Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott hosted a fundraising event Thursday night at the White Squirrel Brewery to speak to supporters about re-electing him as mayor. Alcott and his wife, Deb, were accompanied by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and his wife, Kelley Paul, at the event.
Alcott, a third-generation graduate of WKU, was elected mayor in 2020 and, according to his campaign website, has brought a “wealth of leadership and global perspectives to his local government role.”
He said that, if re-elected, he would solve downtown parking, implement more roundabouts, open a mental health facility with Lifeskills and create an ADA-accessible park. Alcott said he wants the park to include whitewater rapids for patrons to canoe, kayak and tube on.
Paul endorsed Alcott during his speech, saying that Bowling Green is “in the midst of an enormous, successful story.”
“Todd was a great leader to have,” Paul said. “I think he’s a friend of business, a friend of progress and I’m proud to endorse Todd Alcott.”
Alcott referred to the mayoral election as “the most partisan race” he had ever witnessed in Bowling Green during his speech.
“They’re trying to take away the freedoms that we have constitutionally, the freedoms that we have for all sexes […],” Alcott said. “You ask me, as the mayor, who I treat fairly. We treat everybody fairly.”
Alcott said the city government needed to focus on police, fires, roads, recreation and public works in city parks rather than “getting involved in the national government or the constitution.”
In an interview, Alcott told the Herald that homelessness is growing nationwide. He said he does not believe this defines Bowling Green’s culture, but he does want to address the issue.
The “first collaborative non-profit center” for homeless people in Bowling Green opened earlier Thursday, according to Alcott. The center has showers, laundry and six collaborative offices that can house up to 18 to 24 different non-profits, all working under the same roof, he said. According to Alcott, there are currently five non-profit organizations apart of the center, including Goodwill, Salvation Army, Room in the Inn, HOTEL INC and Lifeskills.
Alcott also endorsed Sue Parrigin, Melinda Hill and John Adams as city commissioners, encouraging attendees to vote for the candidates on Election Day.
“Bowling Green needs them,” Alcott said.
Amanda Klineline, a campaign volunteer for Alcott, told the Herald she knows the Alcott family personally and believes they are wonderful people.
“I think that they [voters] should look at the things that Mayor Alcott has done so far and his service to Bowling Green,” Klineline said. “I think that if they look at those things, they’re going to see that he has accomplished a lot and that he has done a lot more.”
Semir Nailovic, an event attendee, said he believes Alcott’s values may align with his own values about the Bosnian community. Nailovic said he wanted to get the Bosnian community more involved in volunteering in politics to understand more about themselves.
Bosnian communities in different cities always speak of how welcoming Bowling Green is when they visit, according to Nailovic.
Nailovic said he believes Alcott deserves the credit for making Bowling Green such a welcoming city for the Bosnian community, even if Alcott does not take that credit himself.
“Bowling Green has been the most welcoming city now in America,” Nailovic said. “Now it’s our job to do our part as the younger generation and support him.”
News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at [email protected].
