Jim Gray

Jim Gray, the out gay mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, will challenge Rand Paul for his U.S. Senate seat in 2016. Jim served as President and CEO of Gray Construction, now an international company. He is currently Chairman of the Board. In 2010, Jim was elected as the first openly gay Mayor of Lexington where he has put his business experience to work in City Hall. Under Jim’s leadership, Lexington is on the right track. When Jim took office, unemployment stood at 8.4% in Lexington. Today unemployment is historically low after 15,000 new jobs have been created since he took office. Lexington is an economic engine for the state, but more importantly, Lexington workers are earning 13.5% more on average. Jim used his decades of business experience to get Lexington’s finances in order, taking a city budget with a $30 million deficit to create surpluses year after year. As a result, the local economy is strong and growing, tax dollars are properly managed and investments in public safety and quality of life are top priorities. Under Jim’s leadership, job growth in Lexington increased five times faster than the state average. He reformed the city’s health insurance and pension systems saving taxpayers more than $100 million. Today, national publications rank Lexington as one of the best places to live, one of the best cities to start a business, one of the safest cities in America and a great place to retire.