Louisville Metro Council Committee of the Whole Special Meeting to Interview District 8 Candidates – March 13, 2023
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Louisville Metro Council Committee of the Whole Special Meeting
On March 13, 2023, the Louisville Metro Council Committee of the Whole held a special meeting at 4:00 PM to interview 18 applicants for the vacant District 8 Metro Council seat. The meeting, which lasted until 8:36 PM, was conducted via video teleconference with most council members present in chambers and several attending remotely. Council President Markus Winkler opened the meeting with a moment of silence marking the third anniversary of Breonna Taylor's death. Each candidate was allotted 14 minutes: a 3-minute opening statement, up to 10 minutes for questions from council members, and a 1-minute closing statement. Candidates were interviewed in the order their resumes were submitted. Three candidates (Christopher Joseph Meyer, Robert Kenyon Meyer, and Mathew Ruberg) withdrew prior to the meeting. No vote was taken; the full Metro Council will vote on the appointment at its regular meeting on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 6:00 PM.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were presented.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments or testimony were heard.
Discussion Items
- Peggy Boeck Garrison – Lifelong Louisville resident; professional background in marketing and account management. Expressed support for social justice and collaboration. Acknowledged the DOJ report as a turning point and emphasized transparency and community voice.
- Colby Lawrence Birkes – Legal fellow to former District 8 Councilmember Cassie Chambers Armstrong. Focused on health, safety, and economic prosperity. Supported increased notice protections for displaced persons and highlighted systemic inequities in housing. Stated 70% of displaced persons are Black or Hispanic. Emphasized ability to hit the ground running given prior legislative work.
- Marty Meyer – Lifelong Louisville resident with government and business experience (co-founder of El Toro, a fast-growing tech company). Stressed public safety, strong relationships across parties, and re-entry programs. Expressed urgency to address crime on Bardstown Road.
- Johnson Ives Webb – Staff attorney at Jefferson Circuit Court. Noted limitations of Metro Council to reform LMPD due to structural issues (qualified immunity, Commonwealth Attorney's office). Proposed better body camera policies and making misconduct a fireable offense. Acknowledged need for enforcement on panhandling and homelessness but deferred to mayor's office and LMPD.
- George E. Timmering Jr. – Co-owner of Bearno's Pizza; former president of Highland Commerce Guild. Prioritized public safety, neighborhood watch expansion, and communication. Supported mandatory microchipping of dogs. Expressed willingness to run in the special election.
- Ben Reno-Weber – Director at U of L Health Equity Innovation Hub; previously ran MobileServe. Emphasized coordinating resources for entrepreneurs, using data to address public safety (e.g., deflection project for nonviolent calls). Identified public safety, economic development, and infrastructure as top district issues.
- Andrew C. Bailey – State vice president for JCPS staff union; former teacher. Stressed parliamentary procedure experience and budget oversight. Called for specialized policing and oversight to improve police-community relations. Supported equitable park funding across districts.
- Larry Bisig – Communications professional; long involvement with Cherokee Triangle and Bonnie Castle neighborhood associations. Proposed leveraging corporate sustainability grants to fund park maintenance, tree canopy, and homelessness initiatives. Advocated for burying power lines.
- Taylor McGovern U'Sellis – Lifelong District 8 resident; advocate for accessible higher education at U of L. Emphasized representation of working mothers; supported reinvestment in public safety, local businesses, and affordable housing. Highlighted a personal experience with three shootings on her street and called for community stakeholder engagement.
- LaDonna Brown Johnson – JCPS educator for 20+ years. Prioritized public safety, homelessness wraparound services, and planning/zoning. Believed training and cultural competence are key for LMPD reform. Maintained the Highlands has few gang issues.
- Rosemarie Sprawls – Retired JCPS counselor. Emphasized listening skills and community longevity. Supported comprehensive action on the DOJ report, working with federal, state, and local funding. Identified graffiti as potentially gang-related but stressed need for youth programs.
- Brian A. Arbenz – Freelance journalist; TARC-dependent. Advocated for shifting from occupational tax to corporate taxes, tax increment financing reform, and restorative justice. Criticized current incentive packages and urged city compacts for progressive taxation.
- Michael V. Lucchese – Actuary at Humana; park steward and member of Cherokee Triangle Association. Top priority: safety (including feeling safe). Proposed regular meetings with neighborhood associations, data-driven problem-solving, and using actuarial skills for fiscal responsibility. Noted ongoing concerns about Bardstown Road corridor.
- William P. Schreck – Retired city and state public servant with over 40 years experience. Emphasized ability to start immediately; committed only to interim appointment until the special election. Prioritized listening and consensus-building; addressed homelessness and public safety.
- Michael A. Triebsch – Retired Toyota corporate communications; previously worked for Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Louisville Zoo. Focused on homelessness, poverty, and recreation. Believed addressing hopelessness reduces crime. Supported restructuring police to redirect nonviolent calls to social services.
- Lemuel Mason – 13-year resident originally from Philadelphia; works in disability services. Emphasized advocacy for vulnerable populations, public transportation expansion, and complete streets. Noted Bardstown Road has changed for the worse but was not familiar with specific gang issues.
- Craig A. DaRif – Retired JCPS teacher (22 years); volunteered at hospitals. Stressed career experience and community engagement. Supported no-kill animal shelters. Admitted steep learning curve but expressed commitment to learning.
- Jo Lloyd-Triplett – Immigrant from Manchester, UK; worked in Metro Government, nonprofits, and leadership development. Prioritized safety, representation of women and immigrants, and supporting local businesses. Called for innovative policing and community-based crime prevention; pledged to listen to district needs.
Key Outcomes
- No vote was taken. The committee of the whole adjourned at 8:36 PM.
- The full Metro Council will convene on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 6:00 PM to vote on the appointment of one candidate to fill the District 8 seat.
Meeting Transcript
Isn't that impressive? We have cousins, we have aunts, we have uncles who get deployed around the world with the military, and that affects children more than anything. Thank you. They've been in a few wars and stuff, so I think they're really great. Being a military child is hard. Moving from school to school, this is actually their fourth elementary school. Is this an opportunity for the community to embrace military families? When we support our military and their families, we are thinking when win because we support them and they support us. We're really proud to be here today and to see Bates be part of the Purple Star program. Knowing that the boys will have the support that they need at the school. That's amazing. Under current state law, that gun is then auctioned off by the Kentucky state police. These guns that are used to commit crimes end up back on our streets. And too often, guns that are used to commit crimes are used to commit another crime. That needs to stop. This gun was used by a 17-year-old child in Louisville who attempted to kill another 17-year-old child. Right now, state law forbids us from outright destroying these guns. That's frustrating, disappointing, and dangerous. When we seize drugs in our city, we don't put those drugs back on the street and give them to a different drug dealer. We destroy them. Why don't we do the same thing with guns? I want our city to do our part and permanently destroy illegal guns that have been used to commit you. Good afternoon. The Louisville Metro Council special meeting, uh committee of the whole meeting for Monday, March 13th, 2023 will please come to order. The time is currently four PM. This meeting is being held pursuant to KRS sixty-one. Councilmember Shanklin. Councilmember Rashad. No, he's present somewhere. Councilmember McCraney. Councilmember Owen. Here. Councilmember Mulvahilles. Councilmember Kramer. Councilmember Blackwell. Councilmember Syme. Councilmember Fowler. Here. Councilmember Chapel. Councilmember Reid. President Winkler. Councilmember Parker. Councilmember Piagentini. Councilmember Benson's here. Councilmember Ruey. Here. Councilmember Ingle. Present. Councilmember Hudson? Here.
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