Congratulations Louisville Metro Councilmember Scott!

Aww yeah, got a smile as wide as Texas on this one.  

Congratulations to Attica Woodson Scott, the new District 1 Metro Councilmember!.  

Out of the 13 people who interviewed for the position, Scott and attorney Courtney Phelps were nominated to replace the expelled Dr. Judy Green.  

She was elected to fill the remaining term of Green by an 18-7 Metro Council vote.
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Councilmember Scott said in a Courier-Journal interview that she feels a need to live up to “higher expectations” in office.   Her predecessor was expelled by a unanimous Metro Council vote last month for unethical behavior and financial misappropriations.

“I’m deeply honored and humbled and I look forward to being here (Friday) morning to get to work,”Councilmember Scott said.

I'm biased because I've had the pleasure of knowing her during the time I lived there, but the Metro Council couldn't have selected a better person to fill out that remaining term.  She lives in the district and knows the issues, has 15 years experience working on social justice issues, and can and will hit the ground running in trying to solve the problems of her District 1 constituents to the best of her ability.

And yeah, hope the people of District 1 on November 6, 2012 send her back to Metro City Hall.

Good Luck Attica!

TransGriot Note: In the interest of journalistic integrity I served on the Fairness Campaign board from 2006 until December 2007 and the secretary of C-FAIR from September 2009 until May 2010  

One of the people I got to meet during my time in Da Ville was social justice activist Attica Woodson Scott.   She was in the process of running for the Jefferson County School Board when I moved and unfortunately didn't get it.

Due to District 1 councilmember Dr. Judy Green being expelled from office for ethical misconduct, that left a vacancy on Metro Council that needs to be filled.   I was happy to hear that Attica decided to submit her resume and become one of the 13 candidates to enter the race for the District 1 seat and serve the remainder of Green's unexpired term.    

Louisville Metro Council members conducted interviews on Tuesday with the hopefuls vying for appointment to the seat which the Metro Council will select by majority vote tonight.  The person they select will have to run next year to keep the seat.so of course the Democratic controlled Metro Council will want to choose someone who not only is qualified, but has the broad based support in District 1 to win it in next November's election.


Thanks to Attica's longtime social justice work in Louisville and her previous run for the JCPS board, she has that support and was endorsed by C-FAIR, the political action committee of the Fairness Campaign.

"Ms. Scott possesses an unwavering and long-standing record of devotion to issues pertaining to organized labor and Fairness," shared C-FAIR Board Co-Chair Nick Wilkerson. "That record, paired with her clear social justice stances built upon an understanding of the inherent intersections of all forms of oppression, makes her uniquely suited to represent all Louisville's 1st District residents."

I agree, Nick.   Good luck, Attica.  Hope the Metro Council is wise enough to fill that vacant seat with you.

I Miss The U of L-UK Sports Hatefests

One of the things that will get me thinking about the time and friends I left behind in Da Ville is when the annual sporting hatefests in football and basketball occurs between the University of Louisville Cardinals and the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

It's exacerbated by the fact that these schools are situated in the two largest cites in the state in Louisville and Lexington and both campuses are only a 70 mile drive along I-64 from each other.  

I still chuckle about the times during me living in Louisville Metro fans on either side of the Red or Blue divide would ask me during the week of the Battle for the Governor's Cup (football) or the Battle of the Bluegrass (basketball) whether I was a Cards or Cats fan.

They would not be satisfied with my 'I root for both teams' answer or 'I'm a University of Houston fan' in an attempt to stay neutral . They would continue to attempt to convert me into becoming a fire and brimstone spouting t-shirt wearing member of Cats or Cards Nation with a missionary zeal while lambasting every aspect of the other school..

When they say 'A House Divided', they mean it.   It's so serious that friends, coworkers, families, couples and spouses that went to either Louisville or Kentucky are trading barbs at each other whether it's in person or online.   The effort to recruit us noncommitted folks to the gospel of Cat or Cards worship intensified along with the hype for for the game.whether it was in Louisville or Lexington.   

During that week on the football and basketball schedules of both schools you have wall to wall saturation coverage in the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader and TV stations in both cities of the respective schools down to the microlevel, especially for the basketball game which is nationally televised .

You cannot escape it, so you sit back and enjoy the fun because bragging rights were on the line in addition to which school would get the lions share of the best instate athletes .  But yeah, it does make me miss you wonderful peeps I left behind in the Bluegrass State even more

As for which team am I rooting for?   The one with the African American head coach on the sidelines..    . 

First Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride Event Is Off And Running

Got an e-mail from Dawn about the inaugural Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride opening mixer last night at the River Bend Winery  (nice place). 

The International Federation Of Black Prides president was there in full effect and was quite impressed with the initial kickoff event. 

The first annual Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride continues in Louisville through this weekend, so if you are in the Louisville Metro area looking for something to do or live in the Ohio River valley roll on down to Da Ville and check out the action.    They've done so for your pride events, show them some reciprocal love.

The pageant is tonight and since I wrote the initial post supporting the event and talking about the challenges in getting it started, they've added a Sunday In The Park event at Cherokee Park 

Thanks for the love KGBPA you showed me and the blog, and hopefully I'll be back in the area to check out the next pride event y'all put on.   I wish y'all much success with this inaugural one.