West Virginia Elects First Openly Transgender Official

Rosemary Ketchum
Ketchum for Council
Amy Furr

West Virginia elected its first openly transgender official on Wednesday as the Third Ward representative of the state’s Wheeling City Council.

Rosemary Ketchum’s campaign focused on a broad range of issues such as opioid addiction and affordable housing, according to CBS News.

“She also focused on improving infrastructure, providing better resources to law enforcement, helping small businesses flourish and transforming local clean energy consumption and waste management,” the report noted.

Ketchum said what the Third Ward deemed important should be the focal point of her win, not her identity, according to WTRF.

“To make criticisms about the promises I’ve made or the positions that I hold, that’s fair game. But you know, talking about a person’s identity is incredibly vulnerable. And, I don’t think we have a space for that,” she commented.

On her website, the councilwoman vowed to follow through on campaign promises and shared a list of commitments made to voters.

“I will never hide from a tough conversation. I will host, organize, and fund positive community engagement activities. I will continue to advocate for the safety, security, and future of the 3rd Ward at every turn,” she stated.

Ketchum beat out three other candidates for her seat, thanks to her platform on homelessness and vacant properties in Wheeling, the WTRF article noted.

“I believe that one of the biggest obstacles we need to overcome is the perception of West Virginia itself – from people outside the state, but also from our residents themselves,” Ketchum explained.

“Vacant properties do nothing to improve the experience of our city and I will work to ensure that they are responsibly taken care of,” she continued.

When Ketchum took office on July 1, she became the first out LGBTQ elected official in West Virginia, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, an organization whose mission was to increase the number of LGBTQ officials at all levels of government.

“We know Rosemary’s race will inspire other trans people from conservative states to consider a run for office in their communities – and then those candidates will inspire others as well. That virtuous cycle is the key to building trans acceptance and political power long-term,” the fund said.

Tuesday, the organization congratulated Ketchum on Twitter.

Later, Ketchum said the response to her campaign was “incredible.”

“And, one of the things I am most proud of is that we are really beating back the stigma that people hold for the folks of West Virginia,” she concluded.

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