LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The fallout from the election of Rep. Morgan McGarvey continues as his replacement prepares to take office.
Cassie Chambers Armstrong won a special election for the District 19 Kentucky Senate seat he formerly held on Tuesday, sending the now-former Metro Council member to Frankfort.
The Democrat officially resigned from her District 8 Metro Council seat on Wednesday night.
As expected, Cassie Chambers Armstrong has resigned from Metro Council after winning a State Senate seat.She says she hopes to be sworn in at the Capitol next week.Meanwhile, MC President Markus Winkler says that the vacancy could be filled at March 16 mtg @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/CNv1gTBpb5
— Conroy Delouche (@ConroyDelouche) February 23, 2023
"They're big shoes to fill, seeing her move on," Metro Council President Markus Winkler, D-17, said.
While Chambers Armstrong represents neighbors beyond Bardstown Road, that iconic street was the focus of construction and safety improvements during her time on Metro Council.
Those are conversations she hopes will continue with her eventual replacement.
"We've had a lot of stakeholder meetings where we've brought folks from the business community, people from law enforcement, people from neighborhood associations together and said, you know, what are the issues that you're seeing? What are the solutions that you on the other side are working on, and how do we make sure that we're really coordinating," Chambers Armstrong said.
Winkler calls District 8 politically engaged, something they'll look at in the next member selected.
"We'll be looking for somebody who understands the area, is connected to their district, understands the issues that face the city as a whole," he said.
Chambers Armstrong called the past two years as a voice for the Highlands the honor of a lifetime.
"The only thing that makes this bittersweet moment feel less so is that I know I get to continue those partnerships and I get to continue working on those issues with these same people," the Senator-elect said.
Issues that she's looking forward to discussing include early childhood education, public school employees and education.
"Things like protecting our marginalized and our vulnerable kids, or in some cases, not protecting our marginalized and vulnerable kids," she said.
She said McGarvey, who now holds Kentucky's 3rd District Congressional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, served as a model who could work in the superminority as a Democrat in Frankfort.
"And so I hope to go there and be in the same model to go and reach across the aisle and say 'Hey, here's what I care about and my children care about, what does your community care about,'" Chambers Armstrong said.
Applications for the next District 8 councilperson are being accepted until March 3.
Winkler said a new Metro Council person could be selected as soon as the March 16 full Council meeting. He said the seat will be on the ballot again in November 2023.
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