June 3, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: My name is Kevin Kimbler, and I’m a 15-year-old student in Lexington. I’m proposing the creation of a Youth Advisory Committee to give teens a stronger and more direct voice in local government.
It’s been nearly 10 years since Lexington last had a consistent youth-led civic group. Right now, youth engagement is limited to occasional school projects and the annual “If I Were Mayor” essay contest. While those are great, I believe we can go further.
The Youth Advisory Committee would include a group of voting members selected through an application process. Meetings would be open to the public and focused on issues that matter to teens. The group would also organize youth-led events and report directly to City Council. A city staff member would be invited to advise and attend.
This would help give young people more meaningful input and experience in local government. Youth are often more comfortable sharing ideas with each other than with adults, and this space would allow those voices to be heard and taken seriously.
To show support, I’ve started a petition open to people of all ages. If you believe Lexington should include more youth voices in its decision-making, please consider signing and sharing it with others: https://www.petitions.net/ youthadvisorycommittee KEVIN KIMBLER Lexington
