New America Hosts Upcoming Discussion on Lexington's First Fully Locally-Run Civic Assembly in the U.S.

​New America’s Political Reform Program, Democracy Notes, and CivicLex will host a virtual discussion on April 27, 2026 (11 AM–12 PM EDT) on the first fully locally run civic assembly in the U.S., organized by CivicLex in March 2026, with 30+ randomly selected residents to propose reforms to Lexington’s Urban County Charter. The assembly advanced three recommendations—raising council salaries, creating public accountability standards, and requiring Charter review every eight years—marking a milestone in locally led deliberative democracy without national facilitation. Speakers include Hollie Russon Gilman, Richard Young, Kit Anderson, and Lilly Bramley, who will share practical lessons, challenges, and insights for implementing civic assemblies at the local level.

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New America's Political Reform Program, Democracy Notes, and CivicLex are hosting an online discussion on April 27, 2026, from 11 AM-12 PM EDT to learn about the first civic assembly in the United States to be fully locally run and organized, taking place in Lexington, Kentucky. While civic assemblies are taking root across the United States, Lexington, Kentucky set itself apart by organizing one entirely on its own terms, with CivicLex—a nonprofit focused on improving civic health in Lexington—hosting a civic assembly in March 2026 bringing together 30+ randomly selected residents to shape changes to the Urban County Charter to improve representation, trust, and participation in local government. The assembly ultimately decided on three recommendations: increasing councilmember salaries, creating publicly viewable attendance and accountability expectations for the Urban County Council, and requiring the Urban County Charter to be reviewed every eight years by a deliberative body of residents—marking a significant milestone as the first fully locally-run and organized civic assembly in the United States without external organization or facilitation from national civic assembly practitioners.

The 60-minute virtual discussion is an opportunity to hear directly from the team members who organized the assembly, who will share lessons learned, challenges faced, and what it truly takes to run a civic assembly at the local level entirely on local terms without relying on national organizations or consultants to design and facilitate the process. Speakers include Hollie Russon Gilman (Senior Fellow, Political Reform Program at New America), Richard Young (Executive Director, CivicLex), Kit Anderson (Deputy Director, CivicLex), Lilly Bramley (Project Specialist, CivicLex), and a member of Lexington's first civic assembly who participated in the deliberative process and contributed to developing the three recommendations ultimately adopted by the assembly. The event represents significant development in the civic assembly field as it demonstrates that local nonprofits and community organizations can successfully design, organize, and facilitate civic assemblies independently, potentially expanding the reach and accessibility of this democratic innovation tool beyond communities that can afford to hire national practitioners or partner with established civic assembly organizations.

CivicLex's successful organization of Lexington's civic assembly demonstrates the growing capacity at the local level to implement sortition-based deliberative democracy tools, with the nonprofit bringing together randomly selected residents to deliberate on and make recommendations about fundamental changes to local governance structures through the Urban County Charter. The assembly's focus on improving representation, trust, and participation in local government through three specific recommendations—salary increases for councilmembers to expand who can afford to serve, publicly viewable attendance and accountability expectations to increase transparency, and regular review of the Charter by deliberative bodies of residents to institutionalize citizen participation—reflects practical, concrete applications of civic assembly recommendations directly addressing barriers to inclusive democratic participation. The April 27 discussion will provide valuable insights for other local organizations, nonprofits, and community groups interested in organizing civic assemblies independently, sharing the practical lessons learned, challenges faced, and resources required to successfully implement sortition-based deliberation at the local level without external support from national practitioners.
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Register: April 27, 2026, 11 AM-12 PM EDT at newamerica.org/events
Organizers: New America Political Reform Program, Democracy Notes, and CivicLex