Mayor picks Pisgah Pike resident as new city attorney

Sharon Leslie Gold

By Midway Messenger staff

Sharon L. Gold of Woodford County will be Midway's new city attorney if the City Council approves her appointment, which Mayor Grayson Vandegrift announced in an email on Monday.

Gold, 44, would replace Phil Moloney of Lexington, who is leaving the position on Jan. 31 after 13 years. She is a partner in the Lexington office of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, one of the state’s largest law firms. She lives on Pisgah Pike with her husband Ryan and daughters Roxie and Carlie.

“Ms. Gold is very active in the Midway community,” Vandegrift said. “She is co-leader of Midway Girl Scout Troop 2261.” He told the Messenger that she is a graduate of Woodford County High School.

Sharon Leslie Gold was born and raised in Versailles, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2004, and clerked for a federal judge before joining the Wyatt firm, where she leads its employment litigation team.

Gold's biography says she has been "a frequent lecturer on employment law issues and has presented at several national employment law conferences." Vandegrift told the Messenger that Gold has done legal work for cities.

"I believe you will be as thoroughly impressed as I am with Ms. Gold’s resume as well as her reputation and record as an outstanding attorney," Vandegrift said in the email to the City Council and news media. He said his mother, Sarah Vandegrift, is a paralegal in a separate department of the Wyatt firm, and "My mother will never work on anything related to the City of Midway, and she will in no way benefit, financially or otherwise, from Ms. Gold’s appointment."

Vandegrift said he would ask the council to confirm Gold as city attorney at its next meeting, Feb. 3. he told the Messenger that he wasn't sure the appointment requires confirmation, but "I just wanted to be on the safe side since all other non-elected city officials are confirmed."