Louisville Metro Council: Which seats are up for the special election in November

Election Day is less than two months away, and three Louisville Metro Council seats are on the ballot.

The elections in District 3, 6 and 8 are all considered "special elections," meaning that ordinarily, the positions would not be up for election this year. However, Democrats Keisha Dorsey, David James and Cassie Chambers Armstrong all stepped down from their respective seats earlier this year.

James, previously the Metro Council president, and Dorsey joined Mayor Craig Greenberg's administration, while Armstrong won the state Senate seat Morgan McGarvey held before joining Congress.

State law required that Metro Council – not voters – appoint their replacements until the next general election. This process was called "anti-democratic" by some, including Councilman Jecorey Arthur. But as the next election approaches, Louisville residents from Shively, the Highlands, Old Louisville and other neighborhoods will be able to vote for who represents them.

District 3: Shameka Parrish-Wright vs. Gibran Crook

This district, which includes Shively, Taylor Berry and other West End neighborhoods, is currently represented by Councilman Kumar Rashad, who was appointed on Feb. 2 by the Metro Council.

The incumbent will not be on the ballot, though.

Rashad was initially announced as the Democratic candidate for District 3, beating out former Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright, an activist and former mayoral candidate who lost to Greenberg in 2022. However, Parrish-Wright's attorney challenged the Louisville Democratic Party nominating committee's initial vote for Rashad, arguing the votes were not weighted properly.

The law requires that panel members' votes are weighted proportionately to the number of registered Democratic voters they represent, not a popular vote, which pushed the nomination in Parrish-Wright's favor.

Rashad appealed the decision. But Parrish-Wright ultimately secured the Democratic nomination after the flub by the panel committee. She is running against Gibran Crook, an independent. Crook shared his intention to run in January, when Dorsey recused her seat, but he was a Democrat at that time. He is a youth basketball coach and tournament director.

District 6: Phillip Baker vs. Judy Martin Stallard

After former Metro Council President David James became one of Greenberg's deputy mayors, JCPS Family Resource Coordinator Phillip Baker was appointed as the councilman for District 6, which includes Old Louisville, the University of Louisville and parts of downtown.

Baker will be on the ballot this November and if elected, will serve as the District 6 councilman for at least a year. While Metro Council terms are typically four years, in 2024, all of the Metro Council even-numbered seats will be on the ballot.

Baker has said that he intends to run for council again in 2024 "unless something drastic happens."

He ran for the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2018 but came under scrutiny when a citizen accused him of not living in the 43rd District long enough to represent it. A judge ruled the claim had not been proven and that Baker was allowed to remain on the ballot, but Charles Booker ended up winning the Democratic nomination.

Baker is up against Republican Judy Martin Stallard, who has had a long career in the steel industry. Stallard also ran for the Kentucky House of Representatives District 42 seat in 2022, but she was overwhelmingly defeated by Democrat Keturrah Herron.

District 8: Ben Reno-Weber vs. Phil Haming

After Armstrong was elected to the state Senate during a special election, Ben Reno-Weber was appointed to fill her place as the councilman for District 8.

Reno-Weber represents the Highlands, Tyler Park, Bonnycastle, Seneca Gardens and Strathmoor Village. He also is the deputy director of the Humana Health Equity Innovation Hub at the University of Louisville.

Reno-Weber secured the Democratic nomination for the District 8 seat, meaning that if elected, he will continue to serve his district for the next year. Then, as an even-seat council member, he would have to run again in 2024 – which he said he intends to do.

He is up against Republican Phil Haming, a sales engineer. This is Haming's first time running for a Metro Council seat.

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Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @ellie_mccrary.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Metro Council: Who is up for election in November