A Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council candidate has updated her website, but says she did not violate elections law after receiving a cease and desist from incumbent Emma Curtis.
Curtis sent her challenger, former council member Brenda Monarrez, the cease and desist last week over endorsements listed on her campaign website. Monarrez is running against Curtis to retake the District 4 seat she lost in 2024.
In a statement posted to social media Friday, Curtis said Monarrez’ website identifies quotes from individual supporters as representing their respective homeowners and neighborhood associations, instead of speaking only for themselves.
“Our homeowners and neighborhood associations are where neighbors come together to improve their communities, regardless of politics,” Curtis said in the statement. “They shouldn’t be used as political tools for anyone’s campaign, including my own. Residents who give these organizations their time and their dues deserve to know whether their association has actually taken a side in this race.”
Monarrez’ campaign has since updated the website with a disclaimer stating any titles are listed for “identification purposes only.”
In a response letter, she said the change was made voluntarily and “without an admission of wrongdoing or a violation of Kentucky campaign finance law.”
“Our neighborhood leaders are individuals with their own opinions and the right to express their personal support for a candidate,” Monarrez said in the letter. “I respect the distinction between an individual’s endorsement and an organization’s official position, and my campaign has taken steps to make that distinction clear.”
The response letter also accuses Curtis of making previous misstatements that Monnarez was banned from the Kentucky Democratic Party and making misleading claims about a 2024 civil protective order.
In October 2024, a judge issued a protective order against Monarrez after former Lexington council member Denise Gray accused her of sexual assault. Monarrez served the remainder of her term remotely, as she was banned from city hall and council chambers under the order.
In the Oct. 9 letter, Monarrez said she was never criminally charged and a Fayette County grand jury did not return an indictment.
WEKU has reached out to Curtis and Monarrez for comment.
