My focus for representing District 48 in the Kentucky State House will be to Invest in People. Whether we're investing in public education, families, workers, safety, the environment, or our capacity for empathy, together we'll build a Kentucky we're proud to call home. Let's elect leaders who want to invest in a Commonwealth where we can all live up to our full potential, and a Kentucky that serves as an example for the nation.
Help us make it happen.
Meet Debbie
Debbie Wesslund is an experienced public servant having been elected twice to represent northeast Jefferson County on the Board of Education 2007-2014. Years before, while living in Washington D.C., she served two members of Congress as a press secretary and staff director. That experience provided a unique perspective on public service, which means understanding constituent needs and building alliances to address those needs.
She was born in Seminole, Oklahoma, a small town about an hour from Oklahoma City. Her mother was a long-time schoolteacher, and her father worked as an airplane mechanic. Shortly after graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma, she moved to Washington D.C. where she began her congressional career. While there, she was also employed by two energy trade associations as a writer and a lobbyist.
She moved with her husband and daughter to Louisville in 1995, and they made the community their home. Their daughter, Emma, was educated in the Jefferson County public school system and graduated from Indiana University with degrees in political science, theater and arts management. Her daughter now lives in Washington D.C. and works in arts administration and performs when she has the time.
Besides serving on the school board, Debbie has been the president of her neighborhood association, and chair of the personnel committee at her church. She also serves on the board of directors of the YMCA Association of Greater Louisville which includes 10 local YMCAs, the largest childcare provider in the state, and a variety of other programs. During her tenure on the school board, an agreement was reached to build a new school and a new YMCA in the eastern part of Louisville and connect them so kids would have access to the facility. Since then, another YMCA-school partnership was developed in the western section of the city.
Debbie’s experience in listening to the community, representing its citizens in a variety of roles and her interest in solving problems and providing opportunities make her an excellent candidate for Kentucky State Representative for District 48.
