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# Before you vote: meet the candidates in Louisville's small-city mayor races
- URL: https://www.shayinformed.com/before-you-vote-meet-the-candidates-in-louisvilles-small-city-mayor-races/
- Published: 2026-10-29T10:55:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T13:01:32.000Z
- Author: Shay McAlister

Louisville has 84 mayors, and most voters only hear about one race. I asked every candidate in a contested small-city race for 10 minutes on Zoom. This is who said yes.

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*I'm Independent Journalist Shay McAlister, and this is Shay Informed.*

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Here's something you may not know about Louisville: it has 84 mayors. There is the mayor of Louisville Metro, and there are 83 other mayors of small cities that sit inside Jefferson County. Some of those cities are home to a few hundred people. Others have more than 10,000.

You may see one of those races on your ballot on Nov. 3, in addition to the Metro mayor's race. According to the Jefferson County Clerk's candidate filings, 76 of the 84 mayoral offices have at least one candidate. Eight have no one listed, so the winner there would have to come from a write-in. Most of the 76 are uncontested: 63 have exactly one name. That leaves 13 races with more than one candidate, including Louisville Metro and 12 small cities.

Those 12 small-city races are the focus of this guide. I reached out to every candidate who filed in one of them and offered each the same interview. Eight candidates, in eight cities, said yes. You'll find what each of them told me below, with the cities listed alphabetically. At the end of this piece, you'll see who didn't participate, by city, so you know whose side you haven't heard.

## Heritage Creek

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/Ethan-Lambert-Headshot.jpg)

### Ethan Lambert

Ethan Lambert and his wife moved to Heritage Creek in 2023, and he says they didn't know it was a home rule city when they bought their house. He has a bachelor's degree in public policy and a master's in public administration, both from UofL. He has also worked for Louisville Metro Government for the past 10 years, in community services and homelessness programs, then performance improvement, and now as a technology liaison between IT and city departments.

Heritage Creek is about half a square mile, with roughly 800 households and 1,400 people. Lambert says the city's two main services are its own police department and a public works crew. 

When it comes to what residents complain about, Lambert named parking and the general appearance of the neighborhood. Streets are one lane, and the city has a no-street-parking ordinance, so residents who host a party have to call City Hall for a permit. He wants the use of the city's parking lots to be more transparent and equitable. "It's kind of an infrastructure problem, but as a community, we'd have to decide- are we ardent about not allowing street parking? Or are there enough voices in the community that want to have some middle ground?"

On appearance, he pointed out that the city's public works department is one person, and he'd like to explore low-maintenance plantings, with grants, in public spaces. On private property, he said he would try to work with neighbors case by case before issuing fines. He pointed to an existing program that sends help to seniors or ill residents who can't keep up their yards.

Transparency is the heart of Lambert's campaign. He described a recent council meeting where the mayor presented nominees for the city's ethics commission, after a resident had said she wanted to join, and he said her name wasn't on the first list. He said the city's website used to have no budget documents or meeting minutes, and that they appeared only after he started asking. "I think it's at the basis of legitimate government that the people who fund it should be aware of what it's doing, and our current administration seems to not really see much value in including the community in their decisions," he said. 

Asked why someone who never attends a meeting should care, Lambert said, "just because you don't care about politics doesn't mean it doesn't care about you." The decisions, he said, involve the money residents pay every year, and "nobody wants their taxes to go up."

*Also on the ballot: Fred D. Williams, who did not take part in this series.*

## Hickory Hill

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/Sarah-Browns.png)

### Sarah Brownfield

Sarah Brownfield has lived in Hickory Hill for nearly four years. She studied political science at UofL and works in the senior care industry. She says the job has taught her the importance of communication and accountability, and that she has "a servant's heart." She's running, she said, because she cares about people and loves the neighborhood she and her husband call home.

Communication is the theme of everything Brownfield told me. She said the best thing about having a small city government is local representation: someone who has heard your concerns and is working on a solution. What she'd add is a clear line of communication about what the city is doing and what changes are being made. She said that has been hard since she moved in.

"The beauty of having a small incorporated city government is to be able to provide residents with that direct connection to local leadership. So you can know I have someone who's advocating for me," she explained.

