https://srogeforlouisville.com
Relevant experience
- CFO with 35 years of finance and accounting experience at many local startups and large companies. Currently CFO at HBAR, a $550 million foundation with a $100 million fund for sustainability initiatives.
- Ten years volunteering with Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA.org): Seven years on the board including president, and chair of both the finance and endowment committees.
- Owner of Firestone CFO, a fractional finance and accounting consulting firm with 15 consultants, working with over 70 growth stage companies.
Priorities
Economic vitality, public safety and attainable housing.
Lightning round
Do you support local efforts to increase the minimum wage? No
Do you support an end to the state prohibition on rent control? Yes
Do you support interventions for human-caused climate change? Yes
Do you support the Redtail Ridge development? Yes
Do you support for SB24-157? Yes
When was the last time you paid rent? How much was it? And where?
Oct. 2022, North Main Apartments Louisville, $2,549 monthly for a one-bedroom.
Long-form questions
Tell us about your decision to run for Louisville City Council. Why are you running, and why now?
This city council seat is available for a one-year term, and given that the incumbent appointee Tim Bierman is not running, I chose to run for the seat. As a 20 year resident, I love this city and am very aware of the opportunities and issues facing our residents and businesses as we meet future growth and challenges. My seven year term on the board of the Emergency Family Assistance Association has recently ended, and I am looking for new ways to continue to serve the community, as I believe strongly in civic duty and service.
What would you say are the top three issues facing Louisville, and what are your plans to address them?
1. Economic vitality: Encouraging balanced development on major corridors, new retail establishments on Main and a business-friendly environment to compete with our surrounding cities for emerging opportunities.
2. Public safety: Working with the community and our staff, and code and law enforcement, to ensure solutions we implement are targeted to the problems, and that we use data-driven approaches and experiences of other localities to implement best practices.
3. Attainable housing: Using zoning, incentives and public policy to encourage blended developments and housing that allows for a diverse socioeconomic base to strengthen our city.
The Louisville City Council often votes unanimously. Is that a good sign, representing the ability to reach consensus, or a bad sign, representing a lack of diversity in opinion? What is a recent decision you agree with, and why? What is a recent decision you disagree with, and why?
Reaching consensus prior to a vote is a sign of healthy discourse and deep review of an issue, and I applaud the ability of the council to often find the compromise to items prior to vote to reduce divisions. I agree with the past two votes on Redtail Ridge, noting that the second was not unanimous, and thus demonstrating that even in a rigorous discussion dissenting viewpoints can still be heard. I disagree with the Via Appia restriping, but as it is a readily reversible modification, we ideally await further data analysis to make the future decision as to its success in achieving the desired outcomes.
Given the realities of a changing climate and limited government resources, how do you plan on balancing mitigation and adaptation for already-impacted populations in Louisville?
Public policy is critical to sustainable ecosystem development, and implementing community solutions to expand environmental initiatives is important, but it must also be balanced with supporting our economic growth engines.
How do you think Marshall Fire rebuilding and recovery efforts are going? What do you think is going well and what is something you think the city should be doing differently?
Initially there were major hurdles, such as local code and underinsured properties, that created constraints. Council has helped on code issues that drove costs and time, and there continue to be opportunities for the regulations to be optimized to ensure folks can return to their homes on a timely basis.
Do you think there is a need for more affordable housing in Louisville? If so, what is your plan to make it happen?
There is an ongoing need for attainable housing and in my role at city council, I will advocate using zoning, incentives and public policy to encourage blended developments and housing that allows for a diverse socioeconomic base to strengthen our city.
What would you like the future of Main Street to look like? What is your plan to help achieve it?
As a long-time resident, I have been here through many iterations of Main Street, and there are currently five major vacancies on Main between Walnut and Spruce. The city must find ways to renew the appeal of our Old Town environment, using its toolkit of tax incentives, zoning and regulatory regimes, which will help bring new opportunities downtown. We walk our dog downtown every day and this is of primary importance to me and my fellow citizens.
What are your views on using tax incremental financing to incentivize commercial organizations to move to Louisville?
I am supportive of tax incentives to bring in new developments, such as the King Soopers Marketplace in the old Lowe’s location, but we must also look at the larger tax picture to factor in potential tax revenue cannibalization of existing businesses.
How do justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) factor into your policy making?
JEDI is a major component of my work life, both at companies I work with and at EFAA where I volunteer, and thus it materially informs my perspective and how we will adapt and implement policy.
What efforts do you make in your daily life to consider and understand people with different lived experiences from your own?
Having grown up in the highly diverse Bronx of the 1970s and ‘80s, and being public school educated there, and then working at globally dispersed companies with very diverse workforces, being exposed to people with different lived experiences is a perpetual feature of my entire life. I will bring a unique background and skill set to the council which will enhance the diversity of our work and community.
When’s the last time you changed your mind about something, and what was it?
I had previously thought that municipal public office was open to everyone, but in fact it appears to be an opportunity for those privileged enough to dedicate time and resources to both running and serving, which begs the question of ‘How well can anyone fully represent the diversity of our community?’ It is a challenge that I will work tirelessly to meet.
What question would you ask a fellow candidate on the ballot?
Are you running again for public office because you need something to do, or because you have something to do?