Teresa Isaac

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Teresa Isaac, an American politician, served as mayor of Lexington, Kentucky from 2002-2006.

[edit] Political life

Isaac was elected to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government council as an At-Large member in 1988. In 1992, she was reelected to the Urban County Council (UCC) becoming the Vice-Mayor. She served in that capacity until 1999. In 1996, Teresa Isaac ran for the Democratic nomination for the Sixth Congressional District of Kentucky. She came in third.

Isaac returned to elected office in 2002 as the Mayor of Lexington, Kentucky.^[1]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Teresa Isaac	37,516	51%
Scott Crosbie	35,743	49%

In that race, she defeated attorney Scott Crosbie. Her term as mayor was marked with controversy, as her controversial attempts to use eminent domain to condemn the local water company and the Lexington Mall both failed due to public resistance. The Mayor cites the following accomplishments:^[2]

• Eminent domain proceedings to gain local ownership of Lexington’s water utility from a foreign-owned conglomerate
• Increased pay for police, firefighters and corrections personnel
• Budget cuts to every other area of government, including significant cuts to her own office budget

However, on November 7, 2006, Vote NO won and condemnation of the water company ended.

In 2006, Isaac ran for reelection but lost to political newcomer and Lexington corporate attorney Jim Newberry. Most recently, Isaac has been employed as a campaign staffer for Kentucky businessman Bruce Lunsford. Lunsford made an unsuccessful attempt to win the Democratic nomination for Kentucky Governor in May 2007. Isaac currently practices law and teaches as an adjunct professor at several Kentucky colleges.