Susan Westrom
Susan Westrom | |
---|---|
Born | Iowa, United States | May 15, 1952
Other names | Susan Westrom-Becknell[1] |
Education | BSW & MSW, U. of Kentucky |
Occupations |
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Political party | Democratic |
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 79th district | |
In office 1999–2022 | |
Governor | |
Preceded by | Larry Brandstetter |
Succeeded by | Chad Aull |
Signature | |
Susan Westrom (born May 15, 1952) is an American real estate agent, social worker, and politician who served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1999 to 2022.
Personal life
[edit]Born in Iowa on May 15, 1952,[2] by the mid-1980s Susan Westrom was a single parent of two children. After attending Lexington Community College at age 32,[3] Westrom received a bachelor's (1993) and master's degree (1995) in social work from the University of Kentucky.[2]
Career
[edit]Before entering politics, Westrom was the director of advocacy and marketing for the Buckhorn Children's Home as well as a real estate agent with Keller Williams Bluegrass.[2] By the mid-1990s, Westrom was a social worker and led the Lexington, Kentucky chapter of the Association for Children for the Enforcement of Support; on May 20, 1994, she led a rally and candlelight vigil on the local courthouse steps.[1] By November 1998, she was working as a child advocate for the Buckhorn Foundation.[4]
Politics
[edit]In the 1998 election, Westrom was first elected to represent District 79[2] in the Kentucky House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Larry Brandstetter.[4] In the 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election for District 79, Westrom defeated Ken Kearns with 59.4% of the 20,064 votes cast (11,909 to 8,155).[5] She won the 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election for her district, defeating Jon Larson, who conceded the race in-person at Westrom's[6] Lexington home. In June 2021, the Democratic representative was on ten legislative committees.[2]
In the Kentucky legislature, Westrom worked towards removing juveniles from adult prisons, promoting the equine industry in Kentucky, facilitating families' access to Kentucky Housing Corporation benefits, and improving electric utility accountability.[7]
After no Republicans filed to run against her, and being comfortable with her likely successor,[8] Westrom announced her withdrawal from the 2022 election on February 10, 2022. She planned to serve the rest of her term through the end of the year.[7] Chad Aull won his primary election in a "landslide", and being unopposed in the general, was elected to Westrom's seat.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Reid, Jacque (May 20, 1994). "Forgotten Kids". Lexington, Kentucky: WKYT-TV.
- ^ a b c d e "Susan Westrom's Biography". Vote Smart. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Rep. Susan Westrom". Bluegrass Community and Technical College. October 4, 2017. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Brammer, Jack (November 5, 1998). Luecke, Pam; Eblen, Tom (eds.). "Senate balance unchanged after hard-fought races". Lexington Herald-Leader. Vol. 16, no. 307. Frankfort, Kentucky. pp. B1, B4. ISSN 0745-4260.
Democrats gain some ground, lose some to retain 2-seat lead
- ^ "Kentucky 79th District State House Results: Susan Westrom Wins". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Valverde, Alex (November 11, 2020). "Moment of 'congratulations' shows unity between two political parties". Lexington, Kentucky: WLEX-TV. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Rogers, Steve (February 10, 2022). "State Rep. Westrom withdrawing from race, won't seek re-election". Frankfort, Kentucky: WTVQ-DT. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
Two Democrats will remain in the May 17 primary
- ^ Horn, Austin (February 11, 2022). "Longtime Lexington state rep withdraws re-election bid". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ Brooks, Bode (May 20, 2022). "Meet Lexington's new state representatives: Chad Aull, Lindsey Burke". Lexington, Kentucky: WDKY-TV. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
External links
[edit]- Susan Westrom on Twitter
- Media related to Susan Westrom at Wikimedia Commons
- 1952 births
- 20th-century American legislators
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 20th-century Kentucky politicians
- 21st-century American legislators
- 21st-century American women politicians
- 21st-century Kentucky politicians
- American social workers
- Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives
- Living people
- University of Kentucky alumni
- Women state legislators in Kentucky