Dr. Judy Green, who was expelled from the Louisville Metro Council in 2011 for misconduct, was remembered Tuesday for her commitment to her district and her love of children after she died following a heart attack.
Green's daughter, Joy, said in an interview that her mother died early Tuesday morning. She was 57. Her attorney, Derwin Webb, said she suffered a heart attack.
Green became only the second city lawmaker to be ousted from office - the only other one was in 1865 - when a unanimous jury of her colleagues found in September 2011 that she had committed ethics violations and mismanaged taxpayer money.
Green was expelled expelled from the Louisville Metro Council on Sept. 13, 20011, based on the unanimous jury of her colleagues, who found that she committed ethical misconduct and mismanaged taxpayer money.
But city officials recalled her commitment to her district and to her family.
"She always opened her heart and her home to anybody," said Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton, D-5th District, who cited her love for her own children as well as those she adopted and took care of in foster care.
Hamilton said that Green also acted with the best of intentions, even if she may not have gone about things in the right way. "Her heart was in the right place," she said. "She meant well and she did good in this community."
Councilwoman Mary C. Woolridge, D-3rd District, who worked with Green at the Park Duvall Community Health Center in the 1980s when she was a dental hygienist, recalled how the "pulled herself up by the bootstraps, went to dental school at University of Louisville, and became a dentist.
"She did a lot of great things in her district," Woodridge said. "She was always getting her alleys and streets cleaned. I am proud to say I worked with her."
Mayor Greg Fischer's office released a short statement in which he said: "Judy had a good heart and she loved her community. My thoughts are with her family during this difficult time."
A.D. Porter & Sons Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.