Louisville Metro Councilman Jim King formally declared his candidacy for Metro Mayor Wednesday.King starts his campaign on the momentum of his role in drafting the latest Metro budget and in passing a new set of labor standards. King also introduced his first high-profile endorsement, from Commonwealth's Attorney David Stengel"He's right in the world of finance and he knows what's going on," says Stengel. "All government right now is living on a string, and if anybody can help turn it around, it's Jim King."King says any candidate seeking the mayor’s office will have to reconcile the differences between urban, rural and suburban parts of the county that have arisen since merger.
"You almost have to live through some of this to see how important it is, but parts of our county I don't believe still feel like they are part of the city," says King.Council President David Tandy and businessman Greg Fischer have also declared for the Democratic primary.King says he and Tandy have come to an agreement to keep their campaigns out of the council chambers."David and I have a great friendship and great professional relationship," he says. "David and I have actually had a conversation about this and we understand that our jobs as council members come before our jobs as candidates."Local coffee shop owner Nimbus Couzin will run as an independent; no Republicans have entered the race.
