Meet the Greenbergs

On January 2, Craig Greenberg, a proud Louisvillian, was sworn in as the city’s 51st mayor. Greenberg is a graduate of Jefferson County Public Schools, the University of Michigan, and Harvard Law School and is now a husband to Rachel, father to Daniel and Benjamin, an attorney and entrepreneur.

Craig has major plans for Louisville during his tenure, including cleaning up the streets, buffing up education and attracting local businesses and entertainment to the area. Keith Yarber, owner of Top Marketing Group, sat down with the former member of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees, for an up-close-and-personal interview about Craig’s personal life and vision for the future of the city he loves.

Get to know Craig: mayor, runner and family man.

TOPS: You had a major press conference today. Can you tell us about the major announcement?

Mayor Craig Greenberg: Our top priority is reducing the amount of gun violence in our city, and we are focused on doing everything we possibly can: short-term solutions, long-term solutions, little things and big things to reduce the amount of gun violence in our community. Today’s announcement was just part of the effort.

So under Kentucky law right now, confiscated guns that have been used to commit a crime are required to be sent to the Kentucky State Police who are required to auction them off. And those guns have ended up back on the streets to commit second crimes. I think that is dangerous and absurd. This plan will render guns from Jefferson County inoperable before turning them over to the state. We also proposed legislation to change the state laws so that we could permanently destroy guns that have been used to commit crimes. If this can save just one life, it was worth it. With this plan, we are removing firing pins before turning them over to the state, and that’s unfortunately as far as we can go under state law right now.

I think it’s important that people advocate for change and hopefully, this will make an impact. It will also be the beginning of more things that we can do to improve public safety and Louisville.

You know this better than anyone. How did your attempted assassination affect you to this day?

It’s a year later from when that happened, and I still don’t know how or why I survived. I consider myself extremely fortunate to still be here, sure. Even if I don’t know how or why, I know what I’m going to do, and that’s everything possible to reduce the amount of gun violence in our city. To me, that is my calling in life, and that is what I’m focused on as my top priority as mayor, along with all of the other things that we need to do to move Louisville in a new direction.

Backing up a bit, what was the tipping point when you decided you needed to run for mayor?

There wasn’t one particular thing I think it was–I have always loved Louisville, and I’ve always wanted to give back to Louisville, professionally, personally and civically. I’ve tried to be an engaged citizen who makes our city a better place. That’s why I wanted to serve on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees and why my wife and I have been involved in other charitable endeavors over the course of the past 20 years, because we love Louisville.

I started thinking several years ago about where we were as a city and where we could go, and I thought the city was getting a little complacent. I really wanted to try to spur more activity and encourage more smart growth and to create an even more vibrant, healthier, energetic and exciting city for today and tomorrow.

Well, you’ve certainly brought some new energy and excitement. When we met last week, you told me that this was one of the most intellectually stimulating jobs. Can you talk a little about that?

I’m only weeks in right now, and it is without a doubt the most intellectually stimulating, challenging and exciting thing that I have ever been a part of–I’m loving every second of it. I’m spending almost every waking hour working as mayor but taking a little time to run and definitely taking some time for my family. Beyond that, every minute is spent on this, but I love it.

I am really energized by the opportunity to work with the 5,000 people that are part of the Metro government who are involved in public service for the right reasons. We are trying to move the ball forward.

What is your vision for Louisville?

What I want for Louisville is what I think most people want. I want a safe city. I want one that is clean, green and healthy. I want a city that is vibrant and energetic where there are a lot of interesting things for people of all ages and backgrounds to do. I want a diverse city where people come from different backgrounds, different parts of the world and come together to really create magic. I want it to be a city of authentic, unique experiences.

Whether it’s our parks, bourbon, culture, arts and entertainment or sports, Louisville has so much about it that’s wonderfully unique. We need to support those wonderfully unique attributes and to continue to create new, authentically-unique experiences.

Can you tell us about downtown and how it is going to be more safe?

We have a lot to do downtown, and we were on a great trajectory before the pandemic. Downtown is certainly a different place, but it’s still an amazing place. On the weekends, there are people coming from all over the country to downtown Louisville to experience bourbon distilleries or to come for an event or a convention that’s here. My vision for downtown is a thriving, vibrant, green and energetic neighborhood where thousands of people live every day.

I want to work on attracting and creating thousands of more residential units downtown. At the same time, those people need more services like a real grocery store, more restaurants, and retail to create this wonderful neighborhood with great cultural and hospitality experiences. That, in turn, will make other people want to be down here. So, we’re really going to be focusing on that over the coming months. We know that downtown needs to be cleaner and people need to feel safe. We’re very focused on that and in the West End, as well.

What’s your plan for the West End?

The neighborhoods of West Louisville have been overlooked for our entire lifetime, and that has to change. We have an opportunity to invest in needed infrastructure and improvements so that the nine neighborhoods of West Louisville have the same quality of life that people in other parts of the city enjoy, whether that’s restaurants, coffee shops, clean alleys, sidewalks, trees and new schools. I want to thank JCPS for their commitment to that.

I’m excited about the new hospital and Goodwill campus that are being developed in West Louisville, but we really need to continue to invest in what the residents of West Louisville are clamoring for. We need to support other medical facilities, so that it’s easier to get primary care services or a dentist in West Louisville. These are all things that the residents of these neighborhoods deserve. And we’re working to make that happen.

Are there any priorities or initiatives that are important to you?

The one thing I want our administration to do is to make universal pre-K a reality for every 3-to-4-year-old child in Louisville. The research is clear: when kids start their education at an early age, they are far more likely to lead a safer and healthier life, as well as have more opportunities for success.

