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Municipal elections in Louisville, Kentucky (2016)
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| 2016 Louisville elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: January 26, 2016 |
| Primary election: May 17, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: City council |
| Total seats up: 13 |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
Thirteen seats on the 26-seat Louisville Metro Council in Kentucky were up for election on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on May 17, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 26, 2016.[1]
Six races were on the primary election ballot: Districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 14, and 16. The primaries for Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 were Democratic races, while Districts 14 and 16 had Republican primaries. The winners for Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 were decided in the primary because no Republicans filed for those seats. The top vote-getters were incumbent Barbara Shanklin in District 2, Barbara Sexton Smith in District 4, incumbent David James in District 6, and S. Brandon Coan in District 8. The winners of the Republican primaries—Shane Ranschaert in District 14 and Scott W. Reed in District 16—ran in the only two contested races of the general election. They faced Democrats Cindi Fowler (i) and Gill Holland, respectively. The winners of the two races were Fowler and Reed. All of the other 11 candidates were unopposed in November. There were three open races for the Metro Council in 2016. Council President David W. Tandy (D) of District 4, Tom Owen (D) of District 8, and Kelly Downard (R) of District 16 did not run for re-election.To learn more about the Jefferson County Public Schools school board elections in 2016, click here.
Elections
General election
Candidate list
District 2
☑ Barbara Shanklin (i) 
District 4
District 6
☑ David James (i)
District 8
District 10
☑ Pat Mulvihill (i)
District 12
☑ Rick Blackwell (i)
District 14
☑ Cindi Fowler (i)
☐ Shane Ranschaert 
District 16
☐ Gill Holland
☑ Scott W. Reed
District 18
☑ Marilyn Parker (i)
District 20
☑ Stuart Benson (i)
District 22
☑ Robin Engel (i)
District 24
☑ Madonna Flood (i)
District 26
☑ Brent Ackerson (i)
Results
| Louisville Metro Council District 14, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Cindi Fowler Incumbent |
52.49% | 5,599 | |
| Republican | Shane Ranschaert | 47.37% | 5,053 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.14% | 15 | ||
| Total Votes | 10,667 | |||
| Source: Jefferson County Clerk, "2016 General Election Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||||
| Louisville Metro Council District 16, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Scott W. Reed |
51.70% | 9,921 | |
| Democratic | Gill Holland | 48.18% | 9,246 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.13% | 24 | ||
| Total Votes | 19,191 | |||
| Source: Jefferson County Clerk, "2016 General Election Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||||
Primary election
Candidate list
District 2☐ Rick Harrison District 4Note: Incumbent David W. Tandy did not seek re-election. District 6☑ David James (i) |
District 8Note: Incumbent Tom Owen did not seek re-election. District 14☑ Shane Ranschaert District 16Note: Incumbent Kelly Downard did not seek re-election. |
Results
| Louisville Metro Council District 2, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Barbara Shanklin Incumbent |
47.31% | 1,707 |
| Caroline Grundy | 23.28% | 840 |
| Rasean Crawley | 20.65% | 745 |
| Rick Harrison | 8.76% | 316 |
| Total Votes | 3,608 | |
| Source: Jefferson County Election Center, "Primary Election Unofficial Results," May 17, 2016 | ||
| Louisville Metro Council District 4, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Barbara Sexton Smith |
65.34% | 2,270 |
| Bryan Burns | 26.74% | 929 |
| Marshall Gazaway | 7.92% | 275 |
| Total Votes | 3,474 | |
| Source: Jefferson County Election Center, "Primary Election Unofficial Results," May 17, 2016 | ||
| Louisville Metro Council District 6, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| David James Incumbent |
57.60% | 2,248 |
| Carol Clark | 42.40% | 1,655 |
| Total Votes | 3,903 | |
| Source: Jefferson County Election Center, "Primary Election Unofficial Results," May 17, 2016 | ||
| Louisville Metro Council District 8, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| S. Brandon Coan |
24.22% | 2,275 |
| Stephen Reily | 22.99% | 2,159 |
| Chris Kolb | 19.96% | 1,875 |
| Terra Long | 14.79% | 1,389 |
| Lynnie Meyer | 14.59% | 1,370 |
| Josh White | 3.20% | 301 |
| Charles Wooden | 0.24% | 23 |
| Total Votes | 9,392 | |
| Source: Jefferson County Election Center, "Primary Election Unofficial Results," May 17, 2016 | ||
| Louisville Metro Council District 14, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Shane Ranschaert |
50.23% | 434 |
| Eric Bullock | 49.77% | 430 |
| Total Votes | 864 | |
| Source: Jefferson County Election Center, "Primary Election Unofficial Results," May 17, 2016 | ||
| Louisville Metro Council District 16, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Scott W. Reed |
72.87% | 1,370 |
| William Sobel | 27.13% | 510 |
| Total Votes | 1,880 | |
| Source: Jefferson County Election Center, "Primary Election Unofficial Results," May 17, 2016 | ||
Campaign finance
The table below shows candidates' campaign finance contributions, expenditures, and cash on hand as of May 2, 2016.
