February 18, 2026

Ben Spalding
Feb 18
2 min read

Good day District 21,

This is another wonderful week in this district. To continue keeping you informed I here is another newsletter that highlights the news at the you level.

At the Community level,

Savannah "Savvy" Hughes had her Campaign launch party at the StrEatery this Sunday 2/15/2025. It is so good to see so much political activism in the field and this is a good chance to highlight her as a candidate and what I offer that she does not.

She offers a platform of Safer Streets, Smart Infrastructure, Thriving Small Businesses, and Strong Community. Safer Streets in the form of safe sidewalks, speed bump additions, and increased LMPD Division 4 patrols. Smart Infrastructure in the form of potholes being fixed and roadway repairs. Thriving Small Businesses by way of connecting and supporting local businesses with the METCO Loan programs. And Strong Community by funding community events and revitalizing community centers.

On the surface we look very similar, however the main difference is where the emphasis is. Where her emphasis is exclusively on district 21 in a vacuum, I plan on elevating district 21 and the whole city of Louisville with my platform.

The prime example of this is how we approach safety. She wants to increase LMPD Division 4 patrols. Division 4 is the division that contains most of district 21. I want to add social workers a new group of first responders to address both the safety needs of District 21 and the staffing shortage that LMPD faces. Social workers are also beneficial for members of the community who do not feel safe around police to trust to resolve non-violent emergencies.

Ultimately though we both want the same thing which is to be the best possible representation for district 21, so make sure you go out and vote on May 19.

At the City level,

There was an anti ICE protest at the Big Four Bridge led by Louisville students. This is over the rampant brutality that communities face at the hands of ICE. I believe ICE is terrible for district 21 and I will resist them any way I can. One way I propose to do that is by introducing a bill that will tell local officers to not follow KY Senate Bill 86, which would require local police to work with federal officers.

At the State level,

Many in eastern Kentucky are still under boil water advisories after being without water for weeks after the winter storms. Some of the affected counties are Letcher, Harlan, Perry, and Pike counties. As someone who has friends in Whitesburg, Letcher county this is an especially disheartening failure of public services and a failure of the state government for not stepping up to update the infrastructure to prevent such failures from happening.