Kentucky election 2022: Where the Louisville mayor candidates stand on LMPD, abortion

Nine candidates for Louisville mayor will appear on ballots Election Day.

Apart from the two major party candidates, seven other candidates are making bids to succeed Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who is limited by law from running for a fourth, four-year term.

We sent all nine candidates a few questions to help you decide between them. Their answers are below, in alphabetical order by last name. (Some responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Not all candidates responded to The Courier Journal's request for information and answers to the questions.)

Bill Dieruf (Republican)

Age: 67

Occupation: Jeffersontown mayor, hardware store owner for 35 years

Political offices held: Jeffersontown mayor, city council member

Robert Eberenz (Independent)

Did not respond.

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David Ellenberger (Independent)

Age: 59

Occupation: Property manager

Political offices held: None

Taylor Everett (Independent)

Did not respond.

Craig Greenberg (Democrat)

Age: 49

Occupation: Attorney by training, co-owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling and former CEO of 21c Museum Hotels

Political offices held: None

Martina Kunnecke (Independent)

Age: 69

Occupation: Retired; served as a volunteer with numerous organizations and in research or management roles in various settings, including Army Research Institute for Social and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Family Practice at University of Louisville, Humana; Research Triangle Institute (National Inmate Survey) and Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (Director of Exhibits)

Political offices held: None

Manetta Lemkheitir (Independent)

Age: 62

Occupation: Works in ministry and for GE Appliances

Political offices held: None

John Mace (Independent)

Age: 30

Occupation: Air marshal at UPS Worldport

Political offices held: None

Political offices held: None

Isaac "Ike" Marion Thacker IV (Equality for People and Economic Freedom Party Socialist)

Age: 65

Occupation: Writer and activist

Political offices held: None

How will you help restore trust in not only the Louisville Metro Police Department overall, but also the public's trust in the ability of the mayor's office to work with LMPD and the community to try to limit violence throughout the city?

Dieruf: LMPD officers will trust the leadership of my current Police Chief Rick Sanders and me. There is proof in that the local FOPs have endorsed me. Former officers say they will return to LMPD when I am elected. Practices Chief Sanders and I use now — Community Oriented Policing to build relationships and Intelligence-led policing to catch hardened criminals — should inspire the community to trust that public safety will improve greatly when I am Mayor.

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Ellenberger: I would begin with meeting all the police to make a plan with them. I would proceed to go on drive-throughs with the police to meet various people in all areas of the city and talk with them to help determine a plan. I would also plan regular neighborhood meetings. I plan on promoting a website that gives social credit for various good deeds plus doing the basics of life, like getting up, brushing teeth, etc.

Greenberg: Louisville deserves the best trained, trusted and transparent police department – one that is fully staffed, supported by its leadership and focused on preventing crime through community policing. This past January, I released a comprehensive plan outlining my intentions to hire more police officers, crack down on illegal guns, focus more efforts on domestic violence and victim services, expand citywide mental health resources and enhance our city’s youth programs.

Kunnecke: Public trust begins with listening to the public, heeding its concerns and meeting community expectations.  I will establish a Citizens Public Safety Board to heal the divide between LMPD and the community. Working with LMPD, the board will have policy-making, subpoena and disciplinary powers – including oversight over LMPD reform and complaints. It will monitor and provide guidelines on staffing issues (recruitment, mental and physical health, etc.), performance/accountability standards and LMPD reform.

Lemkheitir: I pray about all things and ask for guidance and wisdom to do what His Will is for the matter. Trust once broken is hard to repair, yet WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and we can do all things through Christ, which gives us strength! A community united will stand!

Mace: I would ask for (LMPD Chief) Erika Shields' resignation, if not remove her from office. The position would remain vacant until I found a suitable replacement. I would then go through the police training to look for areas of improvement and gain first-hand experience of policing in and outside the classroom. I'd also spend time at the corrections facilities to figure out what improvements need to be made there to reduce recidivism rates.

Thacker: Mindful of The Courier Journal's report that some 53% of LMPD searches are still inflicted on the roughly 20% of Louisville's adult population that is African-American, I will begin my gentle assault on police racism by instituting 80-hour mandatory pro-tolerance, anti-racism training, and by mimicking the largely successful Cincinnati reforms. My not-so-gentle assault on violence will begin with attacking the root causes of that violence: poverty, lack of after-school options for our youth and unemployment.

