Rosemary Ketchum won a seat on a City Council in West Virginia, making her the first openly transgender elected official in the state.
Ketchum was elected to the Wheeling City Council, after running on a platform addressing affordable housing and opioid addiction. She will be one out of just 27 openly trans elected officials in the entire country, according to the Victory Fund.
"I am incredibly grateful to get the opportunity to represent my city," Ketchum said. "I hope that this election helps us push the needle in West Virginia so that we can fully embrace the power of culture, diversity, and representation in politics. I ran for office because I believe the job of an elected official is to reflect the values of their community in the actions of their leadership and that is why I am excited to serve."
Ketchum has served on the board of ACLU West Virginia and is a member of Wheeling's Human Rights Commission. She is also the associate director of NAMI of Greater Wheeling, an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Congratulations!
This is great news because of where it is taking place. If you had to think of the most socially conservative state in the entire USA, West Virginia could be your #1 choice on the list.
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