That's also the biggest complaint she hears. It's hard to know when city meetings happen, what's being discussed, or how someone can get involved. If she's elected, she said, communication will be her number one priority, with meeting dates, agendas, minutes and updates shared "through multiple channels," because "right now that's not happening."

The decision she'd have handled differently is about money. She pointed to the recent discussion about an increased tax levy in Hickory Hill. Residents got an email saying there would be a levy and a forum, but she said there was no explanation of the need or the rationale. To be fair, she noted, that forum hasn't happened yet. But she said there should have been "a lot of touch points" before the announcement, and that any major financial decision should be openly discussed with residents.

For people who never pay attention to city government, her case is that the decisions made by an incorporated city can affect your taxes, neighborhood services and property values. "You deserve to know what's happening in your city," she said, "and you deserve to know that you have an accountable and communicative leader."

*Also on the ballot: David "Todd" Jones, who did not take part in this series.*

## Hurstbourne

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/John-May-photo.jpg)

### John May

John May is a current Hurstbourne city commissioner and has a long record in Kentucky politics and real estate. He has a political science degree from UofL, served as Jefferson County property valuation administrator, and was Kentucky's revenue commissioner under Gov. Ernie Fletcher. His career is in real estate, where he chaired the Realtors Political Action Committee in Louisville and was president of both the Greater Louisville Realtors and the Kentucky Association of Realtors. He also spent 10 years as the Realtor liaison for the member of Congress in the Third District. He now does mostly real estate appraisals.

May said the services that home rule cities provide are mostly quality-of-life services. Hurstbourne, which he says has about 4,800 residents, pays for road paving, snow removal and trash pickup, and its commission approves design changes in the neighborhood. The city doesn't have its own police department. It relies on LMPD and has a contract with the Lyndon Police Department, and it depends on St. Matthews for fire and EMS. If there's anything he'd consider handing back, it's code enforcement. He said Metro's property maintenance system is more rigorous than Hurstbourne's, which has a part-time code enforcement officer. 

"The collaboration with Louisville Metro is essential, and I think that via a Metro Council person, we have to be strong partners so that we can utilize those services," he explained. 

On what residents complain about, May named pedestrian safety, speeding, people running stop signs and cut-through traffic from nearby Hurstbourne Lane, Shelbyville Road, Oxmoor Mall and I-64\. He said speed humps work, because "they never take a day off," and that enforcement often falls to LMPD. He also heard concerns about transparency. Commission meetings are held at 4:30 p.m., which he said is hard for working people, and he'd review moving them to 5 or 5:30\. He said agendas aren't published in advance, only posted on the door of City Hall the day of the meeting, and he'd publish them early. He'd also like to put the agenda on a screen at meetings and make meetings watchable online.

The decisions he'd revisit are the meeting schedule and the city's Flock cameras. Some were approved before he became a commissioner and some after. He said the problem is that there weren't enough guardrails for the public, and he'd re-examine the city's contracts with an eye on privacy safeguards. He said LMPD has reviewed the guardrails and told the public what they are.

May noted that Hurstbourne has a commission form of government, so the mayor is one vote among equals. But the mayor, he said, "sets the tone for the meeting," and that tone should be respect, openness and transparency. "Whether you attend the meetings or not," he said, "city decisions can affect your life."

*Also on the ballot: Mary Schneider Masick, who did not take part in this series.*

## Hurstbourne Acres

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/Holly-Slone.jpeg)

### Holly Slone

Holly Slone has lived in Hurstbourne Acres for 22 years. She told me she raised her son there. She is a small business owner and coach, and she has served on the city commission for the past two and a half years. She got involved after a tree on city property fell through her fence. She said she emailed and called for a couple of months and never got a response, so she went to a meeting. She was later appointed to the commission when a member fell ill, then ran in the next election and won.

Slone said the biggest advantage of a small city government is that it's small enough to know the community and respond to specific needs. She pointed to the city's own police department and to a program called Golden Watch, where senior citizens can request a daily check-in from police by text, call or a quick stop. She said Metro is too large to do something like that. She doesn't think there's anything the city should hand back. The questions she would ask are whether the city is using its resources wisely and whether it's partnering effectively with Metro when it needs to.

