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Here's Who's Running For Louisville Metro Council

The primary fields are set for the 13 Louisville Metro Council seats up for re-election this year.

The filing deadline for the primary passed Tuesday afternoon. Three council incumbents will face challengers in the May 17 primary or in the November election. Other candidates have no challengers yet, but independent candidates can still file for the offices.

Democrats hold a 17-9 majority on the Metro Council.

Here are the candidates for the council:

District 2

The district includes Newburg, Poplar Hills and Buechel.


  • Incumbent Barbara Shanklin, Democrat. First elected in 2002.
  • Rick Harrison, Democrat. Harrison is the chief of the Buechel Fire Protection District.
  • Caroline Grundy, Democrat. Grundy could not be reached for further information.
  • Y'vonne Woods, Democrat. Woods has previously sought  the District 2 seat. She is a community organizer and a General Electric retiree.
  • RaSean Crawley, Democrat. Crawley could not be reached for further information.

District 4

The district includes Smoketown, Shelby Park, Russell and downtown. Incumbent David Tandy, a Democrat, announced last year he would not seek re-election.


  • Bryan Burns, Democrat. Burns is a community advocate.
  • Barbara Sexton Smith, Democrat. Smith is the former president of the Fund for the Arts.
  • Marshall Gazaway, Democrat. Gazaway is the president of the Beecher Terrace Resident Council and sits on the executive committee of the West Louisville Foodport.
  • Aletha Fields, Democrat. Fields is employed by Jefferson County Public Schools.

District 6

The district includes the Old Louisville, Algonquin, California and Park Hill areas.


  • Incumbent David James, Democrat. First elected in 2010.
  • Carol Clark, Democrat. Clark is a barbershop owner.

District 8

The district includes the Highlands, Cherokee Triangle, Belknap and Tyler Park. Incumbent Tom Owen, a Democrat, announced last year he would not seek re-election.

Owen has represented the area on Louisville's legislative body since the early 1990s.


  • William Corey Nett, Democrat. Nett did not return requests for occupation or title.
  • Josh White, Democrat. White is a production manager with Neuronetrix and founder of the Graffiti Abatement Coalition of Louisville.
  • Lynnie Meyer, Democrat. Meyer is an executive with Kosair Children's Hospital.
  • Terra Long, Democrat. Long is a former Louisville Metro Police officer and longtime aide to Owen.
  • S. Brandon Coan, Democrat. Coan is an attorney and former aide to Mayor Greg Fischer.
  • Stephen Reily, Democrat. Reily is an entrepreneur and chair of SEED Capital KY.
  • Charles Wooden, Democrat. Wooden is a realtor and is also employed by General Electric.
  • Chris Kolb, Democrat. Kolb is an associate professor of anthropology at Spalding University.

District 14

The district includes the far southwestern portions of Jefferson County, including Valley Village and Riverside.


  • Incumbent Cindi Fowler, Democrat. She was first elected in 2012.
  • Shane Logan Ranschaert, Republican. Ranschaert is a youth pastor.
  • Eric Bullock, Republican. Bullock is retired from Metropolitan Sewer District.

District 16

The District includes more than a dozen independent cities, such as Indian Hills and Prospect. Incumbent Kelly Downard, a Republican, announced last year he would not seek re-election.


  • Scott Reed, Republican. Reed is an executive with his family's printing business.
  • Gill Holland, Democrat. Holland is a businessman and filmmaker.
  • William Sobel, Republican. Sobel could not be reached for further information.

Incumbents with no challengers are Pat Mulvihill, D-10; Rick Blackwell, D-12; Marilyn Parker, R-18; Stuart Benson, R-20; Robin Engel, R-22; Madonna Flood, D-24; Brent Ackerson, D-26.

Jacob Ryan is the managing editor of the Kentucky Center for Investigative reporting. He's an award-winning investigative reporter who joined LPM in 2014. Email Jacob at jryan@lpm.org.

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