NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The new Metro Council is making history as more women are serving on the city’s legislative body than ever before.
When the new council term started Tuesday night there was a buzz of excitement in Metro Council chambers.
"It feels a little like the first day of school," said Jacob Kupin, who represents district 19.
Now 22 of the council’s 40 members are women. For the first time, women hold all five of the at-large council seats, That includes Zulfat Suara, who is the first Black person to hold the first chair among the at-large council members, and Olivia Hill, who is the first openly transgender person to be elected to the council.
"I’m so excited about all these women," said Zulfat Suara. "I know each one of them, and we have been able to talk. It's not just our gender, it's our background as mothers, teachers, engineers, CPAs. We are bringing all of that, and I’m looking for better days for Nashville."
"It's not lost on me that we made history," said Olivia Hill. "I’m trying my best to get in my seat, do my work, do a good job and represent Nashville."
The entire front row of seats in the council chambers are filled by women, and the council will be led by a woman after Angie Henderson defeated incumbent Jim Shulman.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Freddie O'Connell addressed the council. He also commended the council on making history.
The number of women on the council has grown steadily through the years. For the first 16 years of Metro’s existence, the 40 member council only included one woman. Fast forward to 2019, and half of the Metro Council was made up of women.