When Slone went door to door this fall, the number one complaint she heard was that people don't feel their voices are heard. They got tired of going to meetings, she said, and tired of emailing and calling with no response. Her priority is to make sure residents know they don't have to attend City Hall regularly. 

"They don't have to be a regular attendee at City Hall, but they need fair reporting of what goes on in our meetings, and they need to know that they can get a hold of one of the city leaders when it's necessary, when they have a problem, and they have a question, and I feel like I've started to bridge that gap", she said. 

The decision she says she'd handle differently is the city's installation of Flock cameras about a year and a half ago. The cameras were on a trial basis, she said, but the city didn't talk to residents first. She said that some residents told her they no longer walk in the city park because a camera is there. She said she would not have known if she weren't out talking to people. Going forward she wants to ask residents before making decisions, and she's considering a poll on how to deal with drivers going the wrong way on a one-way street.

As for why someone who never goes to meetings should care, Slone said, "the government affects your life whether you attend those meetings or not." She listed how tax dollars are spent, how public safety is handled, how the city communicates, and whether concerns get followed up on. Because people are busy, she said, "leadership is even more important."

*Also on the ballot: Mark Wenger and Terry McAllister, who did not take part in this series.*

## Lyndon

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/andy-benner-head-shot.jpg)

### Andy Benner

Andy Benner has lived and worked in Lyndon for more than 20 years and raised his two children there. He has a close view of how city government works: his mother-in-law is a former mayor and a current council member, and his wife is also on the council. Neither is running for re-election.

His main reason for running is simple. He believes residents deserve a choice. He said no one has run against the current mayor in the past nine years, and he wants to give Lyndon voters an option.

Benner described the city's services as garbage pickup, leaf collection twice a year in the fall, and its police department. Lyndon recently absorbed the Graymoor-Devondale police department, which he said has meant quicker response times and more local service than relying on Louisville Metro. He said the city has just over 10,000 residents. He doesn't think there's anything to hand back to Metro. What he'd add is more recreation for adults and families, beyond the city's tennis courts and a couple of parks.

The complaints he hears at council meetings are the lack of sidewalks and narrow streets. He said there are plans for street widening in several places, and in many of those spots the city has to choose between sidewalks and wider roads because there isn't room for both. He also hears a range of opinions on how the city budget is funded and spent. His approach is to listen, research what residents are interested in, and then be transparent about what's happening and where money goes. The budgets are online, he said, but they can be hard to get through if you're not used to reading them.

Benner said he supports absorbing the Graymoor-Devondale police department and wouldn't change that. What he'd do differently is how the city handled its occupational tax on workers in Lyndon. He said he would have researched the expected revenue first and talked with local businesses in advance. He would also have talked with the neighboring cities about what they would contribute for police service. He also pointed to a Kentucky League of Cities five-year strategic planning program that he thinks a small city could use.

Benner said this year's election is especially important. Council seats are on the ballot every two years, and he said there are 17 candidates for seven seats. The mayor's seat is also up. That means "a lot of opportunity for change either way," he said, and residents should find out where everyone stands "to the residents, to the businesses, to themselves, to the government."

*Also on the ballot: Brent Hagan, who did not take part in this series.*

## Middletown

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/Allison-Kenny.jpeg)

### Allison Kenny

Allison Kenny is a longtime Middletown resident, a mom of twins and a civil engineer with 17 years of experience. In her day job, she supervises design managers and cost estimators on large military construction projects for the federal government. She's running, she said, because Middletown continues to grow and needs leadership that knows how to manage that growth proactively, while keeping City Hall transparent, listening to residents and treating tax dollars and infrastructure "with professional care."

Kenny said what Middletown offers that Metro can't match is local accountability, faster response times, its own police department and an accessible neighborhood voice. She also wants residents to understand how development works. Louisville Metro's planning and design services get the first review of zoning and development plans, because Metro holds the land development code. As an independent home rule city, she said, Middletown can stand up for its own interests. What she'd add is proactive engineering oversight during those early review stages, so the city can catch traffic and infrastructure strains before plans advance, along with the city's own small area plans and corridor visions to give it a stronger legal footing. The one thing she would never hand back is local independence. She said the city should work with Metro on regional planning, but it "must always retain the power to protect our character."

