By Maria Rachal
On Jan. 1, Frank Friedman will be the new mayor of Lexington.
He received 54 percent of the vote on Tuesday, defeating his City Council colleague, Charles “Chuck” Smith.
Friedman, 50, campaigned as the “hometown” candidate in the race, having grown up in Lexington before studying managerial economics at Hampden-Sydney College. He is now a vice president and financial adviser at CornerStone Bank.
Friedman will preside over a six-person City Council with two newly elected members: Michele Hentz and Leslie Straughan. They will join David Sigler, J. Patrick Rhamey, Jr., and Smith, whose term doesn’t expire until 2018. The sixth member is incumbent Marylin Alexander, who was re-elected Tuesday night.
Lexington’s current mayor, Mimi Elrod, will leave office Dec. 31 after serving for eight years.
The Rockbridge Report sat down with the mayor-elect the day after the election and heard about his goal to be an approachable leader for Lexington.