LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After racial justice protests in 2020, continuing calls for change following Breonna Taylor’s death and several candidates of color running in this year’s mayoral primary, one thing is certain.

Louisville’s next mayor will be like all its previous mayors — a white man. 

That and the fact both Republican nominee Bill Dieruf and Democratic pick Craig Greenberg vastly outraised other candidates in their primaries were on the mind of Shameka Parrish-Wright.

The co-chair of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and manager of the Louisville Bail Project finished second behind Greenberg in the Democratic primary.

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Parrish-Wright, who was seeking to become the first woman and first Black resident to serve as Louisville’s mayor, received 22% of the vote compared with Greenberg’s 41% in the eight-candidate Democratic field.

Dieruf racked up 78% of votes in the four-candidate GOP field.

She wondered if having several Black candidates in the Democratic field ultimately “put a dent” in her vote totals.

Parrish-Wright told The Courier Journal her supporters included not only those who have protested against racial inequities and police brutality but also doctors, lawyers and teachers.

But she raised only roughly $70,900 during her campaign, while Greenberg raised about $1.4 million, much of it from wealthy donors.

“We have to keep big money out if it,” she said. “Greenberg had those relationships and I didn’t, right? He hasn’t been mayor before either. … He just has money.”

The Rev. Tim Findley Jr., another Black candidate who came in fourth place among Democrats with nearly 16% of the vote, said he plans to run for mayor again in the next election.

Despite Greenberg having TV ads, “mass mailers,” and backing from political action committees as well as endorsements from several Metro Council members, Findley, pastor of Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center, said he and Parrish-Wright still had a “very respectable showing” amid a low countywide voter turnout of nearly 21%.

“That should be concerning to individuals that put all this money into these campaigns,” Findley said. “… because we’re not going to go away.”

Findley felt he performed well in the predominantly Black neighborhoods of the West End and Newburg and said Greenberg also enjoyed support in the West End.

But the pastor said the Democratic Party locally and nationally needs to “figure out how we can get more Black and brown engagement within the party.”

“There were too many rooms I was going into as a mayoral candidate where it was almost as if the look is, ‘Why are you even here? There’s no way we’re voting you in,'” Findley added.

For November, Parrish-Wright added she has not yet decided to back Greenberg because she feels he has to do more to inspire people and create “real change.”

Dieruf could otherwise beat Greenberg thanks to his experience as Jeffersontown mayor, Parrish-Wright said.

Rather than focusing on race or money, Raoul Cunningham, president of the Louisville Branch of the NAACP, had a more pragmatic outlook on the mayoral election.

“I will be waiting to see what position on the issues they take, and I’ll also be looking at their background deeper and to see whom I think will best serve the city and my philosophy,” Cunningham told The Courier Journal.

“… The voters of their respective parties have spoken, and that’s what we’ve got to choose from, no matter whom we supported in the primary. That’s the hand we’ve been dealt, and we’ve got to play it.”

Reach Billy Kobin at [email protected].