LEXINGTON, Ky. — Emma Curtis is no stranger to politics. An activist and outspoken voice for transgender rights led her to Frankfort on countless occasions. Now she’s celebrating a victory that she never could have imagined.
“So Tuesday night, we made some history here in Lexington,” Curtis told Spectrum News 1. “I found out with a three word text that said ‘Congratulations councilwoman-elect’ and that was one of the most joyful moments of my life.”
In a 52% to 48% win over incumbent Brenda Monarrez, Curtis won the District 4 seat on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.
This win makes Curtis the first transgender person to be elected to a city council seat in Kentucky, and the second ever transgender person in the state to hold public office.
“To be elected, not despite who I am, but because of who I am and what I believe in, I don’t have words for that,” Curtis said.
Curtis says she ran her campaign on issues such as roadway safety, lowering housing costs and government transparency. Subjects that matter to everyone.
The 28-year-old councilwoman-elect’s race is not the only first to come out of the election. Current Louisville State Representative Keturah Herron will become the state’s first openly LGBTQ women to serve in the State Senate. Herron ran unopposed for this seat. Herron made history with her victory in 2022 when she was elected as first openly LGBTQ women in the House.
The two victories highlighting what Fairness Campaign executive director Chris Hartman believes reflects what’s being seen nationwide.
“The Commonwealth of Kentucky, like the vast majority of the United States of America, has a population that supports all people, regardless of who they are or whom they love,” Hartman said. “So if you look at it at the end of the day, a really bellwether night for LGBTQ rights in Kentucky.”
“We ran this campaign for everyone who’s ever felt left out, like the kid in the corner, like they couldn’t succeed because of who they are and we won. Because we went out there and we talked to people about the issues that matter to them and we met them where they were at,” Curtis said.
In 2003, former Lexington State Senator Ernesto Scorsone became the state’s first openly gay member of the general assembly. Two years ago Rebecca Blankenship of Berea became Kentucky’s first transgender elected official, winning a seat on her city’s school board as a write-in candidate.