LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This was undoubtedly a year unlike any other. Councilman Markus Winkler (D, District 17), who serves as the chair of Metro Council's Democratic Caucus, said the impact of Breonna Taylor's death on Louisville is clear as the pain of her loss sparked new policies.
What You Need To Know
- Councilman Markus Winkler reflects on 2020 in Louisville
- Winkler says impact of Breonna Taylor's death on Louisville is clear
- Winkler says there's still more work to do on COVID-19 despite vaccines
- Top priority for Winkler in 2021 is getting life back to normal
“Some of the actions we’ve taken in listening to the community really focus on police reform and transparency. We want to work to restore the public trust. Those changes include things like the ban of no knock warrants. They include the creation of the office of the inspector general and civilian review board, as well as the use of force policy we enacted into law,” Winkler said.
The other topic that's marked 2020 for the entire world is the coronavirus pandemic. While vaccine distribution spells promising news, Winkler says there's still a lot of work left to do.
“We have a lot of work to go. There is a lot of need in our community as exacerbated by the pandemic. Our homeless rates are increasing at 20%. We will have a lot of challenges in 2021," Winkler said. "Just because the calendar clicks over on the 1st, we don’t get to leave our challenges in the rear view mirror."
As he does look ahead to 2021, Winkler said the top priority is helping people get back to life as normal.
“Issue number one is making sure people are in their homes, have heat and have food. The second issue then really focuses on what funding do we need to put in place for the health department so we have the expedient delivery of the vaccine, so we have the bases that allow us to reopen and have our economy go back to normal in terms of travel, tourism, conventions and those sorts of things,” Winkler said.
Despite a year marked with so many challenges, Winkler remains optimistic.
“Louisville is still a great place to live and raise a family. I think our brightest days are still ahead of us. We have a number of challenges. It is going to take all of us working on those. At the end of the day, we have a lot more bringing us together than tearing us apart," he said.