Commentary: Editor’s Notebook: In a blue wave, one nonpartisan electoral victory that’s very good for democracy

The blue wave that swept America made Tuesday a very good night for university presidents and law firms and Haitian refugees and immigrants, and all the other people who have suffered the worst excesses of a vengeful President Donald Trump and his feckless administration. 

That wave didn’t sweep Kentucky so much as splash it around the edges; still, the flipping of the 6th Congressional District and nine Republican statehouse seats may put the GOP supermajority in a slightly less arrogant, slightly more conciliatory mood as the next General Assembly session approaches. Maybe they will stay away from culture wars and focus on affordability.

But something else happened Tuesday night in Lexington that’s very hopeful and very interesting. Three ballot amendments passed in a very commanding fashion.

The first would raise Urban County Council members’ salaries to Lexington’s average income of $59,987starting in 2031. Several retiring members said they could not afford the council’s nearly full-time work on a part-time schedule.

The second would require accountability for those council members to show up to meetings and do their jobs. That one passed by 94%.

And the third would require a review of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s charter every eight years.

But those amendments were put on the ballot through a process known as Civic Assembly. CivicLex, a journalism and civic education nonprofit in Lexington convened 30 people who represented Lexington’s demographics in age, income and political affiliation. Over nearly a month, they gathered and discussed what Lexington’s needs were. And 80 percent of them agreed on these three amendments. 

“I think it’s super exciting,” said CivicLex Executive Director Richard Young who helped lead the process with Deputy Director Kit Anderson. “We were blown away by the margins, especially on numbers two and three. Our assembly members were so over the moon about it.”

The process was long, about three years from the first discussion to the 35 hours of meetings that took place last March. 

“I think it’s proof that trying new processes and bringing citizens into decision making helps get policies that people want,” Young said. “It shows that alternative methods to what we traditionally do in our political life can really help people overcome differences and produce results that are compelling and popular.”

Young said he hopes other Kentucky communities will look into taking on problems with parts and pieces of the civic assembly process, particularly working with a group of people who match that community’s demographics.

“That helps mitigate things like political ideology, it brings a truly representative group of politically diverse people to the table, which is especially important in places like Kentucky,” he said. 

Lexington’s victories may be the first successful amendments by civic assembly in the country, although the process is being used elsewhere, and in other countries, like Ireland.

This election signaled that people all over this country are tired not just of Trump, but of partisanship, corruption and politics led by big money rather than citizens. Civic assemblies are an answer to those problems.

“People want to be involved, people want to have a say,” Young said. “The idea, ‘I could be a part of this decision making process’ speaks to people. It certainly did to our Assembly members, they feel their perspective and presence really mattered. And it really did.”