Craig Greenberg

Craig Greenberg (born August 22, 1973) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politician[1] serving as the third mayor of Louisville Metro.[2] During his mayoral campaign, he was the subject of an assassination attempt at his campaign headquarters, but emerged unscathed.

Craig Greenberg
51st Mayor of Louisville
Assumed office
January 2, 2023
Preceded byGreg Fischer
Personal details
Born (1973-08-22) August 22, 1973
Commack, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRachel
Children2
Education
WebsiteCampaign website

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Greenberg was a lawyer at Frost Brown Todd in Louisville. He was then a co-founder, president, and chief executive officer of 21c Museum Hotels. In January 2021, Greenberg and Matt Jones, a sports radio host, purchased Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Early life and career

Greenberg was born in Commack, New York.[1] His family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1980.[3] He graduated from Ballard High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan in 1995, where he was president of the student government, and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1998.[4][5][1][6][7]

Greenberg began his law career at Frost Brown Todd in Louisville.[8] As an attorney with the firm, he worked on its ancillary business initiatives.[5]

In 2006, Greenberg met art collectors and investors Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, and with them co-founded the 21c Museum Hotels chain.[9][6][1] He was named the company's president in 2012 and chief executive officer in 2017.[10] He stepped down from 21c Museum Hotels in June 2020.[11]

In January 2021, Greenberg and Matt Jones, a sports radio host, purchased Ohio Valley Wrestling.[12] Greenberg was also involved in the development of Louisville Museum Plaza[6] and Whiskey Row, and served as a trustee for the University of Louisville.[13][14]

Mayor of Louisville

Campaign

In April 2021, Greenberg announced his candidacy for mayor of Louisville in the 2022 election, seeking to succeed Greg Fischer, who could not run for reelection due to term limits.[15] He ran on a platform of public safety, affordable housing, universal pre-K, cracking down on illegal guns, supporting abortion rights, and cleaning up the city.[16]

Attempted assassination

On February 14, 2022, Quintez Brown, a 21-year-old social justice activist and prominent voice in the Black Lives Matter community who was running as an independent for Louisville's Metro Council, walked into Greenberg's campaign headquarters office near downtown Louisville and allegedly fired several shots from a 9 mm Glock semi-automatic pistol at Greenberg from the doorway.[9][17][18] A bullet passed through Greenberg's shirt and sweater but did not injure him.[19][20][21][22][8] Brown then fled, as a member of the office staff was able to slam its door closed and the rest of staff barricaded the door with tables and desks.[17][19][23] Brown was soon arrested less than half a mile away, carrying a 9 mm handgun and loaded 9 mm magazines, and was charged with several crimes, including attempted murder.[24][25][26][27][28][29] Louisville Metro Council President David James called the incident an "attempted assassination".[30] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell characterized the shooting as “what appears to be an assassination attempt against a Jewish mayoral candidate".[20]

The next day, Black Lives Matter Louisville, a chapter of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, and the Louisville Community Bail Fund jointly posted bail of $100,000 for Brown.[28][31] Greenberg said he was "traumatized" by Brown's release, adding, "it is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday."[20] His outrage was echoed from both sides of the political aisle; McConnell called it "jaw-dropping" and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Charles Booker agreed that Brown should have remained incarcerated.[32][29]

Brown was later rearrested on new federal charges, held as a federal prisoner at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, and ordered to remain in custody ahead of trial.[22][17] In March 2022, a grand jury indicted him on state charges of one count of attempted murder and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.[17] In March 2023, lawyers for Brown announced they would pursue the insanity defense.[33]

Election

Greenberg won the Democratic primary election in a field of eight candidates in May, finishing 20 percentage points ahead of the second-place finisher.[16][34] In the November 8 general election, he defeated the Republican nominee, Bill Dieruf, by five percentage points, becoming mayor-elect of Louisville.[16][35][36]

