The RegenNarration Podcast
The RegenNarration podcast features the stories of a generation that is changing the story, enabling the regeneration of life on this planet. It’s ad-free, freely available and entirely listener-supported. You'll hear from high profile and grass-roots leaders from around Australia and the world, on how they're changing the stories we live by, and the systems we create in their mold. Along with often very personal tales of how they themselves are changing, in the places they call home. With award-winning host, Anthony James.
The RegenNarration Podcast
228. Grassroots Transformation in Rural West Virginia: Breaking the Political Mold with Lucia Valentine & Maria Russo
“I've had several folks share with me that they are voting for Trump. But they're also voting for me.” That’s what Lucia Valentine told me when I spoke with her and another first-time candidate for the State of West Virginia at the coming elections, Maria Russo. This seemed to say so much about the coming elections here. For a start, that they’re far from as simplistic, binary and polarised as is often portrayed. And that what these women are up to is important, hopeful and possibly transformative.
I met Lucia and Maria at the Shepherdstown Opera House, for the last screening of Rural Runners on its latest national tour. That’s the award-winning film on the story of Chloe Maxmin’s incredible community-based electoral wins in Maine from episode 225. By Chloe’s side every step of the way was her best mate, and then campaign manager, Canyon Woodward, with Canyon’s parallel rise as a champion ultra-distance runner woven into the story. After this screening, Canyon hosted a conversation alongside three local candidates at the upcoming elections, who had each been through the program that Chloe and Canyon subsequently founded, called Dirtroad Organising. (Available in a bonus extra out soon.)
Lucia and Maria are two of those local candidates. And they’re both giving it a real shake in a rural area with a Republican ‘supermajority’, upending all sorts of assumptions as they go. And offering a pretty special finale here too.
Chapter markers & transcript.
Recorded 13 October 2024.
Title slide: Maria & Lucia (L-R, supplied).
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Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.
Regeneration, from Regenerating Australia.
The RegenNarration playlist, by guests.
Find more:
Lucia Valentine’s music.
Playlist Maria promised.
The community independent elected to the NSW parliament.
Cathy McGowan - ep85, Politics that Works: A proven way becoming a powerful movement.
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Well, even I think in our local races like talking to voters, you know I've had several folks share with me that they are voting for Trump. But they're also voting for me because at the local level they see they don't like how divisive the rhetoric is around my, my race and they see that I'm fighting for local issues and they want a voice in local issues. But then there's a sentiment at the federal level that they also feel unrepresented and you know, for whatever reason they they feel like Trump is, you know who represents them best, but they, I don't think they feel like um, there is a distinct answer there, you know.
AJ:G'day Anthony James here for The RegenNarration ad-free, freely available and entirely supported by listeners like you. So thanks a lot, Ginny, for becoming the newest generous subscribing member, joining a great community including Sally Batt, Josh Mullins, Steve Morriss and Jonathan Curtis. Thanks so much for your two years of support. Now, if you're enjoying this too, why not join us by just heading to the website via the show notes regennarration. com forward slash support. Thanks, as always.
Maria:I think that's so interesting because we've always heard it's hard for Democrats to raise money in West Virginia, especially in these times, and, like Lucia said, we're kind of breaking out of the cages that were set around that, right? So we've been told these narratives, but we, we are doing it differently. I mean, people are really becoming part of the movement and they want to give to something they can believe in, and I feel like we are trying to stand for that.
AJ:This week we're off to a film screening at the Opera House in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, a venue with its own great story of regeneration at the hands of Steve and Harriet Pearson. Fully renovated while honouring the past after enormous flood damage, now continuing to offer the community a place for performance, music, film and conversation like this. This was the last screening event of Rural Runners on its latest national tour. That's the award-winning film on the story of Chloe Maxmin's incredible community-based electoral wins in Maine, from episode 225. By Chloe's side every step of the way was her best mate and then campaign manager, Canyon Woodward, with Canyon's parallel rise as a champion ultra distance runner woven into the story. After this screening, Canyon hosted a conversation alongside three local candidates at the upcoming elections who had each been through the program that Chloe and Canyon subsequently founded called Dirtroad Organising.
AJ:I met Canyon briefly afterwards, before he had to head home to North Carolina. Then I enjoyed some extended time in a park up the road with two of the local candidates. Lucia Valentine and Maria Russo are both first-time candidates for the state legislature, one certainly never having imagined it, both choosing to run as Democrats, but of more interest to this non-partisan podcast, both running with the Dirt road ethos of depolarisation, trust and connection, and both are giving it a real shake in a rural area with a republican super majority, upending all sorts of assumptions as they go. The sun was shining in Shepherdstown, fall leaves were falling and the wind was blowing, so we tucked into the stairwell of a nearby hall and had this wonderful conversation topped off by a pretty special finale. What I'll do? I'll get you guys to introduce yourselves so people can identify your voices.
Lucia:Sounds good. My name's Lucia Valentine and I'm running for House of Delegates in District 97 here in West Virginia.
Maria:And my name's Maria Russo. I'm running for District 100 for the West Virginia House of Delegates.
AJ:It's great to meet you guys. Thanks for speaking with me. I'm wondering how it's going.
Lucia:It's going well. We both have been campaigning for almost a year now, and so you know doing all the things with community events and just trying to talk and listen to voters as much as possible, and we're really in the final stretch of canvassing and direct mail and all the things.
Maria:Maria, probably has more to add. Yeah, we're about three weeks out from Election Day on November 5th coming up here soon and so we're really pouring into our persuasion game right now, making sure that we are talking to as many people as possible, like Lucia said, and really helping people understand what's at stake, how important this election is and why we are the candidate that wants to represent their voice and show up for their needs.
AJ:What is the narrative that you present in that way?
Maria:Yeah, so for my race in District 100, my opponent is the two-year incumbent and so he is running a very national based campaign. So he is, you know, focused on a lot of hot button topics that include immigration, terrorism, kind of these buzzwords, I would say. And so my response to that, and just my platform, based on my own approach, is totally local. I'm taking a super local approach. Approach is totally local. I'm taking a super local approach.
Maria:And I grew up here in Jefferson County in West Virginia. I moved away for some years and came back home and so I'm really speaking to you know what made me leave, what made me come back home, what relates me to this place and to my community, and how can I show up for those, for those really important needs. So, just like turning it back, you know they used to say all politics are local and then all politics became national and I feel like we are part of the movement turning it back to that local focus and making sure that the people here really have a voice at the table yeah, similar to that.
Lucia:I think, you know, we're both running against folks who are really divisive and very, very extreme, and so we're really trying to push past the partisan narrative to again just focus on local issues, focus on what matters to folks. And I have to say, when we're talking to people at the door, it's very, very easy to find common ground when we just take some time to listen to each other other. And nine times out of 10, folks are not, you know, divided into these camps. They relate to one another because we're all neighbors, we're all friends, we all live in the same place, and so it's really, you know, important to highlight our shared values in our community and the ways that we want to work together to make this a better place.
AJ:That's so interesting to me because I'm noting that you're both standing as Democrats, but there is a profile in this area that you were saying that's independent minded. What's the demographic? What are you speaking into in that broader sense? How are people placed? Given that you're facing that opposition, it doesn't seem to fit with the place.
Maria:Right. So in my district there actually in both of our districts the most amount of registered voters in both districts are the most amount of independents, so there's about 40 percent independents. Then the next highest amount is Republicans and the lowest amount is Democrats. Yet we're both running as Democrats, and so I really have been trying to talk to people about the values we share and to recognize that. You know, the more extreme my opponent goes, the more people aren't, who aren't represented by his positions, and so we're really just working, like Lucia said, to fill that space in between. How can we reach across the aisle, work in a way that extends beyond political parties and really just speaks to what we are facing and what is impacting people's daily lives?
Lucia:Yeah.
Lucia:And in our lifetime here in West Virginia, we've seen a state that's been largely controlled by Democrats. Now it's largely controlled by Republicans, and so I think we really see the need to push past the partisan narrative and that folks really do just want to focus on our shared common values, because it's not always about what one party can or cannot accomplish. It's about what we're going to accomplish when we work together, and I think that's a huge theme in this race for sure.
AJ:With that ethos in mind, did you think about not running as part of a party and running independent?
Maria:Yeah, I definitely considered it, because I have been a Democrat my whole life. But you know, I'm in a family where a lot of my members of my family are independents and I would say we are both independent thinkers, and so you know the term independent is so interesting because it's kind of a catch all of so many folks who don't feel like they have a place in either political party, and it's fascinating to see that, you know, the most amount of voters self-identify as that. They self-identify as not belonging to either party, and so I would say I definitely considered it and thought about what the implications would be. Now there are questions of like would we have the structure in place or the support that we need? And so I think those were some of the biggest barriers. But I do think there's a way for us to really lean into, you know, what makes people self-identify outside of these political parties, and what are they really in pursuit of or looking for when they fall outside of those you know traditionally defined?
AJ:parties, yeah, and even though you've got the Democrat badge, so to speak, they're hearing you. Your experience, lucie, is still like that, at the front door, where you're finding that vast majority of encounters are able to be heard.
Lucia:Yeah, and I think that you know, with a focus on how rural our districts are. We know that. You know the Democratic Party has really left behind a lot of rural America and rural West Virginia, and a lot of these folks who are now Republicans or independents were once Democrats because West Virginia was a very, very blue state historically. And so kind of talking to them about you know how their identity has changed and the ways that they feel like you know both Republican and Democratic Party are not showing up for them, and so I think these are folks who, like, have grappled with their political identity and have seen the parties kind of change in our state over time.
AJ:It's fascinating. What would you say?
Maria:the key things you do here at the doorstep are I would say for me the top focus or top concern for people when I'm knocking on doors in our area is development. So we are in a very unique place in West Virginia. So we are in the area called the Eastern Panhandle. It's the furthest easternmost part of West Virginia, so we're only about 70 miles from DC, 70 miles from Baltimore. So we're really in this kind of interesting mix right between these major cities and the rest of the state of West Virginia, and so I think we kind of play this role as a bridge at times, and so we are some of the only communities in West Virginia that are currently growing.
Maria:So the eastern panhandle is growing in size. We are developing, and so my constituents are very, very concerned about what that looks like. What boundaries are we putting in place? What local land use options are we taking into consideration to make sure that we can preserve the rural nature of our communities? We have a lot. We have a really strong farming history in Jefferson County, and so it's kind of this question of how do we preserve that while also evolving with those demands for more housing, more energy usage, more infrastructure. So that's a huge topic that we engage with voters. I would say it's probably actually the only specific topic that comes up pretty much every time I go out door knocking, whereas no other specific issue is coming up every time. Maybe you have one person who cares about. You know various other topics education is a big one, second um or you know infrastructure, like I said, but development, I would say, is probably top of mind for people here yeah, same for you, yeah same for me.
Lucia:I mean, I think people really feel like our community is changing, and changing really fast, and they don't have a seat at the table or their voice isn't being heard in that decision making process.
Lucia:And so we've been trying to also like shed light on the process of government and how our state and county governments can work together to be smart and responsible about development, because I think what we've seen is a lack of responsible development in the ways of the businesses that we're trying to bring here and the development that we're trying to see grow, and so we really want to make sure that we have leaders in place.
Lucia:We're going to prioritize that balance again of protecting our rural spaces and having the right kind of economic development so that, you know, folks can have a job and a living wage and be able to raise families here so that they don't have to travel out of state for good wages, which is a huge issue in our area of the state but still preserving our way of life and our green spaces and clean air and water is tied into that, and that's where Maria and I have a lot of advocacy, experience at the state levels, protecting those resources. So we just need folks who have all of that in mind and can kind of see this overall you know vision for where our community needs to go.
AJ:So that makes me curious, then, in terms of the candidates running against you, the issues they're running on, you're not hearing so much.
Maria:I would say I'm not hearing when I explain to people what I'm running for and what the focus of a state legislator is, right, so like maybe they're hearing them on the news or people are talking about them at their dinner tables or whatever else. But when I explain that I'm running for the state legislature and that really the job of a state legislator is to allocate funds across the state for immediate state-based programs, right. And so when we explain that, or even when we don't, and people just hear, oh, you're running for the state legislature, they understand that it's a state-based position. And so I would say it's not that it's not on people's minds what they're talking about, but it's that it's kind of out of the purview of what we're actually running for. And so I think the distinction that that plays is they're really playing up on people's fears and we're really playing up on the hope and the vision that we can have for our communities and that we're kind of building together.
