Greenberg's wife has role in administration. Louisville's nepotism code might not allow it

The spouses of presidents and governors often have formal positions — as well as aides and offices.

At the city level? Not so much.

But the current Louisville mayor's office bucks that trend, and it may run afoul of the city's anti-nepotism rules.

According to two sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, Mayor Craig Greenberg’s wife, Rachel Greenberg, has an office in Metro Hall, has a city-issued @louisvilleky.gov email address and gives orders to Metro Hall staffers.

"The presence of an unofficial 'first lady' creates a lack of defined authority. Staff are uncertain about the extent of her decision-making power, and it's difficult to determine how her role fits within the organizational hierarchy," said one of the sources. "It blurs [the] personal and professional boundaries of nepotism. This administration fails to realize the harm to morale within the administration, and it's created resentment among staff members."

The sources spoke to The Courier Journal on the condition of anonymity as they were discussing a sensitive subject and were not authorized to speak to the media.

Additionally, one of the Metro Hall interns with Greenberg connections hired through SummerWorks — a program the administration portrayed as prioritizing disadvantaged youth — listed their summer job as “Special Assistant to the First Lady” at “Louisville City Hall” on their LinkedIn profile. The program, which provides salary for summer interns at Metro Government offices and participating nonprofits, is primarily funded by Metro Government.

Asked by phone on Aug. 30 whether Rachel Greenberg had a Metro Hall office and staff, Mayor's Office spokesperson Kevin Trager said "no, no, no, no" before adding "she's not an employee, and she does not have staff."

In that call, he insisted The Courier Journal's questions about the first lady's role be submitted by email.

A later statement from the mayor did not address the detailed questions The Courier Journal emailed, which asked, among other things, whether Rachel Greenberg had an office, if she directed staff and how the administration viewed her position in regard to the city's nepotism rules. A request to speak with Rachel Greenberg also was not granted.

Instead, the mayor said: "Louisville is fortunate that Rachel has volunteered so much time and energy to help our city and metro government. I look forward to our First Lady continuing to make a positive impact on Louisville in the years ahead."

The first lady’s elevated role in Metro Hall is not just a change in how things are done compared to the last administration; it is potentially a violation of Louisville’s ethics code, experts said.

According to the nepotism provision of Louisville’s ethics code, “a family member of the Mayor” or other elected official “shall not be employed by or appointed to a position with such elected official’s office.”

The ethics code’s definition of “family member” includes “spouse or domestic partner.”

John Peliserro, senior scholar in government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, told The Courier Journal that the first lady’s position was a “potential violation” of the ethics code.

“It’s incumbent upon a mayor or any other public official — but particularly the mayor — to always demonstrate that they’re acting in the public’s interest in all of their actions and appointments,” he said. “And here, what you appear to see, is the mayor using the powers of his office to create a role for his spouse, and in doing so, essentially allocating taxpayer dollars to support whatever role and activities the mayor’s wife is going to play.

“This is unusual, from my perspective of having studied cities for almost 40 years — mayors rarely find a role for their spouse in their administration,” he said.

Washington University in St. Louis law professor Kathleen Clark, who specializes in government ethics, also told The Courier Journal the first lady’s position could potentially violate the anti-nepotism clause.

“Even if a spouse is not paid by the government, having the spouse as an unofficial staff member can cause confusion and may run afoul of other government ethics standards if the spouse purports to direct the work of government employees,” she said.

Kevin Kramer, a Republican Metro Council member representing District 11 who helped shape the original ethics code ordinance in 2003, said he did not recall the position of a first lady being part of the conversation when drafting the code.

The ordinance, he said, was “crystal clear” that the wife of the mayor could not be the head of a department, but more muddied when it came to a first lady position.

“I would think the expectation would be that, you know, she couldn’t spend money... This is the first time I’ve contemplated this,” Kramer said in an interview with The Courier Journal, adding that the first lady having an official position would “raise eyebrows.”

Kramer said the role of the first lady in Louisville mayoral administrations is “a conversation worth having. But it has to be in the form of a conversation — if you’re going to spend government money, it does anyway.”

Frequently sitting in the front row at Metro Hall press conferences, Rachel Greenberg’s role in city government is much more pronounced than that of former Mayor Greg Fischer's wife, who was a pediatric pathologist when he was in office.

Jean Porter, a spokesperson for the former mayor, told The Courier Journal that Fischer’s spouse did not maintain a Metro Hall office, did not have interns and did not direct Metro Hall staff.

“Mayor Fischer’s wife, Dr. Alexandra Gerassimides, in her role as First Lady, would occasionally accompany the Mayor at community events or represent him from time to time when he was otherwise scheduled,” Porter said in a statement.

According to a financial disclosure statement filled out by Greenberg in January that The Courier Journal obtained under Kentucky’s open records law, Rachel Greenberg's occupation is listed as “First Lady.”

In an interview with WLKY-TV earlier this year, Rachel Greenberg presented herself as part of the administration, saying: “I think it’s important that I’m there, I do. This is a new day, and part of this new day and this new administration is we’re here.”

While deeply involved spouses are not the norm in city leadership, Louisville is not the only city where the arrangement has been controversial.

After former Kansas City mayor Mark Funkhouser’s wife took a desk at city hall when he took office in 2007, city council passed an ordinance barring family members from volunteering with mayoral administrations.

And in 2018, when then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio came under fire for his wife’s role in his administration, de Blasio attacked anti-nepotism rules that prevented his wife from collecting a salary from the city.

“The question that should be asked by the public is: What is the need for the mayor’s spouse to have any official role and support staff, an intern or anything like that to the mayor carrying out their official duties?” said Peliserro, the Santa Clara University government ethics expert. "Most mayors function well without having either a spouse or a spouse who has an official role within the administration.

"So, again, I think it’s important for the mayor to explain why this is necessary."

Reach reporter Josh Wood at jwood@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @JWoodJourno.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville has a first lady. The city nepotism code might not allow it