| City council campaign finance amounts as of May 2, 2016[2] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
| District 2 | Rasean Crawley | $2,300 | $1,177 | $1,123 |
| Rick Harrison | $1,576 | $1,466 | $110 | |
| Barbara Shanklin (i) | $4,437 | $1,225 | $3,211 | |
| Caroline Grundy | - | - | - | |
| District 4 | Bryan Burns | $9,048 | $7,538 | $1,510 |
| Marshall Gazaway | $2,290 | $1,456 | $834 | |
| Barbara Sexton Smith | $81,405 | $34,261 | $47,143 | |
| District 6 | David James | $24,510 | $13,745 | $10,765 |
| Carol Clark | - | - | - | |
| District 8 | S. Brandon Coan | $43,335 | $30,969 | $12,423 |
| Chris Kolb | $25,974 | $10,728 | $15,246 | |
| Terra Long | $32,499 | $14,130 | $18,369 | |
| Lynnie Meyer | $84,178 | $49,633 | $34,545 | |
| Stephen Reily | $137,449 | $128,860 | $8,588 | |
| Josh White | $7,776 | $5,045 | $2,731 | |
| Charles Wooden | $400 | $1,507 | -$1,107 | |
| District 14 | Eric Bullock | $238 | $238 | $0 |
| Shane Ranschaert | $5,477 | $3,385 | $2,092 | |
| Cindi Fowler (i) | $4,241 | $2,372 | $1,870 | |
| District 16 | Scott W. Reed | $3,530 | $1,670 | $1,860 |
| William Sobel | $2,425 | $1,657 | $768 | |
| Gill Holland | $46,820 | $11,493 | $35,327 | |
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Issues
Democratic primaries decided winners
In the races for Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8, the primary election on May 17 determined the winners since no Republicans filed to run in those races. No Independent candidates filed to run in the general election. The winners of the Republican primaries for Districts 14 and 16 still faced a Democratic candidate in November. Those two races were the only contested races in the general, since all of the other districts had unopposed candidates.
District 2
Democratic Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin was first elected in November 2002. She served as council president in 2005. She facied three opponents in the Democratic primary: Caroline Grundy, Rick Harrison, and Rasean Crawley. Yvonne Woods also filed to run in the race, but she withdrew her candidacy in April and endorsed Crawley. The election in 2016 was the first time since 2002 that Woods did not run for the District 2 seat.[3] Shanklin won the primary with 47 percent of the vote.
The four candidates met at a forum on April 21, 2016, at the Bon Air Library. Shanklin was criticized for spending much of her district's discretionary funds in Newburg, leaving out other parts of the district, including Norfolk. The incumbent councilwoman, however, defended herself, citing a park in Petersburg. The candidates all opposed putting methane plants in residential areas and implementing new taxes or fees for transportation projects proposed in the new Move Louisville plan. They also shared concern over losing jobs at Appliance Park, which was in the process of being sold to a Chinese company.[4]
Shanklin faced ethics charges in 2013 for misusing government funds. She faced the possibility of being removed from office, but the council did not end up having enough votes to do so. During the forum, Crawley said the incident was still relevant, while Grundy and Harrison did not seem interested in discussing it. Shanklin said it was time to move from the matter and denied she had done anything wrong.[4]
Harrison was the chief of the Buechel Fire Protection District and served in the United States Navy. He announced plans to retire from the fire district in August 2016. Crawley was an account manager at Teleperformance. He earned a bachelor's degree and an M.B.A. Grundy operated a nonprofit organization that provided services to people trying to start their own business.
District 4
In District 4, incumbent David W. Tandy (D), who was first elected to the council in 2005, did not file for re-election. Three Democrats ran for his seat: Bryan Burns, Barbara Sexton Smith, and Marshall "Marty" Gazaway. Smith won the primary and was unopposed in the general election.
