Today took me to the neighborhood near West Sixth and Broadway.  This stretch of Broadway is a commercial corridor, and the neighborhood sits behind it.  It’s an older neighborhood, one of the oldest I’ve seen so far, with many houses dating to the first decade of the 20th century.  There were also some gaps, vacant properties that probably won’t stay undeveloped for long.

As this is the season of yard signs, one thing stood out to me.  This area appears to be split geographically in terms of energized support for the two mayoral candidates, with the older portions to the south and west favoring the incumbent Jim Gray and the (slightly) newer portions supporting the challenger Anthany Beatty.  One could come up with plenty of reasons for this, and it could be a fluke.  I do think Beatty’s campaign slogan is worth some thought.  He claims he will be  “Mayor of ALL of Lexington,” leveling criticism at Gray that he is too focused on the downtown areas at the expense of the suburban and rural parts of the city.  I think it’s a good slogan, getting right to the heart of the problem that planning-oriented or big-project mayors have.  Attention on big projects or urban centers can appear to neglect major portions of the city, and even stakeholders in areas of focus if development may change neighborhood character.

Appearing to neglect and actually neglecting are different things and campaigns rarely have time for nuance.  But Beatty’s signs are pretty widespread throughout Lexington and it’s easy to believe the residents of this area have a good reason to support him.

What works:  This appears to be a cared-for area with character.

What doesn’t: It may be a neighborhood trying to go in  two different directions.