Louisville Metro Council member Bill Hollander will not seek reelection to his District 9 seat in 2022.
District 9 covers the area including Frankfort Avenue, Shelbyville Road, Butchertown to Hubbards Lane and Bowman Field.
Hollander won his current post on Metro Council in 2014. Since then, Hollander served as the Chair of Metro Council Budget Committee and a member of the Council’s Government Oversight and Audit Committee and Public Works Committee.
He also served as the majority leader and President Pro-Tem for the Council from January 2016 through January 2018 after choosing not to seek reelection for those roles.
During his time on Metro Council, Hollander supported several pieces of legislation focusing mainly on the budget and allocation of funds. One of the most notable is changing the way the city’s budget is adopted, extending the month-long process.
“That seemed completely inadequate to me. I introduced an ordinance to change and we’ve had more time for the last several years,” Hollander said.
The extension allowed Metro Council more time to get feedback from the public about the budget.
Since joining Metro Council, Hollander has been an advocate for affordable housing. He called for the full funding of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In 2016, the fund received local money for the first time and has become a staple of the city’s annual budget since. New protections were added to Louisville's Fair Housing Ordinance to ban discrimination against people using Section 8 vouchers or other government assistance programs. It also expanded protections to those experiencing houselessness, those with arrest records and veterans.
With his remaining 18 months in office, Hollander says he will vote to make equitable use of American Rescue Plan funds throughout Louisville.
Hollander says he hopes that announcing his decision will give those considering a run ample time to decide by the January 2022 filing deadline.
“I never really thought of this as a career,” Hollander said. “I appreciate the opportunity, but I think it’s time to pass the baton to someone new.”
