By a unanimous 26-0 vote, Councilman David Tandy, D-4, was elected the seventh president of the Louisville Metro Council, making him the second African-American and first African-American male to head Metro government’s legislative body.

“It is my hope and intent that we’re a city that boldly progresses to the future,” Tandy says. “As we continue to debate the issues for the day, we should be mindful that whenever we deal with a particular issue there are only two options: we move forward and progress, or regress. Standing still and doing nothing is not an option.”

Perhaps sensing the inevitable, his opponent, Councilman James Peden, R-23, conceded, saying he was seeking unity and bipartisanship.

Tandy’s first day on the job will be a difficult one. Moments ago the council members had their frustrations boil over during the Committee of the Whole meeting where Republicans and Democrats clashed over the language in the ethics ordinance. Expect a page-by-page review and debate of the entire 35-page law that could go into the wee hours. Republicans want to pass the ordinance tonight. Democrats don’t see the urgency and have mixed options: “kill it,” “back to committee,” “create a working group,” etc.

UPDATE: The Tandy touch has already taken affect. What could have been a long meeting over the ethics ordinance has been postponed at the council level until Feb. 12th.

Council Republicans knew Democrats would kill the ethics ordinance on the floor regardless of their chest thumping of a filibuster. Instead the council has accepted President Tandy’s suggestion he made at the Committee of the Whole to establish a working group of three ethics attorneys to review the law. Tandy will sit with Councilman Ken Fleming, R-7, the ordinance’s author, and the three attorneys to give the council ample time to digest the ordinance. But after eight months will council members actually read it?

UPDATE II: More than two dozen Old Louisville residents had packed council chambers holding signs opposing the mayor’s plan to shut down the historic Engine 7 firehouse. After the council elected Tandy president, the demonstrators empitied out without more than a whisper.