Olivia Hill (Photo courtesy of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund)
Voters in Nashville and surrounding Davidson County made history Sept. 14 as Olivia Hill won an at-large seat on the Metro Council, making her the first openly transgender official elected to public office in the Volunteer State.
The Tennessean reported that Hill secured one of the council’s five at-large seats in the runoff election with 12.9% of the vote that night. She joins a historic number of women elected to the council. All five at-large members will be women, as well as 17 district councilmembers. That adds up to 22 women — a majority of the 40-member council.
“I want to say that I am elated,” Hill told the Tennessean after the historic win. A Nashville native, Hill graduated from Hillwood High School in 1983. She then served in the U.S. Navy from 1986-1995 and saw combat overseas during Desert Storm.
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund CEO Annise Parker released the following statement after Hill was elected:
“Nashville voters clearly reject the hateful rhetoric that has grown louder in Tennessee politics lately. Olivia’s victory proves that transgender people belong everywhere decisions about them are being made, including local office. I know Olivia is well-prepared to take her seat on the Metro Council and work to make Nashville and Davidson County a more welcoming place for all.”
The Metropolitan Council (officially the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County) is the legislative body of the consolidated city-county government of Nashville and Davidson County.
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