Seven of the 13 Metro Council races on primary ballots Tuesday were contested, including two featuring incumbents. Half of the Council’s 26 seats are elected every two years, and this year’s races are for the odd-numbered districts.
Incumbent Democrat Keisha Dorsey of District 3 comfortably beat her challenger Tuesday, but Donna Purvis, the Democrat who represents District 5, had a tougher time. She eked out a win against challenger Ray “Sir Friendly” Barker by a margin of 35 votes, according to the unofficial tally provided by the Jefferson County Clerk on Tuesday night.
In all, eight sitting council members are running for re-election. Some of them won’t face opponents until November’s general election, while two — Republicans Kevin Kramer and Anthony Piagentini of Districts 11 and 19 — have no challengers at all.
Democrats currently have a supermajority, with 19 seats.
Winners of Tuesday’s primaries will be their party’s nominees in November, and may also face independent candidates. A full list of registered candidates is available here.
Here are the major party candidates for the contested races:
District 1 is in the far west and encompasses the St. Dennis area as well as the Park Duvalle neighborhood.
- Democrat: Tammy Hawkins
- Republican: Charlie Bell
District 3 covers parts of the West End, including the Hallmark, Jacobs and Taylor Berry neighborhoods as well as the city of Shively.
- Democrat: Incumbent Keisha Dorsey
District 5 is in the far west and includes the Chickasaw, Portland, Russell and Shawnee neighborhoods.
- Democrat: Incumbent Donna Purvis
District 9 is in the east and includes the Clifton, Crescent Hill and Rockcreek neighborhoods as well as the cities of Bellewood and Druid Hills.
- Democrat: Andrew Owen
- Republican: Alexandra Martindale
District 15 is south of downtown and includes the Iroquois Park, Prestonia and Schnitzelburg neighborhoods.
- Democrat: Jennifer Chappell
District 17 is in the far east and includes the cities of Barbourmeade, Goose Creek and Hickory Hill.
- Democrat: Incumbent Markus Winkler
- Republican: Kent Hall
District 21 is in the South End and covers the Newburg area as well as the Beechmont, Highland Park and Iroquois neighborhoods.
- Democrat: Betsy Ruhe
- Republican: Stephen Dattilo Jr.
Amina Elahi contributed to this story.
