LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In just under six weeks, Louisvillians will pick a new mayor.
At Portland Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Shawnee Tuesday night, five of the candidates for Louisville mayor took turns answering questions about their vision for the city.
What You Need To Know
- Five of the candidates running for Louisville mayor took questions from West End voters Tuesday night
- The forum was hosted by the Shawnee Neighborhood Association
- The candidates talked about public safety, investing in the West End, housing and other topics
- The election is on Nov. 8, 2022
James Mimmes was in the crowd listening. He now lives in St. Matthews, but was born and raised in the West End.
“When I was a kid, there were grocery stores, hardware stores,” he told Spectrum News 1. “You could pretty much do anything you wanted to do right here in the West End and over the years, that’s seemed to change.”
The forum was hosted by the Shawnee Neighborhood Association. Several of the questions focused on investing in the underserved West End.
“Part of the city with 60,000 people, to have two Kroger stores spread throughout, that’s not enough,” said Democrat Craig Greenberg. “We need neighborhood grocery stores in the neighborhoods of West Louisville. We can make this happen. This is not that complicated.”
On public safety, Republican Bill Dieruf said the wrong people are going to jail.
“We have to be able to have the community and the police department working together,” he said. “But we also have to stop putting the wrong people in jail. We have to stop pulling the young Black male over because his blinker is not going. That’s not the proper policing.”
Mimmes said one issue most important to him in this election is finding housing for those who need it.
“I think that really needs to be addressed as far as our community is concerned,” said Mimmes. “I’m a veteran myself and I know there are a whole lot of vets that are out on the street, unfortunately.”
Independent Martina Nichols Kunnecke said Louisville is in a housing “crisis.”
“I believe we have a surplus of housing that has been built over the last 12 years that is sitting empty,” she said. “A Kunnecke administration is going to look into that.”
Mimmes said he’s still undecided about who will get his vote.
Independent candidates David Ellenberger and Manetta Lemkheitir also took part in the forum.
The general election will be held on Nov. 8, 2022. Check out the Spectrum News Voter Guide for more information on election season.