MEET GRIFFIN
Griffin VanMeter has been moving toward a different kind of city his entire life – walking and biking toward community, toward connection, toward a Lexington where every neighbor can thrive. Now, he’s running for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council in District 3.
Griffin with his wife, Sarah, and their three children.
Most mornings, before the school bells ring, you can find Griffin in a bright yellow reflective jacket, helping lead the Ashland Walk N Roll – a joyful bike-and-walk “bus” of children and families. Bells ring, bubbles float in the air, kids laugh and talk with their friends, and parents wave from porches and sidewalks. What started as a neighborhood pilot has become a daily ritual: a simple, beautiful system that keeps kids safe, builds healthy habits, and reminds neighbors they’re part of something bigger than themselves.
For Griffin, this is what community-building looks like in real life – not as an abstract idea, but as small, consistent acts that say to people: you belong here, and you matter.
His path here wasn’t linear. Griffin earned his GED after a turbulent stretch in high school, a turning point that required resilience and grit. That experience didn’t push him away from community – it pulled him deeper into it. It taught him that people don’t need judgment, they need opportunity, support, and a chance to contribute. It’s that belief that has guided his life ever since.
Dedicated to Community
For more than twenty years, Griffin has been doing the quiet, unglamorous work of building up Lexington – often one building, one block, one idea at a time. He has:
Co-founded local businesses that created jobs and kept wealth in the community
Helped preserve historic buildings so that Lexington’s future doesn’t come at the expense of its past.
Supported nonprofits and cultural initiatives that have reimagined what’s possible in this city.
Over and over, Griffin has shown that he knows how to spot a good idea, bring the right people around the table, and turn vision into something real. He is a team-builder who believes deeply that the best solutions come from collaboration – from listening to neighbors, lifting up local leaders, and designing with people, not just for them.
That approach has already changed Lexington:
Griffin co-led the Yes for Parks campaign, which secured a dedicated funding stream for our city’s most connective infrastructure – our public parks. Over the next 75 years, that decision is projected to generate more than $4 billion in direct investment in public spaces, ensuring that future generations will inherit a greener, healthier, more joyful city.
He helped bring national dollars into the North End, investing in affordable housing, historic preservation, small business development, parks, and environmental sustainability. These projects didn’t just upgrade buildings or streetscapes – they strengthened the fabric of daily life, making neighborhoods more livable and more loved.
Through all of this, Griffin has had to wrestle with hard questions:
Why are some streets unsafe for kids to bike on and others aren’t?
Why does access to parks, housing, and opportunity still depend so much on your ZIP code?
Why do we settle for systems that leave so many people on the margins when we know we can do better?
Those questions – and the people behind them – are why he’s running.
Rooted in District 3
Griffin isn’t just working in District 3 – he’s raising his family here. He and his wife, Sarah Wylie VanMeter, an artist and community builder, are raising their three children – Otis, Homer, and Smith – near Woodland Park, in the very heart of the district he hopes to serve.
Every day, as he watches his kids walk, bike, and play across Lexington, he sees the city through their eyes: “Is this intersection safe?”, “Is there a park within reach?”, “Does this neighborhood feel welcoming to every child and every family?”.
His understanding of public space, safety, and equity is personal. He wants every child in District 3 – and across Lexington – to feel the same sense of belonging, safety, and joy that he insists on for his own kids.
At the same time, he’s pairing lived experience with policy expertise. Griffin is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration with a Graduate Certificate in Urban Planning at the University of Kentucky’s Martin School and Gray College of Design. He is adding training in municipal budgeting, urban planning, and governance to the real-world resume he’s been building for two decades.
That blend – of hands-on community work and formal policy training – means Griffin is uniquely prepared to help Lexington develop practical solutions that:
Make streets safer for everyone.
Support small businesses as the backbone of our local economy.
Balance the city budget while planning for long-term growth.
Use design and engagement to ensure that change is equitable, not exclusive.
Ready to Lead
Lexington is at a pivotal moment. As the city grows, so do its challenges:
Rising housing pressures that squeeze families and workers.
Streets that too often feel dangerous, especially for kids, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Unequal access to opportunity, parks, and public spaces that make life fuller and healthier.
Griffin believes we have the tools – and the talent – to meet this moment. What we need is leadership that is grounded in community, serious about equity, and focused on building coalitions that last.
He knows that:
Cities are for people. When you design with people at the center – not just traffic patterns, profit margins, or short-term wins – you don’t just get better plans. You build trust. You build joy. You build a city that people feel truly part of.
Policy is a tool, not an end. Griffin has already used policy and public investment to deliver real benefits – parks funding, neighborhood revitalization, and community infrastructure that will serve Lexington for generations.
We are strongest when we work together. For 20 years, he has proven that community coalitions, innovation, and equitable policy can build better cities. Now he wants to bring that same approach to City Hall.
Griffin is running for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, District 3, to:
Make streets safer and more welcoming for everyone who walks, bikes, rolls, or drives.
Connect neighborhoods so that opportunity is not bound by geography.
Support small businesses as essential engines of the city’s cultural and economic life.
Ensure that growth in Lexington is healthy, inclusive, and rooted in joy and belonging.
With your help, Griffin is ready to bring his collaborative spirit, his practical experience, and his optimism to the council. Together, he believes we can build something bigger than any one campaign or project: