Tonight, I had the great pleasure of participating in a Candidate Connection put on by the Stafford Huddle, the Stafford Postcard Progressives, and Merge Left. They organized a meeting space and invited all the candidates running for local offices, which included me, my opponent, our Democratic candidate for the 1st District of Virginia, School Board candidates and County BOS candidates. IT WAS A GREAT EVENT!!!
One of the hardest parts of being a brand new candidate, with little experience, is actually getting in front of people….meeting interested citizens and being able to have impactful conversations is hard with a day job, keeping up with my Navy Reserve duties, and keeping tabs on the restaurant. This event was perfect! There was no “program” and all of the candidates mingled among the attendees introducing ourselves and talking with people!
This area has a certainly has a growing and diverse group of super interested folks. I met people who agree with me and are excited for my campaign and I met some folks who don’t agree with me and are likely never to support me. But to a TEE everyone was welcoming and glad to have people INVOLVED.
I was happy to let them know that I want to fight for Medicaid expansion in Virginia and that protecting women’s reproductive rights is extremely important to me. I met teachers who agreed that a strong early childhood education is the key to a student’s future and that we must fund our schools better!
It is extremely heartening to see so many people who want to be involved in civics. In my “day job”, I am in charge of Political and Civic programs for BP….some of my responsibilities include helping people register to vote, teaching them how a Bill becomes a law, encouraging them to meet their representatives, and how to effectively engage with their elected officials. I also help my co-workers join our employee political action committee.
You’d be amazed at how many people are not engaged, in the least. All of this to say, seeing SO MANY people tonight who care and want to be involved in civic engagement was inspiring!!
I am excited to be running for office, I’m glad I got off the sidelines and decided to walk the walk….and I am so proud to live in a community with so many concerned and active citizens. I would like to represent them in our House of Delegates!
Please keep checking back on this diary as I’ll try to post daily updates about how the campaign is going….and if you’d like to help me with a contribution, you can do so here:
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/hylandfordelegate
Thanks and KEEP FIGHTING!!!
Karen