Notable names with hefty contributions fund new PAC backing Greenberg for Louisville mayor
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A new political action committee supporting the election of Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg collected $361,000 in contributions over the last two months.
It's set to provide another boost to a candidate whose campaign has already built a huge fundraising lead.
What is Forward Together?
Forward Together was created as an unauthorized campaign committee in November by Steve and Pat Miller of Saber21, a communications firm. Such PACs can only make independent expenditures in support of a candidate and may not be affiliated or coordinate with that candidate.
In response to an inquiry on the group from The Courier Journal, Steve Miller issued a statement that Forward Together has the sole mission of supporting Greenberg's candidacy for mayor and "will publicly account for every dollar we raise and spend in full compliance with the law."
"Our city can meet the challenges and seize the opportunities before us because Craig will bring us together while respecting each person’s talents, interests, and culture," Miller stated.
More: Louisville mayor race: You may recognize some of the names on Craig Greenberg's donor list
Who has contributed?
The only contribution to Forward Together last year was a $10,000 check on Dec. 1 from Ronald Greenberg, the father of Craig Greenberg.
But contributions to Forward Together picked up in February and include large checks from members of the influential Brown family in Louisville, as well as several companies.
The largest contribution was $100,000 from Christy Brown, who bankrolled a similar PAC in 2019 to support the gubernatorial ticket of Adam Edelen and Gill Holland, her son-in-law.
Other members of the Brown family to contribute to Forward Together were Laura Lee Brown and her husband Steve Wilson — the co-founders of 21c Museum Hotels, where Greenberg was CEO — who together contributed $75,000.
Campbell Brown, the chair of the board of directors at Brown‑Forman, also contributed $25,000.
Other notable contributors included:
Justice Action Network, a nonprofit criminal justice advocacy group: $50,000
Jim Gray, Kentucky Transportation secretary, former Lexington mayor: $50,000
LDG Development, multi-family housing developer: $25,000
NuLease Medical Solutions, a drug and alcohol treatment facility: $10,000
David Tachau, attorney: $10,000
Valle Jones, CEO of Mayin, real estate development company: $10,000
According to the most-recent campaign finance reports filed last week, Greenberg's mayoral campaign has raised $1.37 million and spent $684,256, with just less than $700,000 cash on hand.
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How much have other Louisville mayoral candidates raised?
Those fundraising numbers tower over all of Greenberg's competitors in the Democratic primary race, with the closest being David Nicholson, who has raised $586,335 and spent nearly that same amount, leaving just $18,203 in cash on hand.
While there have been no public polls on the Democratic primary race for mayor, the report from Forward Together last week indicated it spent $22,400 on polling on March 23.
Greenberg was the victim of an attempted shooting at his campaign office Feb. 14, with his assailant firing six shots — one close enough to rip a hole in his sweater.
The primary election is May 17.
Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville mayoral candidate Greenberg's campaign well funded by PAC
