‘Apathy Is Not an Option.’ Trans Woman Elected in Kentucky Invokes Hope
After a disastrous national election, one trans candidate reminds us that there are still fights to fight.
by Mira Lazine
Emma Curtis decided to run for city council in Lexington, KY, because she was determined to fix dangerous roads in her city, but she comes to office knowing she also has a bigger responsibility, as a transgender woman elected in a harsh national climate.
“The most important things that we can do are to never run from who we are and to focus on filling our constituent services. At the end of the day, that's the job. That's what it's about. It's about making people's lives tangibly better,” Curtis, who was sworn in this week, told Assigned Media.
Much attention has understandably been focused on the new administration and Congress, but many of the most important debates over health care and civil rights for trans people will be waged in city councils, school boards and state legislatures across the nation. These elected bodies are the front line.
At least 1,017 LGBTQ+ candidates ran for public office in 2024, primarily at state and local levels, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, a slight, one percent increase over 2020. The breakdown shifted notably, though: Of the 2024 candidates, just over 15 percent were not cisgender, a sizable jump over 2020, when non-cisgender candidates accounted for about eight percent of queer candidates overall.
But trans candidates also faced a tougher electoral climate last November, according to the Victory Fund, which tracks and supports LGBTQ+ candidacies. About 30 percent won office, a lower success rate than for LGBTQ+ candidates as a whole, who won 80 percent of their races.
Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr and Minnesota State Rep. Leigh Finke – both Democrats, like the vast majority of queer candidates – are notable examples of electoral victories by trans candidates. Both have drawn wide attention for their inspiring personal stories and the substantial work that they’ve done for transgender rights.
In Lexington, Curtis had a story of her own to tell, one that swayed voters. With a background in affordable housing advocacy and transgender rights, Curtis had been a staple in her community for many years.
“I know what it's like to be treated with hostility and anger by your government. Right now I think people need hope that there is a better way,” she said in an interview with Assigned Media.
Curtis decided to run for council in December of 2023 after a friend died in a car accident on a local road that many saw as notoriously unsafe. Campaigning on traffic safety, access to affordable housing and other quality-of-life issues in Lexington, Kentucky’s second-largest city, she defeated the incumbent by four percentage points in November to become, at age 28, the first trans person elected to the council.
“I didn't run to be the first trans person on the council,” Curtis said. “I ran because I wanted to fix Nicholasville Road and lower the cost of housing.” But she also recognizes that trans people will face attacks both nationally and in Kentucky, where a new, highly conservatIve state legislature has also been seated.
“I consider myself fortunate to have what platform I have to stick up for those folks,” Curtis said. “Doing so as somebody who's visibly, vocally trans – that is its own form of activism.”
She is bracing already for numerous legislative challenges that will directly affect all of her constituents.
“We're going to be hit disproportionately, not just in terms of legislation focused on making life harder for trans people, but in terms of other policies coming under the Trump administration and the new Republican majority from Congress.
“The proposed tariffs are going to disproportionately impact our equine industry and our bourbon industry,” Curtis added. “And those are sort of the economic lifelines of our citizens. It's going to impact tourism, which is increasingly becoming an economic cornerstone of our city because folks aren't going to want to come here.”
She said she will not shy from a fight. “I'm hoping to be able to use my role as an elected official, both publicly and more behind the scenes to push back on those harmful policies and find ways to mitigate the damage.”
Curtis recognizes the role she has to play in a national context. She hopes to not only inspire more trans people to run for office, but directly aid them in this pursuit.
“There are so many trans folks that I talked to about running for office in 2024 that would not do it with Trump on the ballot because they felt there was no way they could win. They said ‘talk to me about 2026,’ and I'm going to do that now because I think that it's become really, really apparent that we need to be focusing on local and state level changes to tangibly improve the lives of trans folks.”
She added, “The challenge is giving people hope that it's possible. So I hope that my election and the fact that I won in precincts that Trump also won can provide some direct counter evidence that trans folks can win in places like Kentucky and that we're going to be able to increase our numbers. Like I might be the first trans person elected to a city office in Kentucky, but I know I'm not going to be the last one.”
Her advice for trans people looking to get into office? “Do the damn thing.”
“It’s scary. Oftentimes it sucks. But apathy is not an option right now. It's really easy to just doom spiral with every piece of this onslaught of anti-trans legislation and rhetoric coming from those in power. But that can change when you become one of those in power. If trans folks are trying to follow in my footsteps, they should just run for office. It's never been more important.”
She concluded, “Step up, run for office and don't wait for somebody else to come save you, because we're going to have to save ourselves."
Mira Lazine is a freelance journalist covering transgender issues, politics, and science. She can be found on Twitter, Mastodon, and BlueSky, @MiraLazine