Susan Westrom (born May 15, 1952) is an American

real estate agent Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er, and politician who served in the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

from 1999 to 2022.

Personal life

Born in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

on May 15, 1952, by the mid-1980s Susan Westrom was a

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

of two children. After attending Lexington Community College at age 32, Westrom received a

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

(1993) and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

degree (1995) in

from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Career

Before entering politics, Westrom was the director of advocacy and marketing for the Buckhorn Children's Home as well as a

with Keller Williams Bluegrass. By the mid-1990s, Westrom was a social worker and led the

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

chapter of the Association for Children for the Enforcement of Support; on May 20, 1994, she led a rally and

candlelight vigil A candlelight vigil or candlelit vigil or candlelight service is an assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset in order to pray, show support for a specific cause, or remember the dead, in which case, the event is often called a cand ...

on the local courthouse steps. By November 1998, she was working as a child advocate for the Buckhorn Foundation.

Politics

In the 1998 election, Westrom was first elected to represent District 79 in the

, defeating Republican incumbent Larry Brandstetter. In the

2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2016, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the House of Repres ...

for District 79, Westrom defeated Ken Kearns with 59.4% of the 20,064 votes cast (11,909 to 8,155). She won the

2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election Elections to the Kentucky House of Representatives were held on November 3, 2020. Predictions Closest races Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%: # # gain # # gain # # # gain # # gain # # gain # # Results ...

for her district, defeating Jon Larson, who conceded the race in-person at Westrom's Lexington home. In June 2021, the Democratic representative was on ten legislative committees. In the Kentucky legislature, Westrom worked towards removing juveniles from adult prisons, promoting the

equine industry in Kentucky The equine industry in Kentucky is a major part of the state's agribusiness, including sectors involved in horse breeding and rearing, racing, buying and selling, and tourism. According to a study by the University of Kentucky, the equine industry ...

, facilitating families' access to Kentucky Housing Corporation benefits, and improving

electric utility An electric utility, or a power company, is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. Electric utilities are ...

accountability. After no Republicans filed to run against her, and being comfortable with her likely successor, 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. Chad Aull won his

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

in a "landslide", and being unopposed in the general, was elected to Westrom's seat.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Westrom, Susan 1952 births 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly American social workers Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives living people University of Kentucky alumni women state legislators in Kentucky