Apr 13 2010
Jim Gray for Mayor
I think there might be a few Lexingtonians reading the blog, so as the mayoral race there ratchets up, I want to share my personal story with one of the candidates, and ask that you give him your support.
I left Lexington after college and took a job in North Carolina. I met great people, had great experiences, learned a lot, but needed to come home closer to family and friends. Fortunately, Arthur Rouse at Video Editing Services was willing to hire me, and one of the first projects he put me on was an assignment to document Gray Construction’s remodel of the Wolf Wile department store building into its new company home. They wanted to “walk in their customers moccasins,” and experience what their clients feel in designing and building a new home. Jim Gray was at the forefront of that decision, and was my key contact at the company. Over the several years it took for that project to develop and conclude, Jim became a mentor to me, became invested in my growth and dreams, and inspired me to pursue my career in film. I was just a contractor from across the street, but he saw promise and encouraged it. His support goes well beyond what I can quickly detail here, but suffice it to say — I might not have become a filmmaker without him. He wrote letters of recommendation, made arrangements for me to visit different film schools, and allowed my wife and me to use his new building for a going away party when I decided on USC. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He remains an invaluable resource in my life — a friend, but more like a sage. Call him Obi-Wan to my Luke.
Jim has that kind of influence on everyone with whom he works. He’s a highly-educated forward thinker, a CEO of one America’s largest construction firms, and yet he has dedicated himself in his work as Vice Mayor to making Lexington better, and to helping anyone and everyone he can — as he did with me. As he has with countless others.
Jim lives downtown. He kept his company downtown. He’s pro-business, pro-growth, but environmentally concerned. He believes Lexington can grow responsibly — grow smartly. Overcoming the loss of his father at a young age, and struggling with his brothers to rescue and sustain the company, Jim has a tireless work ethic, and is dedicated to his family. A product of Vanderbilt and Harvard, Jim knows the value of education, cherishes it, and will do all he can to ensure Lexington’s children receive the very best the city can offer.
When you meet him, Jim looks you dead in the eye, shakes your hand warmly — with the strength of a construction company’s CEO — and asks how you are doing. That’s not just a greeting. He wants to know. For a man as busy as he is, he listens — if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be where he is today. There is warmth and sincerity in his smile, and a down-home Glasgow twinkle in his eye. He’s as Kentucky as it gets, but he’s been around the world, seen and learned, and has the perspective our town needs.
I know Jim is the right man for this job. A Lexington where Jim Gray is mayor, is a Lexington I’d move back to in a heartbeat. Please support him. If you’re unsure, do the research. Get to know him. Listen. Then share your concerns, and Jim will listen to you. You won’t be disappointed.