The top complaint she hears is congestion on Shelbyville Road, which pushes commuters through neighborhood streets and adds to speeding. New developments, she said, keep popping up before roads can handle them, so residents feel infrastructure is always playing catch-up. Her answer is neighborhood traffic calming to keep cut-through traffic off residential streets, and stricter traffic impact studies before major developments are approved. "Growth should not mean that we're sitting in longer lines," she said. She also said she hears from people on the East End that they now run errands in Simpsonville and Shelbyville to avoid the traffic, which she said hurts local businesses. Shelbyville Road is a state road, she acknowledged, but she said a city can still influence decisions and changes.

The decision she would have handled differently was about communication. She said a major project decision was announced after plans were already well underway, which left residents out of the loop. She would have set up digital notification tools and hybrid meeting access. She said the city doesn't currently use Zoom or other remote options. She would also have held informal town hall listening sessions before important votes. "Community trust really, really relies on early involvement," she said, "and not last minute announcements."

On why someone who never attends a city meeting should care, Kenny said local government "impacts your daily life every time you walk outside your door." It determines how safe your streets feel, how well roads are maintained and how your property values are protected, she said, and the mayor and commissioners set the priorities for safety, local spending and neighborhood growth. Her motto: "This is not my Middletown. This is our Middletown."

*Also on the ballot: Mark Stigers and J. Byron Chapman, who did not take part in this series.*

## Seneca Gardens

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-4.13.38---PM.png)

### Steve McGuire

Steve McGuire is an environmental engineer who has lived in Louisville for about five and a half years. He and his family bought in Seneca Gardens for the character of the homes, the tree-lined streets and the well-kept public areas. In his job, he said, he regularly appears before city commissions and planning boards around the country, which has shown him "what works" and "plenty of examples of things that don't work very well." He ran for commissioner two years ago and now serves on the commission. McGuire says he wants to use that experience to preserve what makes the city special.

What Seneca Gardens offers that Metro doesn't, he said, starts with its city arboretum, which includes a tree subsidy and maintenance program. The city also contracts with a third-party vendor for snow removal. McGuire said it works so well that a neighboring Metro neighborhood association, which he said felt "abandoned by Metro," asked the city for advice. 

He wishes the city had more authority over how historic homes are changed. Because of its size, the city has no zoning authority, and he said that state law, not Metro, sets that. The one thing he'd like to work with Metro on is sidewalks. The city does a good job with repairs, he said, but it has gaps that are expensive to fill. He'd like to find an arrangement where Metro builds sidewalks and the city maintains them.

McGuire named two things residents complain about. The first is trash collection. Seneca Gardens has its own contract and, by his count, misses only a couple of houses a month out of about 300\. The problem, he said, is customer service when you call to report a missed pickup. 

The second is permitting and ordinances. He said the city's local ordinances were "in really rough shape" two years ago, with contradictions and outdated references that made it hard for people to know whether to call Metro or the city. He helped clarify the processes on the city's website, and an ordinance rewrite is now in legal review, paid for by a state grant, so it doesn't cost city taxpayers.

The decision he'd have made differently came before he took office. The city had a third-party code enforcement officer, he said, and that vendor had an incentive to "justify their existence." The result was nitpicking that made the city feel like "an overzealous HOA." About a year ago, he and his fellow commissioners voted unanimously not to renew the contract. Commissioners now have neighbor-to-neighbor conversations about code issues instead, and he said it has been received "a whole lot better."

On why people who never come to meetings should care, McGuire said every house in the city, about 270, pays a four-figure property tax bill each year. He said homes on Woodbourne Avenue, just outside the city limits in Metro, pay a higher property tax rate and get fewer services, and that Seneca Gardens has no debt. He is, he said, the only candidate who has served on the commission and has professional experience as an engineer.

