What about you and your background makes you the best candidate for this office? 

 

My background involves a lot of community experiences in the area that I wish to represent. I’ve worked as a server in the restaurant industry for over 10 years, getting to know people and understanding how putting in a lot of effort doesn’t always equate to more money, but people still need your service. Working in the service industry also allowed me to meet coworkers from various walks of life; the single mother of two children, a grandmother going back to work, and even a teenager helping to pay his family’s bills.

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I’ve volunteered with nonprofit organizations like the Parkersburg Art Center and worked for the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation under their “Civic Leaders Fellowship Program.” A program designed to keep young adults in the state and engaged in their communities. Before my current career in social work, I worked at the Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg, where I got to meet youth from all walks of life. These experiences prepared me for my current career where I help youth with mental health disorders and their families find resources they need to keep families safe and kids in the home.

 

What are the top three statewide issues you see for West Virginians at this time? 

 

Affordability: West Virginians are hurting over the increase in cost of gas and groceries. We are seeing a spike in food bank usage. As SNAP benefits decrease, the strain on food assistance will continue to rise. Similar issues are being seen in gas. Our rural neighbors can find themselves driving long distances to get into town to buy items for daily living, which often means that each trip requires filling up before going home regardless of what cost per gallon is that day.

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Jobs: We see West Virginians leaving the state to find work. There is a dwindling job market, and the jobs we do get into the state are often short-term and don’t provide much revenue to local economies. We see rising inflation rates with stagnating wages, making it difficult for families to thrive. We also see many young West Virginians leave because their degree cannot provide them work in the state, such as in computer science or engineering.

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Environment: We have West Virginians that don’t have safe, clean drinking water. We’ve had chemical spills, sewage, and runoff go into our rivers which make them unsafe for our people to use in any capacity. We’ve experienced several warehouse fires that pollute our air, create dangerous situations for our firefighters, and cause unknown damage to our bodies from chemical components that communities nearby are not informed of. We are seeing Data Centers come into our state and destroy local ecosystems, use up what available water we have, and require such a large pull from our power grids that utility bills are bound to rise.

 

What are the top three issues you see for constituents residing within the district you are seeking to represent? 

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Strain on businesses: Our local small businesses are feeling the pressure of taxes. I have heard from several business owners that after paying several sources of taxation, utilities, supplies, insurance, and their employees that they have little money left to support themselves.

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Loss and Consolidation of public schools: People are concerned with the closing of schools. It leads to a bigger issue of shrinking populations and loss of jobs for educators and school staff. We are experiencing a teacher shortage in our public school system.

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Affordability: We are experiencing strain at the gas pump, especially by those on fixed incomes or those that must travel for work. Those of us that require medications are also experiencing financial burden to afford them, whether through large copays or unmet deductibles. 

 

What is your position on data centers being built in our state? 

 

Data Centers are monstrosities that have no longer-term benefits. We will see a large influx of jobs during construction from 2-3 years followed by a decrease to about 40-50 maintained jobs, all the while most of the tax revenue goes to the state over local economies. We’re going to see damage to ecosystems that will make wildlife unable to live in those areas. Nearby residents will have to deal with sound pollution that studies show leads to poor sleep and anxiety, increased utility bills, and living through the job bubble after it pops. We have opportunities to provide more jobs to those areas that won’t harm the environment and still provide good jobs: solar and wind energy. We have options to supplement job loss, it’s all just a matter of looking past the Data Center bubble, that once it bursts, will leave unusable structures and destroyed land that has unknown consequences to the state.

 

How do you intend to better serve the education system for children in our state if elected? 

 

Public education needs more funding. We are not able to keep teachers in the state, and we need to find ways to do so. I will create legislation to address increasing teacher pay, provide incentives for teachers to move to West Virginia, and increase funding to special education. I will also introduce legislation to support alternative education for youth with high risk behavioral needs. There are therapeutic models that can address education along with behavioral needs. Teacher insurance costs are another area that need to be addressed. PEIA can become a barrier to educators, especially educators with families they are trying to support. 

 

What is your vision to increase family incomes and opportunity, raise the quality of life, and to make Wood County an area that families want to call home? 

 

Many barriers exist for families with children. Childcare costs can wipe out entire paychecks, if we can first address childcare needs then family income can allow families to participate in their communities and improve quality of life. I believe that state-funded childcare, as it takes a village to raise a child, would alleviate stress on families and provide an opportunity to discover what families needs include, such as food insecurity or healthcare gaps. If we can find and address barriers to improving quality of life, we can see a happier and healthier Wood County, and even better, West Virginia. Another way I want to improve the quality of life for residents is to provide more/improved social programs to help those in need, because sometimes all it takes is a year of social supports to get someone back on their feet. Putting in the work to support your neighbors is work put into future families.