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Oct. 9, 2024 Editor, The News-Gazette: When John Driscoll first engaged with our local planning and governance scene eight years ago, his unique abilities to discern deeper understandings of complex social and land use issues stood out to me. It was apparent to many of us that John’s city planning career in diverse community settings had resulted in a mature capacity to distinguish between simplistic planning rhetoric and real community development challenges, opportunities, and solutions.
Lexington is beginning a new phase of its history as a small compact ex-urban college town at the crossroads of western Virginia’s remarkable Rockbridge County. Our trends of smaller household size, increasing second-home home ownership, aging demographics, and an under-supply of workforce affordable housing describes Lexington as we continue to experience mounting in-migration pressures and opportunities.
John Driscoll can bring a much-needed insightful mind, heart, and voice to the City Council. I’ve voted for John and urge all Lexington voters to vote for him. With our new capable City Manager Carroll and a refreshed Council, Lexington can build on its strengths and plan for an era of civic vitality, health, and sustainable prosperity in the rapidly changing climate of 21st-century America. LEE MERRILL Lexington
