Lexington’s First Civic Assembly

Join the Political Reform Program and CivicLex online on April 27th from 11am to 12pm ET to learn more about the first civic assembly in the United States to be fully locally run and organized.

Civic assemblies are taking root across the United States, but Lexington, Kentucky set itself apart by organizing one entirely on its own terms. CivicLex, a nonprofit focused on improving civic health in Lexington, hosted a civic assembly this past March, bringing together 30+ randomly selected residents to shape changes to the Urban County Charter — all with the goal of improving representation, trust, and participation in local government.

The assembly ultimately decided on three recommendations: increasing councilmember salaries, creating publicly viewable attendance and accountability expectations for the Urban County Council, and requiring the Urban County Charter to be reviewed every eight years by a deliberative body of residents.

This 60 minute virtual discussion is an opportunity to hear directly from the team members who organized the assembly. They’ll share lessons learned, challenges faced, and what it truly takes to run a civic assembly at the local level.