Although characterized as the front-runner in recent polls, mayoral candidate Jim Gray (who picked up late-campaign endorsements from the Herald-Leader and Ace, the town's daily and weekly newspapers) was edged out in the primary by Teresa Isaac, and Scott Crosbie (endorsed by the local police), who will now advance to the November election. The Herald-Leader endorsement noted that Gray's campaign "could have been more effective," while Ace's criticism was admittedly harsher - observing that his backers ran a November-style campaign (scarcely acknowledging that a primary is a runoff), and erroneously validating Crosbie as the principal contender (when he came in second). Crosbie's hard-right constituency was unlikely to defect (now or later) to a moderate, progressive thinker such as Gray. He remains one of the few political candidates this town has ever seen who ran for all the right reasons, and none of the wrong ones. There was nothing in it for him, other than public service.

Short of one of the two remaining candidates being caught with a dead hooker and a smoking gun between now and November (which seems unlikely), Fayette County voters will now be relieved of any true burden of further choice, as Isaac and Crosbie have distinguished themselves as virtual polar opposites, with very little middle ground, and no gray areas left (so to speak).


Meet the Alliance

Community Farm Alliance members will be at the Vine Street Farmers' Market on Saturday, June 1 to talk to Lexington consumers about food safety and health, the importance of buying local, and how biotechnology could threaten their food supply.

For the last two years, CFA has been setting the stage for building a new farm economy based on strong local economies and a culture of cooperation between urban and rural citizens. CFA lobbied to get House Bill 611 passed in the 2000 legislature, and was instrumental in allocating half of Kentucky's share of the money from the national tobacco settlement to rebuilding the state's farm economy and giving farmers a voice in how that money was used.

CFA members will be on hand at the Farmers' Market to talk about their work toward building a local food economy in Kentucky. For more info on CFA, email cfa@kih.net, or visit www.communityfarmalliance.com.