Personal life

Greenberg met his wife, Rachel, in Boston. She works as a public school teacher and they have two children. Greenberg is Jewish.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Building for the future: Attorney Craig Greenberg hopes to make Louisville better through involvement with 21c, Museum Plaza," Bizjournals.
  2. "Craig Greenberg sworn in as Louisville's 51st mayor" WHAS11
  3. Jones, Michael L. (October 14, 2022). "Why Craig Greenberg wants city government to be responsive to the business community". Louisville Business First. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  4. "March 22, 1993 (vol. 103, iss. 100) -". Michigan Daily Digital Archives.
  5. "Craig Greenberg," Moxie Talk (interview).
  6. "Craig Greenberg: Focused on 'new direction' if voted Louisville mayor". Courier-journal. October 17, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  7. Finley, Marty (January 3, 2018). "IN PERSON: For Craig Greenberg, growth of 21c has been a funky and enriching ride". Louisville Business First. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  8. "Special Subscription Offers". cm.courier-journal.com.
  9. Bailey, Jason M. (February 15, 2022). "Louisville Mayoral Candidate Says Gunman Shot at Him in Campaign Office". The New York Times.
  10. "21c Museum Hotels founder Steve Wilson stepping down as CEO". Courier-journal. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  11. Fox, Jena Tesse (June 30, 2020). "21c Museum Hotels names new brand leader". Hotel Management.
  12. "Ohio Valley Wrestling bought by Craig Greenberg and KSR's Matt Jones". Courier-journal. January 5, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  13. "111 Whiskey Row to offer food, shops, living". Courier-journal. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  14. "Former 21c CEO, Whiskey Row developer joins Louisville mayoral race". Wlky. April 14, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  15. "Craig Greenberg, former 21c hotels CEO, running for Louisville mayor". Courier-journal. April 14, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  16. "Craig Greenberg". Ballotpedia.
  17. "UPDATE: Records unsealed in mayoral candidate shooting attempt". WTVQ. April 29, 2022.
  18. Cleary, Tom (February 14, 2022). "Quintez Brown: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.
  19. Grady, Danielle (February 15, 2022). "$100k Bond Set For Prominent Louisville Activist Charged In Attempted Craig Greenberg Shooting". Leo Weekly.
  20. "Louisville mayoral candidate outraged by campaign office shooting suspect's release". NBC News. February 18, 2022.
  21. Grady, Danielle (November 9, 2022). "Democrat Craig Greenberg Louisville's Next Mayor". Leo Weekly.
  22. Wallace, Danielle (November 10, 2022). "Louisville Democrat who survived BLM activist's alleged assassination attempt wins mayor election". Fox News.
  23. "Bond raised for man accused of shooting at Louisville mayoral candidate, mental evaluation planned". WLKY. February 15, 2022.
  24. ZACHARY ROGERS (February 17, 2022). "Local BLM chapter posts bail for man charged with attempted murder of mayoral candidate". WSET.
  25. "Louisville mayoral candidates at In Focus - Kentucky News". LocalToday. September 26, 2022.
  26. "Louisville mayor candidate Craig Greenberg shot at, shirt grazed". Courier-journal. February 14, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  27. "Louisville mayor candidate shot at: Quintez Brown accused of shooting". Courier-journal. February 14, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  28. "Bond posted for Kentucky man accused of firing at candidate". WDRB. February 16, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  29. Choi, Joseph (February 17, 2022). "McConnell: Black Lives Matter bailing out shooting suspect in Kentucky 'jaw-dropping'". The Hill. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  30. Balevic, Katie. "A Louisville activist was charged in the 'attempted assassination' of a candidate for mayor". Insider.
  31. Rogers, Zachary (February 17, 2022). "Local BLM chapter posts bail for man charged with attempted murder of mayoral candidate". ABC4 News. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  32. Hudspeth Blackburn, Piper; Lovan, Dylan (February 17, 2022). "Louisville mayoral candidate outraged by suspect's release". Associated Press. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  33. Wolfson, Andrew (March 2, 2023). "Louisville man charged with shooting at now-Mayor Craig Greenberg to mount insanity defense". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  34. "Craig Greenberg, Bill Dieruf win 2022 Louisville mayoral primaries". Courier-journal. May 17, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  35. "Louisville mayor 2022 election: Craig Greenberg beats Bill Dieruf". Courier-journal. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  36. Roberto Roldan (November 3, 2022). "Democrat Craig Greenberg wins Louisville mayor's race". 89.3 WFPL News Louisville. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
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