In 2016, Burns was working toward a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Louisville, where he also received his bachelor's and master's degrees. Smith had experience as the president and CEO of the Fund for the Arts. Gazaway, who served in the U.S. Navy, had worked as a law enforcement officer and civil servant.
The Courier-Journal reported that at the candidate forum for District 4 candidates, a majority of the conversations revolved around race. The district was one of six that were created with a majority black population in order to ensure that black voters were represented on the council. With Tandy, who was black, stepping down, the district would possibly have had non-black representation for the first time since 2003. Gazaway was also black, but Burns and Smith were white.[5]
Smith said that in talking about blackness there is black color, black culture, and black consciousness. "I’m obviously not of black color, I’m obviously not of black culture. I am black conscious, yes I am," she said.[5] Burns said that a white person can never understand what it means to be black, and the best thing to do is "listen and be the best ally you possibly can."[5] Gazaway said more black candidates should be running in all of the districts, not just those that are traditionally represented by black people. "I shouldn’t be the only person sitting here," he said.[5]
Burns and Smith both opposed putting a methane plant in the district. Burns expressed his belief that it is racist, saying, "If you would no [sic] put one of these in a rich white neighborhood, it has no place being in a poor black neighborhood."[5] Gazaway was more open to the plant. He had been near a methane plant in Indiana, he said, and didn't notice the foul odor that people seemed to be worried about.[5]
District 6
Carol Clark (D) challenged incumbent David James (D) for his seat representing District 6. James was first elected to the council in 2010; he worked as a police officer for the Louisville Police Department and the University of Louisville Police Department. Clark was a barber and a trained EMT. James defeated Clark in the primary with 57 percent of the vote.
The two discussed policing strategies and economic development during a debate on May 2, 2016. They agreed on certain police issues, such as needing more police officers on the streets and the importance of "community policing." James supported the proposed Wal-Mart, saying that it would spur development and provide jobs and a needed place for shopping. Clark said she had more questions about the project and what wages would be paid.[6]
District 8
In the most crowded race, seven candidates ran in an open race for District 8, where Councilman Tom Owen (D) decided not to run for re-election. He joined the council in 2003 after being elected in 2002. The following candidates ran for District 8: Josh White, Lynnie Meyer, Terra Long, S. Brandon Coan, Stephen Reily, Charles Wooden, and Chris Kolb. Coan won the race with just over 24 percent of the vote. Reily was just behind him, earning about 23 percent of votes.
The candidates debated the best way to improve public transit during a forum on April 28, 2016. Below are some of the opinions expressed at the debate:[7]
- Charles Wooden said the city needed more frequent, direct routes.
- S. Brandon Coan suggested consolidating TARC, the city's bus service, and PARC, the parking service. He said this would increase the efficiency of TARC and allow PARC to better address neighborhood parking issues.
- Josh White disagreed with Coan's proposal, saying that the loss of competition between the two if they were consolidated would have negative effects.
- Stephen Reily said in order to improve the city's transportation, the number of jobs in the city must increase. Since TARC is partly funded through occupational taxes, he said, more jobs would lead to more money for TARC.
- Lynnie Meyer said the key to improving transportation is by increasing residential density. "You can’t just talk about investing in transportation, you also have to have complete street design and access to that transportation," she said.
About the city
- See also: Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the county seat of Jefferson County. In 2003, Louisville and Jefferson County merged, making Louisville cover the whole county. As of 2010, its population was 741,096.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Louisville uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Louisville, Kentucky | ||
|---|---|---|
| Louisville | Kentucky | |
| Population | 741,096 | 4,339,367 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 380 | 39,491 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 71.6% | 87% |
| Black/African American | 21.7% | 8.1% |
| Asian | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | 1% | 1% |
| Multiple | 2.5% | 2.3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5.4% | 3.7% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 90.6% | 86.3% |
| College graduation rate | 33.4% | 24.2% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $56,586 | $50,589 |
| Persons below poverty level | 14.2% | 17.3% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Louisville Kentucky election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Louisville, Kentucky | Kentucky | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Jefferson County Election Center, "Home," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Home," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ Courier-Journal, "Longtime Shanklin rival quits District 2 race," April 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Courier-Journal, "Rivals confront Shanklin at District 2 forum," April 22, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Courier-Journal, "Race the focus of District 4 debate," April 28, 2016
- ↑ Courier-Journal, "Police, development keys in District 6 debate," May 3, 2016
- ↑ WFPL, "What We Learned From The Candidates For Metro Council’s Highlands Seat," April 29, 2016
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