Reece wins Lexington mayoral race

From preserving history to shaping Lexington’s next chapter, Evelyn Reece takes on the mayor’s seat.

Rebecca Smith (left), Lucille Endriss (middle) and Gail Spearing (right) volunteer as poll workers for the Lexington mayoral race between Cory Crayton and Evelyn Reece. There are 176 voters who are eligible to vote in this election. (Mia Fishman/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Evelyn Reece will be the next mayor of Lexington.

Reece defeated Cory Crayton, a member of the Lexington City Council and Historic Preservation Board, to win the nonpartisan mayoral race, garnering 58% of the vote on Tuesday.

“I am honored to take on this role and look forward to bringing the community together,” Reece said. “It’s time to have fun and get some important things done.”

Sixty-six Lexington residents voted in the mayoral election, out of 176 eligible voters. That represents approximately one-third of the population of the city.

Reece will replace Ronnie Boggs, who didn’t run. Boggs had served since May, taking over for Craig Snow, who resigned.

Reece said she had “heartfelt appreciation to everyone who turned out for Lexington.”

A native of New Orleans, Reece comes from a long line of engineers, but found her calling in cultural and resource management, with a focus on historic preservation, public service and ethics.

She earned her associate and bachelor’s degrees from Southeastern Louisiana University and later completed a master’s in historic preservation at the University of Georgia.

Reece’s career spans multiple fields. She’s been a freelance architect, a historic site park ranger, a preschool teacher, a planning consultant, a Department of Transportation employee and a visitor information center manager.

“I love heritage tourism,” Reece said in a conversation with The Oglethorpe Echo last month. “I love historic buildings. I love seeing projects break ground — from something that is falling down to something that is really viable. So, I really love seeing that kind of physical progress.”

Since moving with her family from Athens to Lexington in 1998, Reece has worked as a consultant in the architectural field.

Reece plans to focus on revitalizing downtown Lexington, fostering government transparency and updating the city’s zoning ordinances.

“We’ve accomplished a lot, and I think we’re moving into a new phase, but as far as I want, I want public participation,” Reece said.

The races for seats on the Lexington City Council were all uncontested, but the vote totals were: