As a parent, I have always said that I am a parent first and a candidate second. Children are the future, and my children are my world.
I am always excited to meet people throughout our community and hear which issues matter the most to them. This is a bit lengthy, but I want to share my vision for a New Way Forward for the party and for our state.
One big issue that has suddenly come to the forefront is the data center that’s planned to be built in Buffalo. It’s not in my district, so why am I so passionate about it?
The Data Center isn’t just in Buffalo’s backyard. It is in Hurricane, Culloden and Scott Depot’s backyard as well. In a nutshell, the presence of the Google Data Center in Buffalo will cause electric bills that are already the highest in the nation to increase all across the region anywhere from $14 to $30 per month or more per data center (estimates from Dominion Energy in Virginia where data centers are operational).
Existing data centers across the country have caused property values to decrease across their region. The infrasound as well as air, water and noise pollution cause adverse health effects for people in those regions including stress, anxiety and heart disease. We do NOT want that here.
I have been out on the front lines of this battle against the data center, going to county commission meetings, protesting, educating the public, as well as organizing with Putnam United to help fight back against these tech billionaires.
I would much rather invite in an industry that has much less of an impact on the environment, while also providing hundreds, even thousands of good paying jobs for West Virginians.
I’ve also been working with the Dept of Highways to fix the roads that have suffered major neglect. Our current Republican supermajority legislature hasn’t allocated any additional funds to fix roads outside of the regular DOH annual budget, and they refuse to request available funding from Joe Biden’s historic infrastructure bill.
You’ve probably noticed road repairs on Scott Depot Rd (South Poplar) as well as Virginia Avenue in Hurricane. I would like to thank the hard-working men and women at the Department of Highways for working with me in getting these repairs underway. I am currently trying to get repairs on Sleepy Hollow Road underway, but the City of Hurricane and the mayor are creating obstacles.
You may have noticed that Republican voter turnout was abysmal in the primaries, and it will be abysmal in the general election. With the momentum we already have, we need you and every other Democrat you know to show up to the polls in November. If we can get even 50% voter turnout from Democrats, we can turn the legislature blue and we can throw Carol Miller and Shelley Moore Capito out of office.
We are counting on you to show up in November. I challenge you to reach out to at least 10 Democrats that you know and share this info, and tell them how important it is that they get out and vote in the fall. Together, we can win this!
Over the past year, I have worked with party leadership to recruit progressive Democrats against almost every Republican in the legislature and some in local and county races through a social media project called No Republican Unopposed. Democrats are making a comeback, and we need you to do your part as well.
I look forward to serving you and being your voice in the legislature, and restoring the power of the legislature back to the people. Thank you so much for your support!