City Commissioner Sue Parrigin is running for reelection this year. She has served on the commission since 2015. 

Black Lives Matter

In an interview with WBKO, Parrigin said she believes the key to seeing more diversity in city leadership is through recruiting and hiring. She thinks opening a Law Enforcement Academy in Bowling Green helps with recruiting more diverse groups and allows those in the academy to stay in their hometown with their families. 

“And honestly, as far as the policing agency goes, the Law Enforcement Academy that we opened, that allows people to be trained our law enforcement officers to be trained right here in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and not have to leave their families for, you know, a month or so to go up to Richmond and go over to Louisville and get trained in somebody else’s community, but leave their family behind for extended periods of time,” Parrigin said. 

She said she wants to see more steps in this direction to create a more diverse police department and workforce.

Fairness Ordinance

Parrigin has voted against a fairness ordinance in Bowling Green in years past. 

She believes with ordinances passed by the Supreme Court that protect sexual orientation and gender identity, there isn’t a need for one in Bowling Green. 

“The Supreme Court ruling, however, has now made that the law of the entire land — not the borders of Bowling Green city limits, not the county, not the state, but the entire country is now protected under that order,” Parrigin said. 

She said she thinks that decisions about such topics should be left up to the Supreme Court and not city commissioners. 

Affordable Housing

When it comes to affordable housing, Parrigin is a supporter of creating more developments in Bowling Green. 

“Affordable housing is one of the most important topics that we are facing right now,” Parrigin said. “And people define affordable housing all over the place. But what I think you mean is entry-level homes for folks that are lower to moderate-income to get into a permanent housing situation.”

She believes the first step to finding a solution is to refer to studies like one done by the city of Bowling Green and the Community and Neighborhood Services Department that shows the best places to create affordable housing developments. This includes finding housing for citizens of all incomes and levels of housing.

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