Michael Stuart

Michael Stuart

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Business owner

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Personal website

Michael Stuart was a 2014 candidate for District 2 of the Lexington, Kentucky City Council.

Campaign themes

2014

On his campaign website, Stuart highlighted the following issues:

Public transit

• Excerpt: "LexTran needs to grow so we can substantially reduce our carbon footprint. In order to grow, however, it needs to be made more appealing to the public. Educating people about the specific, measurable environmental benefits of using public transportation versus driving their own vehicles is the first step. LexTran also needs to become more of a “choice service” than a last resort. Customer service is the key to changing that perception. Some ideas for improvement are: sell all types of transit passes at many more locations city-wide; offer a rewards or incentive-based program for loyal customers (discounts at local businesses, gifts, public recognition, etc.); and provide more covered shelters with benches at bus stops."

Carbon footprint

• Excerpt: "Many things can be done to reduce our community’s large carbon footprint. As mentioned before, growing LexTran by making it a “choice service” would be a great first step. Another possibility would be a gradual switch of all LFUCG-owned vehicles (police, fire, school busses, garbage collection, etc.) from traditional to compressed natural gas (CNG), which is safer, causes less pollution, and is more efficient. Lexington should also be a more bicycle and pedestrian friendly city. We need more lanes, trails and pathways, as well as bike racks outside public buildings. Not only would that reduce our carbon footprint, but it would encourage more healthful activity."

Returning citizens

• Excerpt: "I agree with the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council and support HB70. I think most felons, other than those convicted of treason, intentional killing, a sex crime, or bribery, should have their right to vote automatically restored upon completion of probation or the end of their parole or sentence. I think it would be in our city’s best interest to also help returning citizens gain access to employment and housing. I think doing so would help prevent recidivism. Perhaps a case worker could be assigned to each returning citizen to help him/her acclimate to society and utilize housing and employment resources."

Affordable housing

• Excerpt: "I think Lexington should create a dedicated funding source for an affordable housing trust fund. However, I think strong leadership needs to be put in place to develop a detailed, comprehensive plan. Some questions we need to address are: Are we going to build new homes/apartments and/or re-purpose existing structures? How do we quantify need? How do people apply/qualify? How do we “rank” applicants for move-in? Will it be handled like Section 8? Will we wind up with an 18-24 month waiting period for it also? And once that plan is put in place, we cannot be afraid to monitor our progress objectively and quantitatively, and to make changes to it as needed."

Growth

• Excerpt: "[...] I definitely support in-fill development initiatives as long as we are inclusive to all parties in the discussion (developers, land owners, and city representatives). Why deplete beautiful farm land when sufficient space exists in already developed areas? While I understand it may be more cost effective to develop on virgin land versus re-developing existing spaces, the benefits far outweigh the costs. And perhaps incentives could be given to developers willing to bear the higher cost of in-filling."

Jobs

• Excerpt: "I think we should also begin a campaign for Lexington businesses to “hire locally.” We could host large scale job fairs for any businesses in Lexington needing employees. Another option would be to offer incentives to businesses for hiring locally."

Workers' rights

• Excerpt: "I think all workers in our country should have the right to organize unions. But I do believe employees who serve critical societal roles (sanitation, healthcare, education, etc.), should have limited or no ability to strike because doing so would jeopardize the health and well-being of the rest of the population."

Homelessness

• Excerpt: "I support the “housing first” model to address homelessness in Lexington. This program puts the homeless directly into a house or apartment and provides extensive case management to encourage success. It is more cost effective than homeless shelters, and it promotes accountability and self-sufficiency."

Elections

2014

See also Lexington, Kentucky city council elections, 2014

The city of Lexington, Kentucky held elections for city council on November 4, 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. Incumbent Shevawn Akers and Michael Stuart advanced past Byron Costner in the District 2 primary. Akers defeated Stuart in the general election.

Lexington City Council District 2 General Election, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shevawn Akers Incumbent	55%	3,028
Michael Stuart	45%	2,479
Total Votes		5,507
Source: Fayette County Clerk's Office - Official 2014 Election Results

Lexington City Council District District 2 Primary Election, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shevawn Akers Incumbent	46.3%	1,440
Michael Stuart	30.4%	944
Byron Costner	23.3%	724
Total Votes		3,108
Source: Fayette County Clerk's Office - Official 2014 Election Results

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Michael Stuart News Feed

See also

• Lexington, Kentucky
• Lexington, Kentucky city council elections, 2014
• United States municipal elections, 2014

External links

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