Bob Glenn, a current Owensboro City Commissioner, has announced he will run for reelection. In addition to his current term, Glenn also served two terms from 2012-2018.
“One of the reasons I want to run again is I think we’re in good shape, and I think that with good experienced leadership, we can continue to be in that position,” Glenn said. “We’re one of the few cities in America that had reduced unemployment during the early stages of the COVID pandemic and really, we have not had any severe negatives to our economy. The only exception is the fact that it’s hard to hire people, but that’s a national trend, nothing unique to Owensboro.”
Glenn faced a crowded field in a 2020 election that featured 16 City Commission candidates. Since taking the seat, he said he’s been active in the community and listening to feedback on what the top safety concerns are.
“I’ve been working to address the issues in the Northwest Neighborhoods such as the gun violence,” he said. “I’ve attended a number of meetings and I’ve listened to a lot of constituents, and we’ve tried to get those issues addressed. I want to continue to do that because one of the things we have to have as a safe city, above all else. If you don’t have a community that feels safe, everything else is secondary.”
Another priority for Glenn is looking ahead at economic development.
“I think that we need to continue marketing ourselves as we evolve and come out of the pandemic,” he said. “Cities and counties and states are continuing to recruit new businesses and encouraging existing businesses to expand. … I think economically, we’ve kept our eye on the ball. We need to continue keeping our eye on the ball in order to bring in good jobs to our community that pay well and provide good benefits for our citizens.”
Glenn said he knows there are concerns among some citizens about electing the same people because they may not bring new ideas, but he said he’s forward thinking and adapts to the times.
“I’m not stuck in the 1950s, in the sense that I deal with young people every day,” he said. “I get a window into how the culture is changing, and what’s important to a new generation. I have a son and a daughter of my own and I talk to them, so I’m well aware of what they want.”
Glenn said some of the long-term things to look at include creating more affordable housing, building a new senior center, potentially renovating the Sportscenter or building a new venue for events, and taking a hard look at how to address infrastructure needs.
Part of looking ahead, Glenn said, is figuring out how to keep young people in Owensboro after their education.
“As an educator, I can tell you one of the things you do is you create internships and partnerships between colleges and employers,” he said. “If you give a young person an opportunity as they finish their training or their education, whether that’s a technical education or traditional college education, if they know they have an opportunity to be employed right out of college, they’re more likely to stay in the area than to leave. That’s a huge issue that we want to address.”
A final main concern of Glenn’s is making sure the City is more involved in helping the Afghan refugees integrate into the community.
“I have talked with the director of the refugee center and I think that’s another huge issue that the community and the city need to wrap its arms around,” he said. “There are 172 Afghan refugees coming into our community and they need everything from a place to live to food to places to educate their children, and there’s no reason the City can’t be more involved in providing support and assistance to make that transition easier.”
Glenn is a long-time resident of Owensboro and Daviess County. He is an educator at Owensboro Community & Technical College, where he has coached the OCTC Speech and Debate team for over three decades. Glenn is also a Lay Pastor at Bethlehem United Methodist Church. He and his wife Holly have two adult children, Bobby and Caitlin.
