Republicans are hoping to build on their past success in southwest Jefferson County during the upcoming Metro Council elections.
The Jefferson County Republican Party is overseeing an aggressive strategy to pick up three new seats on Louisville Metro Council, where the party has been in the minority since the 2003 city-county merger. Their focus is on the city’s South End where Republican candidates ousted two Democratic incumbents during the last election two years ago.
In District 14, incumbent Democrat Cindi Fowler is facing a challenge from Republican Crystal Bast, a first-time candidate focused on building up neighborhood groups and addressing crime.
‘Protect 4, pick up 3’
Last month, Fowler held a community meeting — called a “Fowler forum” — at Pleasure Ridge Park High School. She began the meeting updating residents on new developments, including one of her recent accomplishments: securing funding for a new birthing center at Mary and Elizabeth Hospital.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but you can’t birth a baby west of I-65,” Fowler told the audience. “Right now. No place. It just makes me crazy.”
The forum was meant to be a way for residents of District 14 to connect with representatives from local agencies, like the Metropolitan Sewer District, the Transit Authority of River City bus system and the Louisville Water Company.
But when Fowler opened the floor to questions, several residents brought up their concerns about apartments and affordable housing.
“People in your district feel that all the crap is being pushed on Valley Station and the South End,” said Leanne Helton. “You talk to anybody in our area…and it’s true.”
Nearly every resident who attended the meeting voiced similar concerns about developments where they live.
Fowler tried to explain how she meets with developers and attempts to get them to address community concerns. She said she even voted against the redevelopment of Flowervale Farm, a recent project that sparked strong pushback from neighbors.
“It’s unfortunate that I don’t have more say, but I’m just one vote out of 14 that’s needed for those to pass,” she said.
For Helton, Fowler’s defense rang hollow. As a life-long South End resident, Helton said she feels things are moving in the wrong direction — and not just with the new apartments popping up.
“We have no decent places to shop,” Helton said after the meeting. “You see other parts of Louisville growing by leaps and bounds, and we’re stuck.”
It’s that frustration that Republicans are hoping to channel in the upcoming election.
If they can unseat Fowler, who’s been in office since 2012, hers would be the third South End seat to flip red in two years. Currently, Republicans hold nine of 26 seats on Metro Council.
Don Fitzpatrick, chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party, said the party’s aspirations in the upcoming election go beyond District 14.
“We're really focused on where we believe we've got strong candidates, which we do, and where we can win,” he said.
During an interview, Fitzpatrick pulled out a flyer the party had drawn up to explain the strategy in broad strokes. “Protect 4, Pick up 3,” it says.
The local Republican party is supporting bids by candidates in Districts 12 and 14 to challenge longtime Democratic incumbents. They are also optimistic about District 24, where Republican Ginny Mulvey-Woolridge and Democrat Tyra Thomas-Walker are competing for a seat being vacated by Democrat Madonna Flood.
So far, Fitzpatrick said voters in these districts have been receptive to hearing an alternative vision.
"People say it’s refreshing that the Republican Party, over the last couple of years, really is paying attention in areas where they perceive that we haven't, and frankly, they perceive that the incumbents haven't,” he said.
The party’s particular focus on the South End comes after Dan Seum, Jr. and Khalil Batson defeated Democratic incumbents two years ago in District 13 and District 25, respectively.
Republicans feel the battleground has also become more even in southwest Jefferson County.
In the past, many residents in the mostly working class communities were members of unions, typically associated with Democrats. Only 10% of workers in the United States belong to unions now. The numbers of registered Democrats and Republicans in the South End have also started to level out, although Democrats maintain an advantage.
Fitzpatrick said the recent election cycles reflect a shift for the Republican party in Louisville. He said it's about showing up.
“It may take a couple of elections, but in the meantime, the Democrats will have to pay more attention,” he said. “Frankly, I hear from a lot of these folks, ‘Our votes are taken for granted.’’
The candidates
In the District 14 race, showing up means attending community events and knocking on doors.
As Republican Crystal Bast met voters at their homes on Jonquil Drive this week, she pitched herself as a fresh voice and a new set of eyes for the district.
“I’m community over politics, but definitely need to make some changes out here because it’s time for change,” Bast told one potential voter, standing on the porch of his single-story red brick home decorated with fall colors.
District 14 has been held by Democrats since 2003, when the city and county merged to form Louisville Metro Government. On this night, Bast met a handful of residents who are open to hearing from a Republican.
In an interview with LPM News, Bast said she’s lived in the Valley Downs neighborhood for a little more than a decade. She said that as she saw crime increase in her neighborhood, particularly vehicle break-ins, she started up an active neighborhood watch. The group has also worked on neighborhood beautification, clearing out drainage ditches and helping people with downed trees in their yards.
“We got neighbors talking and meeting who had lived here many, many years and didn’t even know each other,” Bast said.
If she wins the November election, Bast said she wants to help residents create their own groups that can help police address crime and create community.
“We could work with each neighborhood, give them the resources, give them the funding,” she said. “If they’re out there doing it, I’m going to be out there with them. That’s what we need because no one person can do this on their own.”
Bast said her top priorities are getting more people to join the Louisville Metro Police Department, addressing the officer shortage, encouraging new businesses to open in the South End and investing in public parks and infrastructure.
Fowler, meanwhile, has also spent recent months knocking on doors in District 14 and giving her own pitch to voters.
She said she understands residents’ frustrations with the lack of economic development in the South End when they see growth in other districts.
“Look, when I was a little girl, Dixie Highway was like the shopping place,” Fowler said. “Dixie Manor, it was the Mall St. Matthews. And then with the ‘80s and the recession everything moved east and it became like a ghost town … It’s frustrating, but folks aren’t building new big box stores right now.”
Fowler said she’s also limited in what she can do about new apartments going up, especially when the developer doesn’t need a rezoning or some other type of special permitting.
“The reality is, it’s a free enterprise and when a man sells his farm to a developer and says, ‘I’d like to get $3 million for 30 acres,’ I can’t stop them unless there’s a really good reason to stop them,” she said.
In her conversations with residents, Fowler said she tries to focus on the things she does have the power to address. She talks about how she dedicated funding for license-plate readers to support law enforcement and her efforts to protect the Sun Valley Pool from being closed.
“I’m making sure they don’t close our parks, our public swimming pools and our golf courses,” she said. “I’m working every day to make sure our quality of life, things that matter, are not just thrown to the wayside.”
Both Fowler and Bast had to submit fundraising reports to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance earlier this month. They show Fowler is far out-raising and out-spending Bast ahead of Election Day.
As of Sept. 10, Fowler had raised $47,000, spending $11,000 on campaign management, event sponsorships and flyers. Bast has brought in about $12,000 and still has $10,000 on hand.
While local Republicans hope this year’s Metro Council elections will help tip the balance in their favor, they’ll also be notable for another reason: A state law passed this year means future local elections will be nonpartisan.
In an interview last month, Fowler said she wishes the change would have happened this year.
“It gets in the way of the good things that can be done for our districts,” she said, referring to local candidates having party affiliations.
But in order to get to that new world of nonpartisan elections, Fowler will have to survive this challenge from Republicans who think they have a good shot gaining ground in the South End.
