In between high school law and justice classes, there was a kid bonded to a town that could fit in his shadow.
Midway, Kentucky, was the home that remained vivid in the path of Ian VanSteenbergh — the youngest elected official in the city’s history.
VanSteenbergh is a 21-year-old public policy and political science student at the University of Kentucky set to graduate in December 2025.
At the age of 20, VanSteenbergh won a seat on the Midway City Council, becoming one of the youngest council members in the country and one of the few openly gay elected officials in Kentucky.
From day one in office, his priorities included advocating for LGBTQ+ equality, sustainability and environmental land use.
This path, however, has roots that go back to a time of simplicity as just another kid from a 1,700 people city surrounded by acreage in the “middle of nowhere,” VanSteenbergh said.
“I like to consider it (Midway) a small town that does big things. You know everyone, they know you, but not in a weird way, in a really comforting, everyone-is-going-to-look-out-for-you kind of way,” VanSteenbergh said.
Despite constantly moving from the suburbs to the countryside and later on to Georgetown, Kentucky for seven years, VanSteenbergh said Midway seemed to always call him back.
After living on a golf course in Georgetown and playing tennis in a new and bigger city, VanSteenbergh said he and his family wanted a change of pace and scenery for the last time.
“We were excited to move back, go back to a community that really loved us and that we supported,” VanSteenbergh said.
With both his parents, Brian and Tammy VanSteenbergh, running the V.S. Salon & Spa in Midway, the student said serving his community has been in his blood, especially during high school.
“The mock United Nations and the mock Kentucky General Assembly—I did both of those through seventh grade all the way to my senior year of high school,” VanSteenbergh said.
This experience opened the doors for developing skills in public speaking, writing bills and laws, and learning to meet new people with fresh perspectives; abilities that currently belong to his daily life as a council member VanSteenbergh said.
As part of the remainder of his two years of high school, VanSteenbergh acquired his associate degree from Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) in 2020, before a new shift came into play.
At that time, Kristine Cassata, a lifelong family friend who also happened to be the VanSteenberghs’ agent when moving around houses, had just started a brokerage company named Indigo & Co Realty and brought an invitation to the table.
“I think you should totally get your license,” Cassata told VanSteenbergh when he was 17.
As soon as he graduated high school and got his associate degree at BCTC, he then decided to give the real estate industry a chance as he was already familiar with many houses over the years of moving in and out of Midway, VanSteenbergh said.
Another big reason he wanted to get his license was to finally sell his grandmother’s house, which ended up being his first prominent sale right after passing the real estate test.
“After that, it’s just been helping people. My parents, they eventually moved, my sister, brother-in-law, lots of family, lots of friends and even people that I didn’t know that are now family and friends to me,” VanSteenbergh said.
Selling homes opened his eyes to housing affordability issues within Kentucky and other social urgencies regarding land use—which led him to a more public policy-oriented path.
Still motivated by the political mock experiences from high school, VanSteenbergh started building his public voice to find ways to become an advocate and an informed citizen for Midway.
“I started working on campaigns just because I felt that’s where I could be the most helpful and I mean, we’re young, that’s what you’re gonna do; they’re gonna put you out in a campaign trail, knock on doors and talk to people,” VanSteenbergh said.
In the meantime, the pandemic hit and that was when VanSteenbergh officially started to get his “feet into politics” he said.
The first step of his political chapter was when he, alongside the Great Crossing High School Student YMCA, held a city council debate for all Georgetown City Council—a time of unexpected political ties.
“In the midst of COVID, 2020 election, midterm elections, I mean you name it, that’s when I kind of really started to find my voice politically and go ‘I have something to say and there’s not a lot of other people that look like me, that sounds like me, that are really talking and speaking up,’ especially in Kentucky,” VanSteenbergh said.
At the end of COVID-19, VanSteenbergh changed his scenery again.
Despite always telling himself he would never go to an in-state school, the higher-than-expected costs of attending an out-of-state college made him take an opposite path.
