Louisville's Metro Council District 20 covers a geographically-large area of southeastern Jefferson County that includes Jeffersontown, Fern Creek and parts of Middletown.
This is the only council primary with a competitive Republican race. Incumbent Stuart Benson, who was first elected to the council when it was being formed in 2002, is running for reelection for the fifth time. His challenger is Wyatt Allison.
Benson is a former public high school teacher. Earlier this year, he told the Courier Journal he remains focused on improving infrastructure issues related to road, sewer and water in the district.
He currently serves on the public works, government oversight and audit, and community affairs, health and education committees. Benson was endorsed by the conservative Freedom's Heritage Forum political action committee.
Relative to other members with long tenures, Benson has sponsored fewer pieces of legislation — 180 since 2016. Most of them relate to appropriating funds for projects and nonprofits around the city.
Allison is a 20-year-old real estate agent. His priorities include supporting the agriculture industry and enhancing the district’s natural beauty, according to his social media posts.
He responded to a questionnaire from the Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition, saying he believes access to affordable healthy food and increased urban agriculture are “very” important. “We should challenge ourselves to think creatively and comprehensively regarding food availability and accessibility. We have to fund and share ideas together,” he said, according to the questionnaire.
