Lexington council moves DEI officer into HR, keeps office intact after weeks of public pressure

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance to create an unclassified administrative officer position in the Division of Human Resources and transfer the current officer of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into that post while explicitly not abolishing the council-created DEI position.

The move came after more than an hour of public comment in which scores of residents, faith leaders and local advocates urged the council not to dismantle DEI work. Councilmember James Brown offered an amendment to retain and realign the incumbent DEI position within HR; Councilmember Grama seconded the amendment and the council approved it by voice vote. Following procedural confusion about reading and amendments, the council later reconsidered and gave a final roll-call approval to the clarified ordinance.

Supporters said the change preserves DEI functions while responding to recent state and federal policy pressure. Dozens of speakers described DEI…