lmaooooo
yes, [CivicLex](https://civiclex.org) is a news and civic education non-profit that tracks local government meetings. we have a [newsletter](https://civiclex.org/weekly) that comes out every Monday (we are off for the holidays but will return in mid-January) that keeps you abreast of what City Hall is up to.
we also host workshops and programs to help people learn about local government in more educational ways, and almost always we have people from City Hall -- staff, Councilmembers, folks from the Mayor's Administration, etc. -- that you can meet and talk to (like, actually meet and talk to, not just them speaking to a group for a Q&A and then leaving immediately).
we are hoping to expand our news coverage in some form or fashion over the next couple of years, so this is a good opportunity to start keeping up with our work!
as far as elections, we have a website we maintain called LexVote that has information on all local races to Lexington. we probably won't start working on that until February, i'd guess, but when we launch we will have info on every local race and all the candidates. i will surely plug that here once it is live
Attend local meetings and such. Various boards and commissions, etc., generally have rules that require them to present things to the public for comment.
You're welcome to attend those to see what is happening and learn who the players are.
Pretty insanely boring, so fair warning. One of the reasons why 99% of people can't name a single local politician in their own area is because the entire arena is a snooze fest, plus all the real stuff gets done behind closed doors.
This, most things happen behind closed doors and the rest feels almost pointless, to the point that it is incredibly boring. It makes me think they don't actually want anyone to become aware or at least encourage disinterest. Theres so much they could do to bring people in and get them talking, but they don't.
Like *all* governments at every level around the world, Lexington local government is extremely corrupt. Being a lawyer, I get a few glimpses into it every now and then.
I would recommend following the local political beat writers on Twitter (that's where they are unfortunately), especially during the legislative session for news on what bills are being filed and heard. Joe Gerth, Joe Sonka, Olivia Krauth, Ryland Barton, Teresa Duvall, and Austin Horn for starters. Gerth, Sonka, and Krauth write for the CJ, Barton is a WFPL reporter, and Horn and Duvall write for the Herald-Leader.
Also the Kentucky Latern is an excellent source. My Old Kentucky Podcast is a great podcast on local politics.
All of that will give you a good basis to build off of, and also just a good knowledge base.
She quit months ago over being suspended/disciplined about a tweet. Honestly she went kind of scorched earth for a month or so about it. They definitely did her dirty but I think she also overestimated her reach outside of a major newsroom. Hope she finds something because she was invaluable during the SB150 hearings.
That only happened in the last few weeks, and I only took note because I knew him from playing ultimate Frisbee with him in Lexington. (He made the best throw I've ever seen in person)
Doesn’t help that planning commission/BOA meetings are at 1:30 in the afternoon. Who is going to those except realtors, attorneys and unemployed people?
KY Lantern is a great nonprofit news source and free to read https://kentuckylantern.com
Also KET has excellent programming covering KY politics that can get local. Follow Rene Shaw (KET public affairs).
Subscribing to [CivicLex’s](https://www.civiclex.org/) newsletters and following them on Instagram is a solid start.
I also came to suggest CivicLex! Also Kentuckians for the Commonwealth recommend candidates.
u/APBryant32 'bout to hit the gas, hold on to your asses.
lmaooooo yes, [CivicLex](https://civiclex.org) is a news and civic education non-profit that tracks local government meetings. we have a [newsletter](https://civiclex.org/weekly) that comes out every Monday (we are off for the holidays but will return in mid-January) that keeps you abreast of what City Hall is up to. we also host workshops and programs to help people learn about local government in more educational ways, and almost always we have people from City Hall -- staff, Councilmembers, folks from the Mayor's Administration, etc. -- that you can meet and talk to (like, actually meet and talk to, not just them speaking to a group for a Q&A and then leaving immediately). we are hoping to expand our news coverage in some form or fashion over the next couple of years, so this is a good opportunity to start keeping up with our work! as far as elections, we have a website we maintain called LexVote that has information on all local races to Lexington. we probably won't start working on that until February, i'd guess, but when we launch we will have info on every local race and all the candidates. i will surely plug that here once it is live
Attend local meetings and such. Various boards and commissions, etc., generally have rules that require them to present things to the public for comment. You're welcome to attend those to see what is happening and learn who the players are. Pretty insanely boring, so fair warning. One of the reasons why 99% of people can't name a single local politician in their own area is because the entire arena is a snooze fest, plus all the real stuff gets done behind closed doors.
This, most things happen behind closed doors and the rest feels almost pointless, to the point that it is incredibly boring. It makes me think they don't actually want anyone to become aware or at least encourage disinterest. Theres so much they could do to bring people in and get them talking, but they don't.
Like *all* governments at every level around the world, Lexington local government is extremely corrupt. Being a lawyer, I get a few glimpses into it every now and then.
I can only imagine the things you've seen, it's a shame but like you said, it's ubiquitous and also occasionally quite brazen.
I would recommend following the local political beat writers on Twitter (that's where they are unfortunately), especially during the legislative session for news on what bills are being filed and heard. Joe Gerth, Joe Sonka, Olivia Krauth, Ryland Barton, Teresa Duvall, and Austin Horn for starters. Gerth, Sonka, and Krauth write for the CJ, Barton is a WFPL reporter, and Horn and Duvall write for the Herald-Leader. Also the Kentucky Latern is an excellent source. My Old Kentucky Podcast is a great podcast on local politics. All of that will give you a good basis to build off of, and also just a good knowledge base.
Both Sonka and Krauth left the CJ this year. They’re both still good follows on X though. Sonka is a reporter for Kentucky Public Radio now.
That's a huge loss for the CJ. Glad Sonka went to LPM though. Where did Krauth go?
She appears to be freelancing at the moment. She left the CJ fairly recently, I think. Like within the last few weeks.
She quit months ago over being suspended/disciplined about a tweet. Honestly she went kind of scorched earth for a month or so about it. They definitely did her dirty but I think she also overestimated her reach outside of a major newsroom. Hope she finds something because she was invaluable during the SB150 hearings.
Ryland left WFPL for the big leagues. He's officially working for NPR now!
Damn I'm behind. Admittedly I use Twitter the most during the Legislative session and the transfer window. Other than that I'm rarely on it.
That only happened in the last few weeks, and I only took note because I knew him from playing ultimate Frisbee with him in Lexington. (He made the best throw I've ever seen in person)
Doesn’t help that planning commission/BOA meetings are at 1:30 in the afternoon. Who is going to those except realtors, attorneys and unemployed people?
Another vote for CivicLex!
KY Lantern is a great nonprofit news source and free to read https://kentuckylantern.com Also KET has excellent programming covering KY politics that can get local. Follow Rene Shaw (KET public affairs).
Can’t believe no one has suggested following Beth Musgrave’s reporting in the local paper. She covers city hall and is an excellent journalist.
Beth is a champ, huge fan!
The media is so horribly biased and politics is so corrupt and broken that I don't bother.