LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor-elect Craig Greenberg announced a reorganization of Metro Government and introduced his senior leadership team on Tuesday. Those leaders will manage day-to-day operations of city government on Jan. 2, 2023 when Greenberg is sworn in.

What You Need To Know

  •  Barbara Sexton Smith will serve as deputy mayor

  •  Interim Police Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel will also be a part of the leadership team and report directly to the mayor

  •  Outgoing Metro Council President David James will serve as deputy mayor of emergency services

  • All will begin their work on Jan. 2 when Greenberg is sworn in 

“As you can tell this is an all-star team and we have an all-star team that are going to be focused on their areas of government but also we will work together to address the challenges that impact every aspect of city government like public safety,” Louisville Mayor-Elect, Craig Greenberg said.

The new leaders include:

  • Barbara Sexton Smith, deputy mayor. Sexton Smith most recently served as the District 4 Metro Councilwoman from 2017 to 2021. She has been an entrepreneur and nonprofit leader.
  • Nicole George, deputy mayor, public health & services. George is the outgoing representative for District 21 on Metro Council. She has spent her career working for child safety and wellbeing.
  • David James, deputy mayor, emergency services. James is the outgoing president of Metro Coundcil and spent 12 years representing Metro Council District 6. Prior to that, James worked in law enforcement.
  • Dana Mayton, deputy mayor, operations & budget. Mayton most recently served as district director for Rep. John Yarmuth. Prior to that, she served in roles with University of Louisville and the state government.
  • David Kaplan, chief of staff & general counsel. Kaplan is a commercial litigation attorney with more than 25 years of experience working in private practice and state government. He also served on Gov. Andy Beshear’s Transition Committee for the Budget.
  • Keisha Dorsey, deputy chief of staff. Dorsey has represented District 3 on the Metro Council since 2018. Throughout her career, she has led a variety of community health and wellness endeavors.
 

Newly appointed Interim Chief of Police Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel will report directly to Greenberg and will also be a member of the senior leadership team. 

A similar structure that former Mayor Jerry Abramson had is what influenced Greenberg in his decision.

“I just thought given where we are today as a community, given the challenges that we were facing, and also knowing after conversations with these folks up here that we had the opportunity to keep them involved and lead our city forward,” Greenberg said. “I thought this structure would work best for our administration and for the city.”

Of those six members recently announced, David James, Nicole George and Keisha Dorsey currently serve on the Metro Council. Seats they plan to resign on Jan. 4, 2023 and begin their new roles on Jan. 5, 2023.

“Certainly working strongly with Metro Council as a partner in our government is critically important, but it’s also a coincidence,” Greenberg said. “It may be the reason why I’ve gotten to know several of these individuals. That’s not the only reason why they are up here, they are up here because of the strength of their leadership abilities, their creativity, their sense of urgency, their intelligence and their commitment to public service.”

Greenberg’s message throughout the entire announcement was his commitment to move Louisville in a new direction, starting with putting public safety as the team’s number one priority. As Louisville Police are investigating nine shootings that occurred between Saturday and Sunday, and another shooting that took place Monday night at Jefferson Mall.

“Let me say this, every person within Louisville has the right to be safe, to go to school, church, wherever they want to go without having the fear of being victim,” Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel, deputy chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department said. “So that is our message and so for this December were going to continue to drive it home that we want everyone to be safe and to build these community relationships.”

Mayor-elect Craig Greenberg will step into his role of mayor for the City of Louisville on Jan. 2, 2023 as well as the senior leadership team.

James, Dorsey and George will begin Jan. 5, 2023.

Metro Council is aware of the additional vacancies and will have 30 days from James and Dorsey’s resignations on Jan. 4, 2023 to fill those two positions.

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