Louisville Courier Journal: 'Our city needs us.' Mayor Craig Greenberg takes office, focusing on safety

Krista Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal

Craig Greenberg promised a safer city, accountability and racial justice after being sworn in Monday morning as the city's new mayor.

"Louisville is more than where we are, it's who we are," Greenberg told a crowd of more than 200 people at Metro Hall. "And right now our city needs us."

He said his highest priority would be making Louisville a safer city. To achieve that, Greenberg talked about supporting Louisville Metro Police through more resources and improving the department’s transparency, collaboration and accountability.

LMPD can become the "best police department in America," he said.

Public safety, though, is about more than policing, he said. It is also about preventing crime through addressing historic issues from poverty to substance abuse, childhood trauma and more.

“Over the past few years I’ve spoken with thousands of residents across Louisville. To everyone who shared stories with me: I heard your love for our city. I heard your hopes and your frustrations, and the reasons you’re concerned about the direction our city may be heading in. I heard you say over and over that you want to take our city in a new direction,” Greenberg said.

Decreasing violence throughout the city is a dire need, given the homicide tolls the city has experienced the past three years, with each surpassing 100. By the time Greenberg was being sworn in, three men had already been shot to death in Louisville so far in 2023.

Identifying the role of systematic racism must be a part of all future decisions made by metro government, he said, because “the promise of our city is still far out of reach for so many people.” He said he wants to create opportunities for all residents, focusing especially on neighborhoods that have been left behind.

Decreasing violence throughout the city is a dire need, given the homicide tolls the city has experienced the past three years, with each surpassing 100. By the time Greenberg was being sworn in, three men had already been shot to death in Louisville so far in 2023.

Identifying the role of systematic racism must be a part of all future decisions made by metro government, he said, because “the promise of our city is still far out of reach for so many people.” He said he wants to create opportunities for all residents, focusing especially on neighborhoods that have been left behind.

With his family by his side, Greenberg thanked them and his team for helping to ensure his victory.

“We have all been through so much with this campaign – more than we could have ever imagined,” said Greenberg, who was shot at in his campaign office last February. 

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Greenberg, 49, succeeds Mayor Greg Fischer, a fellow Democrat who served since 2011 and was limited by law from running for a fourth consecutive term. Both Fischer and former Mayor Jerry Abramson attended the inauguration.

Greenberg − the city's 51st mayor − is a political newcomer, coming from a business and law background. He is the co-owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling and former CEO of 21c Museum Hotels. Now he finds himself steering Kentucky's largest city, one that was rocked by racial justice protests in 2020 as the world also coped with the coronavirus pandemic.

He started laying the groundwork for his administration before taking office..

In December, Greenberg announced LMPD Chief Erika Shields would step down as he took office, with Deputy Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel stepping in as interim chief while Greenberg and his team search for a permanent chief.

Attorney, developer, runner, mayor:Craig Greenberg wants 'big changes' as Louisville mayor

During the campaign, as part of his pledge to create a "safer, stronger and healthier Louisville," he said he wanted to "fully fund" LMPD and eliminate the roughly 1,000-member department’s shortage of roughly 250 to 300 sworn officers. 

He has also pledged to create 15,000 affordable housing units, among other priorities, and on Monday he vowed to continue work done in that area by the Fischer administration.

His governing structure will look more like what the first mayor of the merged city-county government, Jerry Abramson, used in having several deputy mayors. Greenberg's senior leadership team includes several Metro Council members who are stepping down to join his administration.

Besides Gwinn-Villaroel, his team includes Deputy Mayors Barbara Sexton Smith, Nicole George, David James and Dana Mayton. David Kaplan will serve as chief of staff and general counsel while Keisha Dorsey will serve as deputy chief of staff.

Sexton Smith, George, James and Dorsey have all served on Metro Council. Mayton has served in state government and was the district director for outgoing U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville. Kaplan founded a law firm in Louisville and attended Harvard Law School with Greenberg.

Greenberg began his speech Monday by talking about his campaign ritual of running in neighborhoods across the city in an effort to hear about community members’ outlook on the city and its future.

Despite living here his entire life, Greenberg said, “I wanted to get to know our city even better, especially after all of the challenges we have been through the past few years.”

He ended his speech by circling back to that ritual, explaining that while he has secured the office, he knows that “I have a lot more listening and learning to do.” 

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