I want every child of Louisville to grow up with the hope and opportunity that will lead them to a life of safety, health and prosperity. Making universal pre-K a reality will be game-changing for the kids of Louisville and for our city as a whole. That should help the West End situation–we’re going to help take the kids that are born into poverty, and in particular, it’ll also help parents who, right now, have to make that impossible decision of sending their kids to childcare or having a job. That shouldn’t be a parent’s decision, and I’m so excited about this opportunity for kids and their parents.

You graduated from Leadership Louisville in 2004 with your Deputy Mayor Barbara Sexton Smith. How did she prepare you to be mayor?

Meeting Barbara has been wonderful. I’m so thrilled we’ve known each other for 20 years now. The opportunity to work with her as deputy mayor has been amazing; she’s a great citizen and public servant and has done so much for this community and continues to. I’m so fortunate to have her in the role of deputy mayor of our administration. One of the things I think I’ve learned is the importance of relationships. At the end of the day, people like to work with people who they like, people who get along with, people who they respect and trust, and who in turn, treat them with respect and who trust them. That’s always been important to me and what I’ve always tried to do and live by both in business and now in public life. Treat people well and get to know people and find areas of common ground. To me, that’s critically important, regardless of what political party somebody is from.

Sure, we all want a safer city, we all want our kids to have great education, and we all want to create more goodpaying careerpath jobs. While we might not agree on every solution, let’s find ways that we do agree on making them happen, and that happens through the power of relationships. I love getting to know people, and I continue to really enjoy getting to know people on the Metro Council and our representatives in the General Assembly. I’m excited about working with them regardless of party.

Who is your mentor?

Well, I’ve been very fortunate to have several. I certainly learned a lot from my parents. They’ve had a significant, positive impact on my life. Politically, probably Jerry Abramson. I actually got interested in public service as a result of the former mayor when I was in eighth grade. My Hebrew school class went on a field trip to then relatively newly-elected Mayor Abramson’s office. His energy and excitement was contagious. That was in the late 1980s but I’ve known Jerry ever since then. He has taught me a lot, and I admire what he has done for our city and continues to do for our city. He really is a great model public servant.

Also, about 25 years ago, I met Jim Gray, who went on to become Mayor of Lexington and is now Secretary of Transportation. We have become very close friends over the years, and Jim has taught me a lot about life and business. He has had a tremendous career as a successful business entrepreneur and executive, so whether it’s about life, business or public service, Jim has made a positive impact on my life.

One other person I should mention is Steve Wilson. Jim introduced me to Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown (founders of 21c Museum Hotels) over 20 years ago and having the opportunity to work with Steve and Laura Lee was just an amazing 20-year adventure. Working with them to turn their dreams into reality really helped to push me as a person. I was there in a turning point in their time, and they pushed me to really think outside the box, to think creatively, to have big, bold dreams and then to make them happen. Just because other people don’t think something can happen, don’t let it stop you, and that is a lesson I really try to inspire in our team here in Metro Government.

What’s a fun fact about you that most people do not know?

I co-own Ohio Valley Wrestling and that’s been a lot of fun. Growing up, I was a big professional wrestling fan. We had some fun times as a family, my wife and I, with our boys, when they were a bit younger. And then, during the pandemic, when I thought about running for mayor, I came across Ohio Valley Wrestling on the TV one night and I just thought we could really help to move this organization forward–it’s an iconic Louisville institution. It’s one of the things that is authentically unique about Louisville.

I reached out to my friend, Matt Jones, who I think is one of the most brilliant marketers I know, as well as being amazing on the radio. He knows a lot about media, people and communications. I knew he was an even bigger professional wrestling fan than me, so in partnership with him, my brother-in-law and some others, we bought a majority of Ohio Valley Wrestling, and we’re really working on moving that in the future.

You met your wife, Rachel, on a blind date?

That’s right. We met on a blind date in Boston. I was in law school and she was getting her master’s degree. A law school friend of mine was engaged to a friend of hers in her program.

I’m just thrilled that I was introduced to Rachel when I was; it all worked out.

What is a perfect date night with your wife?

I think it would be going to one of our favorite local restaurants just the two of us, which is not something we have the opportunity to do. We also love any time we can get outside, going on family walks with our dog at one of Louisville’s great parks. We did a lot of walks during COVID. You’re a runner, right? What’s on your running playlist?

I do that by myself, but I also really love running with my sons. I’m still trying to do that, you know, over the weekend. I am going to run the mini marathon this year, so I’m very excited for the 50th anniversary of the run. I’m training for that right now.

You know, I’ve gone through different phases in life, and I really don’t listen to a ton of music anymore. I had a country music phase for a while, and then for a good decade, I was just listening to whatever the kids wanted to listen to on the radio. I still love some of the music I listened to a long time ago in my life, whether that was Billy Joel or Garth Brooks. If I’m driving my 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, I’ll probably have a little AC/DC or something in there. I listen to a lot more podcasts than I do music these days.

If you could sing a karaoke song, what would it be?

I haven’t done karaoke in a while but back in the day when I would occasionally do karaoke, my go-to song was “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers.

What is your all-time favorite movie or TV show?

I do have fun watching reality TV shows with my family. Every summer we watch Big Brother together, so that’s a guilty pleasure for us to do each summer–it’s sort of become a family tradition. I like to watch a lot of docuseries. These days, I’m not watching much; the only TV I’m watching is on a treadmill. •

Photo by Andrew Kung

Transcribed by Taylor Tiley Geiser