Chambers Armstrong resigned from the position after winning a special election last month to replace Morgan McGarvey, who’s now in the U.S. House of Representatives, in the Kentucky Senate.
Louisville’s District 8 covers much of the Highlands area, including the Bardstown Road business corridor. District residents have always elected Democrats since the 2003 city-county merger.
The candidates vying to replace Chambers Armstrong will participate in public interviews on Monday, March 13. The meetings will be broadcast live on MetroTV (channel 184 on Spectrum and channel 99 on UVERSE) and on Metro Council’s website.
State law requires the remaining 25 Metro Council members to appoint someone to the District 8 seat until the next statewide election. This seat and two other vacancies filled this year will be on the ballot this November. The new representative will be selected by majority vote at the next meeting of the full council on March 16.
The candidates to fill the District 8 vacancy are:
- Brian A. Arbenz
- Andrew C. Bailey
- Colby Lawrence Birkes
- Larry Bisig
- Craig A. DaRif
- Peggy Boeck Garrison
- LaDonna Brown Johnson
- Jo Lloyd-Triplett
- Michael V. Lucchese
- Lemuel Mason
- Ben Reno-Weber
- Chris Meyer
- Marty Meyer
- Robert Kenyon Meyer
- Mathew Ruberg
- William P. Schreck
- Rosemarie Sprawls
- George E. Timmering, Jr.
- Michael A. Triebsch
- Taylor McGovern U'Sellis
- Johnson Ives Webb
There will not be a primary race ahead of the November special election. Local party leaders will choose the Republican and Democratic candidates. Some Metro Council members have criticized the appointment process as undemocratic.
A bill currently being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly would modify the process for filling a vacancy on Louisville Metro Council. HB191 would require a special election be held within 60 days. The Metro Council president would be allowed to appoint a replacement only if there are fewer than three months until the next election.
