Ward-Pugh Drops Bid For Council Presidency

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh will not seek the council presidency next year. That means Councilman and former mayoral candidate Jim King will likely win the office.Ward-Pugh and King had both been discussing their potential bids for the leadership post with their colleagues. Ward-Pugh says King was able to secure more support first."It hasn’t been a contentious thing at all," she says. "It's just a matter of he's got the votes. And it's not about him not being capable; I just really didn’t anticipate that he'd want to run again this quickly. But I am fully behind him 100%."The council president serves a one year term. King was previously president in 2008, and if he wins next year, he will be the first president to win a second term. King reportedly has the support of 17 council members. 14 votes are needed to win the presidency.King and Ward-Pugh are both in the council's Democratic majority. The party's caucus will unofficially decide Thursday on who to support when the presidency comes up for a vote on January 6th. No Republican council members have yet announced their intentions to run for the presidency. Councilman Kevin Kramer was the last Republican president. He served in 2006. Councilman Tom Owen is the current president.King did not return a request for comment.