Democrat Tandy joins Metro Council By Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, April 15, 2005 The Louisville Metro Council voted along party lines last night to elect Democrat David Tandy as the newest member of the council, representing District 4. His election, to the seat left vacant by the death of Willie B. Bright, restored Democrats to the 15-11 majority they held when Louisville and Jefferson County governments merged in 2003. Tandy, 32, a lawyer and a Democratic activist who has worked on numerous political campaigns, said he hopes to tackle issues involving crime, economic development and quality of life. "I want to make Louisville the place where people want to live, play and work," Tandy told the council moments before he was sworn in by Jefferson District Judge Toni Stringer. Bright, a Democrat who died of cancer on March 19, was elected to a new four-year term in November. Tandy will serve the remainder of the term, which ends in 2008. Unlike the unanimous election last month of Leonard Watkins to replace Denise Bentley, who quit to work in state government, Tandy won on a 14-11 vote. All 11 Republicans voted for Lesa Dae, a Democrat who worked in Republican Rep. Anne Northup's congressional re-election campaign last year. They questioned whether Tandy, with his long history in the Democratic Party, could work with them. "Ask him how bipartisan he's going to be," Councilman Ken Fleming, R-7th, said to a reporter. Democrats, on the other hand, were clearly unsettled by the idea of electing a Democrat who has worked in a GOP campaign and suggested that Republicans supported Dae simply because of her Republican ties. "They have a pattern of helping people who support Anne Northup," said Democratic caucus Chairman Rick Blackwell of District 12. Julie Raque Adams, R-18th, said she believed Dae was the best candidate and added that she has a "great deal of respect for Anne Northup's opinion." When asked if Northup had weighed in on the race, Adams said she thought Northup had talked to Republican caucus leader Kelly Downard. Downard, of District 16, said he had not spoken to Northup about the race, and Adams then said she must have misunderstood something said earlier. Tandy appeared to have an edge in the race because he was endorsed by a group of District 4 neighborhood groups that Bright relied on for advice. He also had the backing of a number of young Democratic operatives like himself. But yesterday, rumors began to fly around City Hall that Tandy would become a Republican once elected. However, last night he said, "I'm a Democrat, I've always been a Democrat and will always be a Democrat." He suggested that the rumor may have come from a lunch he had recently in Frankfort with a member of the staff of Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson, whom Tandy has known since high school. Democrats blamed the rumors on supporters of another candidate and said they expect Tandy to be a strong member of their caucus. "I think he believes in the Democratic vision, so I think we can count on him on the traditional Democratic themes," Blackwell said. Tandy said he will do what is best for his district. "If that happens to be a Democratic position, obviously I will support it," he said.