It was the end of the pandemic, a small campus resembling VanSteenbergh’s high school and a “great reputation in the community.”
Those were three elements that made VanSteenbergh attend Transylvania University to earn his bachelor’s degrees in political science and business.
After one academic year, however, VanSteenbergh eventually realized that “UK had a better public policy program,” which was something he already had “dipped his toes before,” outside of school. This made him transfer to UK in 2023.
After exploring the fields of human rights and voting issues, VanSteenbergh now combines specializations in housing, agriculture and sustainability at the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration.
“I really try to look at the holistic view of development in housing and sustainability and going ‘how can we create better communities that people want and make it an enjoyable place for people to live,’” VanSteenbergh said. “People want to have a home, they want to feel community and how do we achieve that than just building houses and relying upon private developers.”
Tracing down this path of knowledge and expertise, VanSteenbergh’s opportunity to pragmatically serve his hometown came after the state-wide Election Day in 2023 when two council members said they would not run for reelection.
“That’s kind of when it hit me and I said ‘Well, why not?’ I don’t see anyone like me in the government,” VanSteenbergh said.
He said his stature, appearance, tone of voice and interests could never be compared to those of officials “20 years older” than him.
Especially in a red state like Kentucky, VanSteenbergh said, being one of the only openly gay officials represented the beginning of a new history for the state.
If he could tell his younger self where he is now, VanSteenbergh said he would emphasize that it is still possible to be a minority and fight for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Everyone has a voice, whether it is at the ballot box with your vote, whether it is being an advocate, running for a council position,” VanSteenbergh said. “You can keep going and you can show everyone that you have a lot to give.”
Having his voice heard in politics was not easy for a 20-year-old student, VanSteenbergh said.
The feeling of not being qualified to be on the ballot for his city brought challenges, along with being the youngest in every room at every meeting.
“People want to meet you. They want to talk to you. It’s not easy, I mean, I’ve gone to chamber events with the Chamber of Commerce, and I was like ‘OK, I don’t know anyone here; I don’t know what I’m gonna do,’” VanSteenbergh said.
For the lack of experience, VanSteenbergh said at first he just wanted to be an advocate for a few issues by talking to a few representatives and the state senator, but “it wasn’t met with really good responses,” as he was “really tired of the system.”
So, a change in perspective was needed, VanSteenbergh said.
“I just had to tell myself: ‘I may not have as many years of experience, but I still have enough to give to the community,’ and sometimes not being in the community as much, being so young gives us fresh perspectives and more energy to do things,” VanSteenbergh said. “I don’t have a family to raise, I’m energetic and I’m ready to actually go fight for those things that people care about.”
While being part of the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) Foundation, Bluegrass Realtors, volunteer at Spark Community Cafe, Midway Business Association and the Blue Grass Trust- Historic Preservation, VanSteenbergh still finds ways to be an engaged student at UK.
As a member, volunteer and council member, his attendance at chamber events and meetings usually happens once a month, which helps him manage schoolwork and involvement at UK.
As the Student Government Association (SGA) civic engagement and government relations coordinator, VanSteenbergh has reinforced his political activities.
Especially through the analysis of “some bills that were going on in Frankfort that really impact students,” VanSteenbergh said he helped monitor bills allowing concealed weapons on college campuses and DEI initiatives.
“That was just another way for me to get into the whole political sphere and go ‘OK, people do actually listen to you, people will listen to what you have to say,’” VanSteenbergh said. “Just because you’re younger, sometimes that throws some people off, but other times that actually opens doors.”
As a college student, VanSteenbergh focuses now on graduating in December 2025 to keep up with his two-year term with the same energy as he started on Nov. 4, 2024, when he was first elected.
“I’m loving where I’m at, I’m loving what I’m doing because I get to see people and talk to them and represent such a small community, which is really fun, and to be able to see people when you’re going to the post office or going out to dinner and have a good conversation with them, that’s really good,” VanSteenbergh said.
Annabel Nagel • Jan 29, 2025 at 3:09 pm
woah!! good job ian!