LEXINGTON, Ky (LEX 18)– On Wednesday, 21 C and LeXonomics hosted a mayoral town hall called “Between Two Penguins” with Lexington mayoral candidates Linda Gorton and Ronnie Bastin.
Gorton is former vice mayor and Bastin is a former police chief.
The town hall touched on a variety of topics including gun violence/school violence, the property tax increase for the school safety plan, the opioid crisis, tourism, motorized scooters, environmental issues and more.
The two candidates discussed the current property tax proposal to upgrade school security in Fayette County, and their thoughts about school violence.
“We know that the bottom line is, if we don’t have a safe community, which means safe schools, then the rest of the amenities and things we like kind of take a back seat, because we first have to have public safety,” said Gorton.
Gorton commends Manny Caulk for his 10-point school safety plan and talks about her experience as a councilwoman. pic.twitter.com/ps2ufRkAtv
— LEX 18 News (@LEX18News) August 29, 2018
“We have some serious issues. We have to get this thing figured out. There’s not good answer other than we have to do it right. We can’t shortcut it. It’s time we had unapologetic conversations over what it’s going to take to keep our kids safe,” said Bastin.
Bastin: wants more armed law enforcement in schools and wants more policing of “neighborhood issues.” pic.twitter.com/9lSJEYwVTC
— LEX 18 News (@LEX18News) August 29, 2018
Both said that the root issues of crimes need to be addressed, with Gorton noting that government can begin by improving socioeconomic conditions.
Gorton, whose background is in nursing, stated that she wants to address the opioid crisis by working with hospitals and local medical providers. Bastin said that addiction is “something that is touching most families” and that he wants to appoint a Director of Drug Enforcement to eradicate drugs, as well as reach out to faith-based communities.
The event was moderated by Eric Patrick Marr.
You can watch the full video here:
The "Between Two Penguins" mayoral town hall hosted by 21 C and LeXonomics. This event is moderated by Eric Patrick Marr.
Posted by LEX 18 on Wednesday, August 29, 2018
