Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer to seek a third term

Democrat Greg Fischer told a group of nonprofit organizations Friday morning that he will seek a third term as Louisville's mayor.

"Yes, I am running for re-election," Fischer confirmed in a statement to the Courier-Journal on Friday afternoon.

He went on to say that being mayor has been the honor of his professional life but that he wants to continue focus on the job.

"We have accomplished great things for the city, but we have much more work to do," he said. "Right now I am focused on being mayor — there will be time for campaigning next year."

Kathy Dobbins, CEO of Wellspring, a mental health agency, said Fischer told the Council of Agency Executives, which is a coalition of area nonprofits serving vulnerable populations, that he is running again because there is more work to be done. Donovan Fornwalt, CEO of the Louisville Council on Development Disabilities, also said Fischer told the group he will make another bid in 2018 and that it was met with applause.

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Fischer, a 59-year-old businessman, was first elected mayor in 2010 in a tight race against Republican Hal Heiner. He was re-elected with little opposition in 2014.

During a one-on-one interview last year, Fischer told the Courier-Journal there was a high probability that he would run again. He cited many of his administration's accomplishments, including roughly $9 billion in construction projects underway or in the pipeline across the city, much of it downtown.

Fischer has faced increasing scrutiny over an increase in violent crime, which resulted in a record-breaking number of gunshot and homicide victims in the city last year. The Louisville police department investigated 118 murders and around 500 shootings last year.

The mayor's announcement also comes amid a sex-abuse scandal involving the police department's Youth Explorer program. Fischer said he first learned about an investigation into the program last October but did not the extent of the allegations.

After the Courier-Journal reported details of the lawsuit, Fischer suspended the youth program on March 13 and has since asked the FBI to investigate those allegations and hired a former U.S. attorney to review the police department's criminal investigation.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com. Reporter Deborah Yetter contributed to this story.

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