Judy Green's daughter running for mother's Metro Council seat

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A scandal prompted her mother to resign from Metro Council -- but Judy Green's daughter wants to leave her own legacy on Louisville by running for her mother's seat.

Jessica Green filed the papers to run on Tuesday, and she already has a surprising and unlikely endorsement.

Jessica Green wants her mother's old job.

"It's been something that I have thought about for a while," Green said.

This week, Green became a candidate for Metro Council -- the same council that voted to remove her mother, Judy Green, from office, even after she resigned.

"What about the members of Metro Council who voted to remove your mother from office?" asked WDRB's Stephan Johnson. "Even after she resigned, how are you going to work with those people?"

"I don't have any issues or harbor any ill feelings towards anybody who is currently on Metro Council, so I am looking forward to working with everyone there when I take the seat next year," Green replied.

Judy Green resigned from office in 2011 after an ethics complaint was filed by one of her political rivals. He claimed she mismanaged money meant for a summer jobs program.

"He and my mother sat down and talked before her death," Green said.

Ironically, that same man, Ray Barker, is now supporting Green's daughter.

"But this is the guy who got the ball rolling," Johnson said. "Aren't you angry with him?"

"No," Green replied. "I am not angry. You can't change the past...the only thing that you can do is move towards the future."

"What I found in talking to Jessica is that she is about putting the community back together," Barker said. "She's about unity -- and when she approached me, she approached me with that spirit."

Meanwhile, Green is challenging current first district councilwoman Attica Scott, who says this did not come as a surprise.

"No, because it's sweet," Scott said. "She wants to serve in the seat that her mother served in. It's kind of sweet and it's a little bit bittersweet as well."

Green is a former prosecutor and says she wants to tackle a wide range of issues if she's elected.

"One of the main issues for me are crime, housing, economic development, the environment, the spending of our taxes and education," she said.

Jessica Green says her father is also excited and onboard with her candidacy.