Matthew Solomon Bailey is the youngest person running for Louisville mayor this year.(Roberto Roldan / LPM )Matthew Solomon Bailey is the youngest person running for Louisville mayor this year.At 21 years old, Bailey has little experience in the public or private sector. He graduated from Shawnee H igh School in 2022 and currently volunteers at the La Grange Railroad Museum.Bailey told LPM News in a recent interview that he knows he’s green, but he cares about Louisville.“I have visions of my own of what I want for the city,” he said. “I want to improve it. I want to make it better for everybody.”That includes expanding public transportation.Bailey said when he speaks to people in the community, he hears they’re frustrated with the state of the bus network.“A lot of people are talking about transportation, saying our transportation is not the best TARC-wise,” he said. “Late buses and then there’s complete areas of the city that don’t have bus routes and stuff.”If he’s elected, Bailey said, he’d like Louisville Metro to start investing in TARC to expand public transportation options. He’d also lobby federal officials to bring Amtrak service back to Louisville.“We need stuff like that here in Louisville so we can connect to the broader area,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to drive or fly just to get anywhere else in the United States.”Bailey has been one of the most outspoken candidates on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. He said Louisville needs someone who’s not afraid to take on the feds, because he believes that what’s happened in Chicago and Minneapolis will eventually come here.“We’re a blue city and that paints a target on us,” he said. “Even though we’re in a red state, we’re still pretty big… We just have to prepare.”While he said he doesn’t know who Louisville’s current police chief is, Bailey said, as mayor, he’d plan to sit down with him and push for harsher penalties for officers involved in misconduct.An excerpt of Bailey’s interview with LPM News, edited for length and clarity, is below.RR: Tell me a bit about yourself. Why did you decide to run for mayor this year?MB: Well, my name is Matthew. I'm 21 and I'm a volunteer at the La Grange Railroad Museum. I've lived here for most of my life and I love my city. I've seen ups and downs, and I want to be part of that change. I think it's possible with me.RR: One of the issues that you’ve been outspoken about is the federal immigration crackdown and ICE. What do you think about how the current mayor has handled the feds, and what would you do differently?MB: As far as I've seen, his policies are just to help ICE and not interfere with their duties and stuff. I think that's just plainly unacceptable with the things that are going down all across the nation. I mean, look at Alex Pretti and Renee [Macklin] Good. People have been murdered and families are being just torn apart and stuff. People are getting deported to countries that they've never even been to or aren't even from.I think as mayor, you should go out of your way to make sure that the federal government doesn't undermine the rights of your citizens. That can mean having rapid police forces that can respond to reports of ICE being at a location, so we can have police there to make sure nothing goes wrong. And obviously making it where the police do not work with ICE.RR: Louisville Metro Council has considered, but rejected, a proposed ordinance that would have banned ICE officers from wearing masks when conducting raids or doing their jobs here in Louisville, is that something that you'd support?MB: One hundred percent. Our government works for us and we can't have people running around with masks hiding their identity. Like, look what's already happened. People are basically getting away with murder here in the United States. That's eventually going to come to Louisville.RR: One of the other things I've heard you say is that the biggest challenge, or one of the biggest challenges Louisville is facing, is housing affordability. What is your plan to address that?MB: For me, I want to change a lot of downtown and public transportation, make it better. But I also want to try to work with organizations to try to make housing more affordable. I myself have tried to move out of my father's house and the rent, the prices of houses and the cost of living in general is just abysmal currently in Louisville. This needs to change.RR: What would you say to someone who sees a 21-year-old with no experience in government and questions whether you're ready for the job of being mayor of a large city?Well, I don't have much experience, but I do like talking to people and I am very, very passionate about my city. I want to live here for my whole life. I want to raise kids here. I want this place to be the best it can be.I know I'm young. I know I don't have a lot of experience, but I am a blank slate and I am willing to face the consequences of fighting for what's right here in Louisville. I am not scared of the federal government. I will do what's best for the Louisville people, even if that means that I get brought into lawsuits. ...read more read less