At its organizational meeting, council members elected a new president and the leaders of the majority and minority caucuses. Democrats currently hold a one-vote advantage over Republicans on the 26-member council, with one independent. Even though the Metro Council is ostensibly nonpartisan now, thanks to a change in state law, members can still organize themselves into Democratic and Republican caucuses.
Democratic Council Members reelected District 1’s Tammy Hawkins to lead them. They also tapped Jennifer Chappell, who represents District 15, to be the caucus vice chair.
Following the vote, Hawkins told LPM News she expects Democrats will continue to lead on public safety issues, like ensuring city officials implement the police reform they’ve agreed to pursue.
“[Mayor Craig Greenberg] has thus far stayed true to his word and we’re going to hold him accountable to that,” she said. “And then we’ll move right along and try to move the city toward as much prosperity as possible.”
Hawkins said she plans to spend the next year getting Democrats to “collaborate more effectively and efficiently,” but she said members focusing on the needs of their own districts will ultimately come first, especially in an election year.
“Some of these districts have really competitive races,” she said. “Our caucus has to focus on maintaining being the majority.”
All odd-numbered Metro Council districts will have an election this year and Democrats’ narrow majority hangs in the balance. Most council members will have at least one opponent in the primary election on May 19.
In recent years, Republicans have increased their power on the Metro Council. They’ve added four members since 2022, while protecting their incumbents.
During the minority caucus meeting Thursday, District 11 Council Member Kevin Kramer said Republicans’ expanded ranks have allowed them to be “on offense” this past year, something he expects will continue in 2026.
“This is the first year that we said, ‘These are our priorities,’ and almost every one of our priorities were on offense instead of our priorities being trying to stop stupid things from happening,” Kramer said. “I think that’s the biggest difference and it’s exciting as all hell.”
The caucus unanimously reelected District 19’s Anthony Piagentini as chair and District 25’s Khalil Batshon as vice chair. Both are running for reelection this year.
Piagentini said in an interview that Republicans plan to focus on implementing the remaining items in their “Safer Louisville Agenda.” Some of the legislation they’ve yet to propose includes cracking down on panhandling and increasing penalties for illegal ATV use.
“Beyond that, infrastructure is going to be a big issue, public infrastructure, and then being a city that is a welcoming city to do business in, particularly small businesses,” Piagentini said. “These are things that just about everybody in the group campaigned on.”
Following the caucus meeting, all Metro Council members met in chambers to vote on who will be the council president for this year.
District 26 Council Member Brent Ackerson, a moderate Democrat, won reelection, receiving 21 votes from Democrats and Republicans. Five Democrats cast their votes for District 21 Democrat Betsy Ruhe.
The president holds a powerful position on the Metro Council, deciding the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans on the council committees. The president is also in charge of resolving some disagreements about rules during meetings.
Over the next week, Ackerson will appoint chairs and vice chairs of the various Metro Council committees. Caucus leaders will choose representatives to assign to those committees as members.
Correction: This story has been updated to use the correct spelling of Brent Ackerson’s name.
