Reorganization of metropolitan government and the realization of several shared goals are the most important elements in Rebecca Jackson’s and David Armstrong’s individual plans for Jefferson County and the city of Louisville, the two newly elected chief executives told The Lane Report in separate interviews.

Both Jackson, the first Republican elected judge executive since Mitch McConnell 15 years ago, and Armstrong, the Democrat who was county judge for the nine previous years, stressed that they will be able to work together to overcome what Armstrong called "a disjunctive sense that this is not healthy for the whole community."

Each brings a unique distinction to their current position. Jackson is the first woman ever elected to her office. Armstrong is the first to hold his office after previously having served as county judge.

Although the two are contemporaries, Armstrong is the more experienced public official. Before his two terms as judge executive, he served as Kentucky Attorney General and also Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney and county juvenile court judge for a total of 21 years in office. Armstrong was born in Hope, Arkansas and grew up in Madison, Indiana. He attended Hanover College, Murray State University and the University of Louisville Law School.

Jackson was first elected county clerk at the same time Armstrong was elected county judge. She was the only Republican chosen for county-wide office in 1989, her first campaign, and was easily re-elected four years later. She is a native of Jefferson County and has an undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, and a Master’s degree in education from the University of Louisville. Previously, Jackson served as a teacher and administrator for the Jefferson County Public Schools and founded JobCenter Inc., an employment agency for disabled workers.

The two were elected in November to lead Kentucky’s two largest municipal governments for the next four years. Each pledged during their respective campaign efforts to effect reorganization of county and city governments at the ends of their terms in office in 2004.

Each official was also careful to use the word "reorganization" when discussing local government restructuring, while local media usually use the word "merger." Neither Jackson nor Armstrong has announced a specific plan yet, although each has promised a legislative task force that will convene no later than September 1.

Smaller than Lexington?

The current emphasis on government restructuring has been sparked in part by local realizations that Louisville might fall behind the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government in nominal population after the 2000 Census, losing its status as the Commonwealth’s largest city.

Like most central cities, Louisville has been losing population steadily since World War II and is now approximately the 55th largest city nationwide. At the same time, Jefferson County and the surrounding metropolitan area have been growing significantly so that the county’s Louisville population now exceeds its core city. The entire metropolitan population, as measured by the Bureau of Census, is just less than one million persons, including three counties in Indiana, and is the 14th largest metropolitan area. Both officials had these statistics available at their fingertips.

Development groups, who claim population size is a key factor in attracting new business, have been pushing for and point to rival cities such as Indianapolis and Nashville as models for a change in structure. Chief among these is Greater Louisville, Inc., which supports merger.

However, any change is complicated by Jefferson County’s complexity. It contains 94 separate municipal governments, including Louisville. Three -- Jeffersontown, Saint Matthews and Shively -- are also among Kentucky’s 15 largest cities.

Furthermore, a revenue-sharing compact adopted 10 years ago for the distribution of the local occupation tax on wages now significantly favors the county as jobs migrate to areas outside the city limits. According to Armstrong, city revenues now face an annual $7 million deficit from the compact, although Jackson observed that "he (Armstrong) didn’t feel that way when he was sitting here" in the judge executive’s office.

Police forces and self-determination

Jackson and Armstrong differed during the campaign on the first step to take to reorganization -- the merger of the county and city police forces. In her first significant action since taking office, Jackson dismissed Armstrong’s county police chief, Ron Ricucci, who vocally supported department merger. Armstrong promptly hired Ricucci as the city’s director of public safety.

Regardless of the issue of the police department merger, Armstrong and Jackson have now been in office four months and both say they are committed to making their respective community "the safest in the country," in virtually identical words.

And both agree that the next step in any reorganization plan is for Jefferson County citizens to regain the right to vote on any proposed plan, a right the General Assembly stripped away after two failed votes in 1982 and 1983. Jefferson County is the only jurisdiction in Kentucky without the right of self-determination. The two officials will press the local legislative delegation to push for a single plan to be presented to local voters in the 2000 election.

A unified voice

Self-determination and safety are not the only points of agreement between the new judge executive and the new mayor. Both say they want the metropolitan area to present a unified voice for economic development by encouraging private sector development of housing for all citizens, by cooperative efforts to compete for career opportunities in high-tech, high-wage industries and by attracting more international business through more expeditious government and transportation services.

Jackson, a proud Republican, wants to "encourage more private property owners to put their land to good use" by providing a range of housing choices that will "keep our families and communities together but without strict land-use controls."

Armstrong, without acres of developable land in his domain, explained that he will soon announce a "large-scale initiative for downtown housing" that will focus on the amenities that will make Louisville "a fun place to live."

Their economic development strategies also reflect commonality.

Using her own children as examples, Jackson worries about a "brain drain" of talented young people who lack "high-tech career options" at home.

"We need to keep our best young people in Jefferson County by exploiting the area niche markets in medical services and logistics," Jackson stressed.

Armstrong shared her concern, but he plans to re-develop vacated "brownfield" sites (see related story) to create land for job creation and to support transportation authority plans for systems, including bus routes and light rail, to bring workers to the jobs.

An inclusive community

Both Jackson and Armstrong want to enhance the area’s reputation and attraction as a center for international business. Jackson, who has called trade "the next logical economic development niche," also believes that it is essential to rebuild and expand the McAlpine Locks to maintain the city’s position as a center for riverine shipping.

Armstrong, who has the Louisville International Airport in his realm, wants to develop direct passenger flights to Europe and Asia and relocate the area customs station to a new international concourse.

Finally, both the judge and the mayor agree that they share a goal that Jefferson County and Louisville must become more inclusive communities.

Jackson has long been an advocate of access and opportunities for the disabled and powerless. "I want our government to be more responsive, more efficient, more effective," Jackson said. "I’d like to see us with a more accepting culture and a coherent and effective plan for government reorganization. If I can do either one during my term, Jefferson County will be better off."

In his State of the City address, Armstrong, who signed the Fairness Ordinance that prohibits job discrimination on the basis of sexual preference, said he wants Louisville "to set the tone for how communities meet the challenges that face them" by promoting opportunities for all people, whatever their differences.

"I want Louisville to be the urban community that models the resurgence of cities sure to come in the 21st century," Armstrong said.

Robert Carter is associate editor of The Lane Report.