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As mayor, how will you direct LMPD to enforce or not enforce Kentucky's ban on abortions as it currently stands, and how do you think county prosecutors should handle cases involving abortion-related offenses?

Dieruf: The Louisville Mayor’s office has no authority regarding the state and federal issue of abortion. The medical licensure board would have as its responsibility addressing the licensing of a physician who breaks the law. I will not direct LMPD to hunt down doctors and pregnant women as my opponent has asserted. What is scary is that a mayoral candidate says he will tell the police which laws to enforce or not in Louisville Metro.

Ellenberger: I would direct the police to a hands-off policy and to only get involved to prevent violence. For an actual case in hand, I would direct prosecutors to use their discretion to resolve the case as quickly as possible without garnering any publicity. If I find that a prosecutor is using a case to further their agenda, they would be replaced.

Greenberg: Louisville’s police officers should not arrest women or girls seeking an abortion, nor should they arrest the doctors and nurses providing that care, and they will not do so under my administration. LMPD should be focused on preventing crime from happening, solving violent crimes and working with other community partners to improve public safety.

Further, I am voting 'No' on Amendment 2 and encourage others to do the same.

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Kunnecke: As Mayor, I won’t burden an already short-staffed police force with criminalizing decisions best left to women regarding their physical and mental health. I will take the strongest course of action available to my office to give enforcement of the abortion ban the lowest priority for police intervention and explore making Louisville 'a choice sanctuary zone.' I would also support the county attorney’s office refusing to bring charges or prosecute any police action that interferes with choice.

Lemkheitir: God has given people the free will to do what we want to do, understanding there's consequences to every decision made, good or bad. Whatever the penalty is for any crime committed including abortion, it should be carried out when one has been found guilty according to the law that now stands.

Mace: I would have LMPD and prosecutors only deal with abortions conducted by someone who isn't a licensed doctor and/or outside a medical facility, especially if it poses a serious threat to the health of the mother. I would also create resources for mothers considering getting one in order to reduce the chances they follow through. This information can then be used to help prevent women from being in the situation in the first place.

Thacker: I will direct LMPD not to enforce the current abortion ban, and believe that county prosecutors should not pursue any abortion-related cases, except where the crime being prosecuted is not the getting of, or performing, an abortion, but rather because medical mistakes resulted in harm to the woman involved.

In your mind, what are one or two key mistakes the Fischer administration has made while in power, and how would you go a different direction than those decisions or correct them?

Dieruf: The Fischer administration erred in not having the right leadership in place to advance Louisville on every front. I hear it everywhere I go. His failure in overcontrolling the police department and not letting officers uphold the law is a travesty. His decision to take funding from the business community to handle economic development was terrible. And our city needs to be cleaned up in all parts of town – other than just Derby Week.

Ellenberger: First of all as far as I know he hasn't used the media to any good extent. I would direct the media to report on more positive news and plan on having numerous contests and awards shows. Any type shows popular on national television we would have our own 'Louisville' versions. I would not have taken down any statues without a plan on what to replace them with.

Greenberg: Our city has spent too much time studying problems and not enough time taking action to fix them. As mayor, I will work with a sense of urgency to address our city’s challenges. We need to do a better job of cracking down on illegal guns to reduce the amount of senseless gun violence. We must also do the little things right to restore our city’s sense of pride, improve public safety and lead Louisville in a new direction.

Kunnecke: Fischer’s administration has: 1) fostered 'developer supremacy' by promoting aggressive corporate development and land use at the expense of the community’s  quality of life and climate change concerns. 2) elevated LMPD to a public safety threat, by downplaying abuse and neglect patterns. My administration will attempt to arrest the damage through policy review and revision, community driven reform where needed and providing more than lip service regarding climate change, public safety and quality of life.

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Lemkheitir: The one thing I wish the Fischer administration would've done better would be to stay more engaged/connected with the people/community, not just certain people/community, but all. It's the people who vote us into the political positions. Therefore, it's important to stay connected to our people and community.

Mace: I think the biggest issue that he isn't a man of the people. People are tired of performance politics and want someone who is a real person and not someone who speaks in soundbites and rehearses every public appearance. I'm someone who can relate to a lot of people because I am working class and I take pride in what I do and I don't think I'm less than because I work a manual labor job.

Thacker: The biggest mistake the Fischer administration, like those before it, has in my view made, is failing to pursue economic democracy — which is to say economic equality, or socialism. I will pursue such with every fiber of my being and power.

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Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville mayoral election: Where Greenberg, Dieruf stand on issues