in Lexington sees a return on our investments.
Gun Violence Prevention
Gun violence is a public health crisis and it should be treated as such. The best way we can address this pu\blic health crisis at the Council level is to address its underlying causes: poverty, lack of mental health care, and lack of access to economic opportunity.
I agree with Devine Carama, the Director of One Lexington, when he said that “true prosperity will never be reached until we transition from continuum of care/services to a continuum of opportunity.”
I will continue working to ensure that we make that transition by engaging community partners to remove barriers and create economic opportunities for our young people, offer trauma support to all who are directly impacted, and provide the resources that our communities need to break the cycle of gun violence.
Hate has no home here—and it never will.
Public Transportation
LexTran needs to be fast, reliable, and affordable. Currently, it’s slow, inconsistent, and expensive.
We need to increase bus frequency, add routes, and invest wisely to ensure that LexTran gets everyone where they need to go at a reasonable pace.
Doing so will not only increase access to transportation–it will improve air quality, reduce traffic, and make our roads safer.
Worker's Rights
Lexington was, and continues to be, built by union workers. I will always have their backs.
Whether it’s advocating for Project Labor Agreements, fighting to ensure South Lexington wins economic development projects that will ensure our middle class can thrive, or working with our union teachers and school board to ensure that they have the resources they need to give our kids a world-class education—I will always stand with working people fighting for a fair shake.
Public Education
Fayette County should continue to fight our teacher shortage by raising pay, not lowering standards.
I support our union teachers and I will continue working with FCPS and our school board to make sure that they have the resources they need to best support our kids and provide them with a world-class education.
Economic Development
I support local businesses and entrepreneurs. Lexington has become the economic engine of central Kentucky because we have attracted large employers and great jobs. I will work to add jobs at competitive wages and oppose handouts to corporations that don’t benefit our communities.
Investments in infrastructure to make our roads safer, improve our water quality and waste management systems, and make the 4th District more walkable and bikeable won’t just improve our quality of life. They will bring new, good-paying jobs to South Lexington.
Reproductive Rights
I support abortion rights. Plain and simple.
No government—whether in Washington or in Frankfort—should stand in the way of the decision whether and when to have children. I will always fight to prevent our LFUCG resources from ever being used to enforce the State Legislature’s efforts to control our bodies.
Public Parks
The cornerstone of a strong community is safe and well-maintained public spaces that people want to use.
From Veterans Park to Kirklevington Park, I will continue to advocate for repairs, improvements, and beautification of every public park in our district so that we can all can enjoy those spaces.
— Emma Curtis' campaign website (March 11, 2026)
2024
Emma Curtis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Curtis' responses.
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As a young, working class person, I know what it's like to watch my tax dollars go towards policies that make it harder for folks like me to thrive instead of going towards investments in our community that benefit all of us.
This city is my home. Its future is my future. I'm tired of the politics of anger and division putting that future at risk.
That's why I'm running to be your next District 4 Councilmember.
I have dedicated my life to building a better future for my community and my commonwealth. Since graduating from Centre College in 2018, I’ve worked as an independent filmmaker, an issue-based organizer, and an advocate focused on increasing civic engagement, voter registration, and fairness for all Kentuckians.
I’m a member of several community-focused organizations, including CivicLex, the Lexington Forum, and the Fayette Women's Network, which focus on bringing people together, having good-faith conversations, and improving Lexington's civic health.
Going backwards isn’t an option and standing still isn’t nearly enough. That's why I will work tirelessly on Council to ensure that every voice is heard so that we can move Lexington forward, together.- My first priority on Council will be to improve traffic flow and safety on Nicholasville Road.
Like most in our community, I've spent far too much time sitting in standstill traffic on both of these roads. But these roads aren't just inconvenient and inaccessible—they're dangerous.
In 2023, Kentucky State Police data showed that we saw a 566% increase in pedestrian fatalities from car crashes in Lexington over what we saw in 2022.
Along with my colleagues, community partners, and constituents, I will work towards innovative solutions that incorporate modern technology and infrastructure to improve traffic flows, cut our travel time, and make our roads safe for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. - Lexington has an affordable housing crisis. As a renter, I am experiencing the impacts of this crisis firsthand. That's why I fought hard to ensure our Council passed a ban on source-of-income discrimination and why I will always advocate for housing policy that prioritize Lexingtonians, not predatory out-of-state corporations. As a Councilmember, I'll push to create more emergency housing for those experiencing homelessness, overhaul our zoning ordinances and land-use guidelines, and fight to significantly increase the amount of money we allocate to the Affordable Housing Fund. I support the creation of an eviction diversion program and guaranteed seats for tenants on civic boards and commissions directly related to housing.
- The residents of District 4 deserve a Councilmember who will show up, listen, and advocate for them both inside and outside of Council Chambers. I have been talking face-to-face with the folks who live in my district and giving them my personal phone number for many months now. I don’t intend to stop doing so once I’m elected. If we are going to build a thriving and prosperous city for all, we need to make sure that we are actively promoting civic engagement and making our local government accessible to everyone. That's why I will work to adjust our meeting schedule so that Council Work Sessions—where the most robust debates about proposed policy occur—take place in the evening when more people are able to attend in person.
I've spoken with hundreds of District 4 voters at their doorsteps so far. As of this writing, only 3 people have known their current Councilmember's name.
There’s no more important job for an elected official than constituent services. How are residents supposed to have their concerns addressed if their Councilmember is so absent that the majority of them don’t even know their name?
I believe that Gov. Beshear has shown the positive impact that our elected leaders can have when they put aside anger politics and instead lead with love and compassion. I aspire to follow his example by focusing on the things that unite us rather than on manufactured issues meant to divide us.
Susan Lamb, to me, is somebody who isn't just a politician. She's a true public servant. I'm grateful for her continued service as Fayette County Clerk, but I must admit that I miss having her as our District 4 Councilmember. I will work to follow her example by bringing back servant-leadership and a people-first approach to serving South Lexington.
I believe that it's incredibly important for elected officials to be honest about where they stand on the issues that they will be crafting policy to address. Dishonesty from our leaders erodes our trust in our institutions of government. I will work to restore that trust.
Without transparency, it’s impossible to build that trust. Elected officials work for their constituents and must always remember that. Too often, elected officials mislead or attempt to dodge questions about where they stand out of political convenience. I will always be transparent about my decision making process on Council.
I’ve been elected to office within Kentucky Young Democrats multiple times and have contributed to the organization’s immense growth. As Vice President of Recruitment and Expansion, I am very proud of the work I’ve done there, including recruiting more than 40 candidates under the age of 40 to run for office across Kentucky in 2024.
I’m also a lifelong resident of the Greater Lexington area. In that time, I have been a homeowner and a renter. I’ve worked everywhere from Target to the University of Kentucky International Center. I know what it’s like to struggle to make ends meet and what it’s like to have earned financial stability against the odds.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Lexington City Council District 4 |
Officeholder Lexington City Council District 4 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 19, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brenda Monarrez |
Lexington City Council District 4 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
