A Lexington councilmember missed 27 meetings this year. They’re running for re-election.

by Paul Oliva, The Lexington Times

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council member who missed 27 meetings during her first year in office is running for re-election. “I am running for re-election,” an announcement on 4th District Councilmember Brenda Monarrez’s campaign website said on Wednesday. Her campaign filed a statement of spending intent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance on November 9.

Monarrez has struggled with attendance in her first term, especially during her first six months in office. According to records obtained by the Lexington Times through the Kentucky Open Records Act, she missed 27 total meetings of bodies she is a member of between January and November 2023. The Lexington Times reached out to Monarrez by phone, text message, and emails, sent to an email address associated with her campaign, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

Monarrez missed six regular Urban County Council meetings, including the first three of the term. Regular Council meetings typically occur in the evenings at 6 P.M. on Thursdays. Additionally, she missed seven Council Work Sessions, where public business is discussed but no ordinances are adopted. Work Sessions are generally held during the weekday, often at 3 P.M. on Tuesdays or Thursdays. 

Monarrez is on two Council committees, the Social Services and Public Safety Committee and the Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee. She missed a total of four committee meetings, two for each body.

Monarrez also served on three city boards and commissions during her first term: the City Employees Pension Fund Board, Animal Care and Control Advisory Committee, and the Commission on Veterans Affairs. She missed a total of ten meetings of those bodies. Her absences there included all six meetings of the Commission on Veterans Affairs. Monarrez resigned from that commission in July. Most city boards and commissions have provisions to automatically remove members who do not attend meetings.

Monarrez is a 2012 graduate of EMERGE Kentucky, a candidate training course affiliated with the Kentucky Democratic Party. While Urban County Council elections are nonpartisan, political parties and groups like EMERGE often help candidates behind the scenes.

In her 2022 campaign, Monarrez enjoyed the support of the Fraternal Order of Police, an endorsement she featured prominently in her campaign materials.  According to Monarrez’s campaign website, public safety is her “#1 priority.” In a September 15, 2022 Facebook post, she wrote that she would prioritize funding for traditional law enforcement methods over “mental health care, youth services, re-entry programs, and so much more.”

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Brack Marquette, Monarrez’s 2022 electoral opponent, is also running again in 2024. He filed a statement of spending intent on Tuesday. Reached by phone Friday, Marquette said he hadn’t planned to run again, but changed his mind after being approached by other District 4 residents.

“I had not anticipated running again, but after being approached by many community members who had concerns about the District 4 councilmember’s performance, I am once again stepping forward,” he said.

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Top photo by the Lexington Times

This article has been updated to include the perspective of Brack Marquette, Monarrez’s 2024 electoral opponent.