*Also on the ballot: David J. Clement, who did not take part in this series.*

## Shively

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-2.30.55---PM.png)

### Daniel Staudenheimer (Republican)

Daniel Staudenheimer is 60 years old, the third oldest of 10 children, and a graduate of Trinity High School. He said he has sat in on Shively City Council meetings for the past three years, and that he sees a disconnect between the council, the current administration and residents. What he hears from people, he said, is apathy about whether voting or city decisions make any difference.

He also gave a second reason: he's a Republican in a city that he describes as heavily Democratic. Republicans and other parties don't run in Shively, he said, so when he votes, he has "nobody in my party to choose." He said he got tired of that and decided that if nobody else would run, he would. He says the people need a voice, and that he'd offer "not just a voice for four years, but a voice every month."

On what Shively provides, Staudenheimer pointed to garbage and recycling pickup, trash and debris pickup, a monthly large-item pickup, snow removal, and police and fire departments that he says respond in a few minutes. He'd like to add sidewalks after he takes office. Shively went from a third-class city to a home rule city, which he said gives it more power over its codes, and he wants Shively to have "the most enviable codes." He didn't name anything he'd want Metro to take over.

The complaint he hears most is the lack of a grocery store. He also hears about cut-through traffic from Dixie Highway and Cane Run Road. He'd like to add more speed bumps and more visible police presence, and he's looking at what other cities do about speeders. For groceries, he'd like to see a chain or a mom-and-pop store, and he said he's working toward an indoor, year-round farmers market and a butcher that sources from a local farm. He also said that residents who don't drive struggle with TARC, which he said has cut some routes.

On a decision he'd have made differently, Staudenheimer went to transparency. He says the administration uses the word, but he doesn't see it. When he files open records requests, he said, he gets information but wonders "is that the whole story?" He added that his personal regret is that he didn't start knocking on doors earlier. He had been watching the council for three years, and he wishes he'd gotten more active sooner.

His case to people who don't follow city politics is that the city is in "economic peril." He said Shively has an $18 million budget he can't see the results of: no new roads, no new buildings, and more businesses leaving than coming. Those are his views of the city and his own claims. He said very few people attend meetings, and that codes and budgets are passed that residents don't know about because the news doesn't show up in the newsletter. "This is their money being used," he said, "and we can do a whole lot more."

*Shively is the only small-city mayor's race on the ballot listed by party. Also on the ballot: Democrat Maria D. Johnson, who did not take part in this series.*

## Who didn't participate

Every candidate who filed with the Jefferson County Clerk in one of the 12 contested small-city mayor's races was contacted and offered the same interview. 

Briarwood, Douglass Hills, Strathmoor Village and West Buechel are the four contested races where no candidate took part. The decision to participate belongs to each candidate and their campaign. This series was designed to give every voter access to every candidate, and that offer stands.

The candidate lists come from the Jefferson County Clerk's candidate filings, last revised Aug. 10, 2026\. Write-in candidates and late changes may not be reflected there.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3\. Louisville voters can see their ballot [here](https://elections.jeffersoncountyclerk.org/MyBallot/?ref=shayinformed.com) and find early voting and absentee information on the [Jefferson County Clerk's website](https://www.jeffersoncountyclerk.org/Voter-Info/Voting?ref=shayinformed.com). If you live in one of these cities, your mayor's race is on that same ballot, along with the Metro mayor's race. I've also spoken to both candidates for Louisville Metro mayor, and that conversation is a separate piece.

[Louisville Mayor’s Race 2026: Greenberg vs. Parrish-WrightNo party label on the ballot. I asked both Louisville mayoral candidates the same questions. Here are their answers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/icon/Profile-Pic_2-copy-88945dcd-b08c-4986-8bd0-4be354ffa040.png)Shay InformedShay McAlister![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/19/8c19890d-f21a-4442-8055-5db9783cac58/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-2.42.28---PM-6ce0c568-0d66-4acd-a769-a8bb30a64189.png)](https://www.shayinformed.com/before-you-vote-louisvilles-mayoral-candidates-answer-the-same-five-questions/)

*Like what you see? Learn more about Shay Informed* [*here*](https://www.shayinformed.com/welcome-to-shay-informed/)*. This is honest journalism with compassion and clarity.*