Topic: West Virginia just elected its first openly transgender official

[itsApril]

West Virginia just elected its first openly transgender official

By Leah Asmelash, CNN
Updated 8:43 PM ET, Wed June 10, 2020

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/us/rosemary-ketchum-west-virginia-transgender-trnd/index.html

(CNN) Rosemary Ketchum won a seat on a City Council in West Virginia, making her the first openly transgender elected official in the state.  Ketchum, 26, was elected to the Wheeling City Council, after running on a platform addressing affordable housing and opioid addiction.

"I am incredibly grateful to get the opportunity to represent my city," Ketchum said in a statement to CNN. "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.

[Devlyn]

Good news for West By God Virginia. 

[terrik2016]

I grew up in WV.  This is really big

[Haley Conner]

This is really great.  We've come a long way since I was growing up.