MoxieTalk with Kirt Jacobs #378: Bill Dieruf

Bill Dieruf - Louisville, KY, Republican Mayoral Candidate, 2022 Mayor Bill Dieruf is in his 12th year as Mayor of the City of Jeffersontown, where he has overseen a police department, public works, an economic development authority, parks and recreation, and all other city services. He instituted the WOW customer service approach to city operations that he used during 35 years operating Dieruf Hardware, the longest-operating family-owned business in Jeffersontown. Mayor Dieruf has had many accomplishments during his three terms as Mayor. He used his business acumen as an accountant to eliminate Jeffersontown's $17 million debt. He renegotiated the debt, paid it off 11 years early, saved $1 million in interest, and did not raise taxes to do it. Mayor Dieruf served as president of the Kentucky League of Cities for two years, including during the pandemic in 2020. That year he visited almost 200 cities across the state, helping his fellow mayors navigate the complicated process of filing for CARES Act funding that kept those communities financially sound. Before he served at KLC, Mayor Dieruf was president of the Jefferson County League of Cities for five years and remained immediate past president. In addition, he serves on the Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency board and is the organization's past chairman. For 12 years, he has been a board member of GLI and the Jeffersontown Chamber of Commerce and has served on the Campbellsville University Visitors Board of Directors since 2011. Mayor Dieruf was a member of Leadership Louisville's 2020 Bingham Fellows class that studied the Digital Divide, concluding it is imperative that affordable Internet access, training, and hardware be available to all Louisville households so all residents can thrive. A native of Louisville, Mayor Dieruf was raised in the Hikes Point neighborhood and graduated from St. Xavier High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Kentucky. Mayor Dieruf and his wife, Jody, reside in Plainview. They have a daughter, Jennifer, son-in-law Ben, and two grandsons. Mayor Dieruf says his grandsons are one of the reasons he chose to run for Louisville Mayor because he wants to make sure our city is where they will be proud to call their home.