I warn you that my criticisms will have to be shallow, only because there is so little about Mayor Craig Greenberg’s administration to write about. To read his website is to see that, in almost three years, he has accumulated just three things to brag about. And they aren’t exactly heartstoppers.
First, he says that homicides and shootings went down by 30% in his time. This move is a favorite of politicians: he said something that isn’t quite a lie, so people like me can’t call it a lie, but may as well be one. Yes, violent crime is down in Louisville, largely because it is down everywhere. Greenberg got power after the pandemic which, with its traumas and recessions, made crime worse in ways that naturally taper off. Nationwide trends show the same thing.
Greenberg is right that gun violence has gone down more in Louisville than elsewhere. This is great. No matter what he said in June, though, he is wrong to credit himself for any of it…