Maria:So I think that's really what separates us from our opponents when we are in conversation with them at forums and things.
Lucia:Yeah, yeah, I agree and I think, acknowledging you know the things that they are bringing up again, these national issues like immigration and inflation, and you know gun rights and things like that. These are all important, complex issues that are dealt with at the national level and sure we need comprehensive reform at the national level. But again, we're running for state delegate. Primary goal of our legislature is to pass our state's budget each year, and then you know we want to work on policies that represent the needs of our community. So I think, again, pushing past the divisive narratives that we see in our campaigns are just being used to be in a distractive form. It's not what people are caring about, it's not what people are scared about and it's just really not what we need to be talking about.
AJ:So I guess it makes me think, then, the distinction between and I've seen it in a lot of places around the country between and I've seen it in a lot of places around the country the distinction between what happens at state level, like the story that I want to come to, actually the whole dirt road story that you guys have been woven into as well but how it happens sort of naturally and naturally and pretty amazingly at a local level, even even state level, like that level of local and the federal race, can appear to be something distinct, yet obviously matters.
Lucia:Yeah.
AJ:Do you see that this would be possible to run federally like this, or is something else required? Have you had those sorts of thoughts?
Lucia:I don't know if I have a deep answer yet, but my first thought is just that you know, overall folks are ready for a new generation of leadership, and so I think that's the overarching theme that we're seeing at the national level and, you know, highlighting in our local race.
AJ:Yeah, this is something we were talking a bit about off-air too.
AJ:Haye, this is a distinct sense I've had across the country and my own, this is a distinct sense I've had across the country and my own, but even coming across the states over six months now, speaking to all sorts of people and largely through rural areas even the ones who've said they're going to vote for Trump, for example, have said they'd rather not be so divided, wish there were better options, those sorts of flavours, and it's so not clear-cut as to which person vote which way either, like I found it so complex.
Lucia:Well, even I think in our local races like talking to voters, you know I've had several folks share with me that they are voting for Trump. But they're also voting for me because at the local level they see they don't like how divisive the rhetoric is around my race and they see that I'm fighting for local issues and they want a voice in local issues. But then there's a sentiment at the federal level that they also feel unrepresented and you know, for whatever reason they feel like Trump is, you know who represents them best, but they, I don't think they feel like there is a distinct answer there, you know.
AJ:It's so interesting.
Lucia:The thing I'll add too.
AJ:Your trains go a lot harder on the horn than ours do yeah Longer and louder.
Lucia:Exactly.
AJ:It's like haven't we? I'm just thinking, haven't we heard it? We know it's coming, we know you're coming, but it's a real phenomenon. We'd be like whenever we're camping somewhere across the country. It's like is it near a train line? That's become one of the key criteria.
Maria:Right, it's not just one train, horn it's 12.
AJ:12 per train.
Maria:Yeah, exactly.
AJ:All right looks like you're clear.
Maria:One thing I think that's interesting to add on to that too, is when we look at the pieces of why and how did someone like Trump emerge as such a popular candidate? Right, he clearly speaks to people. I mean, you drive around in rural areas, a lot of our district. Right, there's Trump 2024 flags up in a lot of places. He has clearly hit a button or reached people in a very distinct way. Hit a button or reached people in a very distinct way, and I think the acknowledgement there that the reason people are so tuned into his approach is because it's the recognition that things aren't working. Things aren't working I haven't been heard, the political system hasn't worked for me and things aren't working.
Maria:And somehow Trump has tapped into this displeasure that people are feeling about how, you know, disillusioned folks are, how unrepresented they are, especially at the federal level, and so I think that's really, really interesting when that translates to our races is because, you know, how can we maybe not not trying to emulate, uh, necessarily, his approach, but how can we make sure to give voice to people? Right, like, how can we make sure to say to people we hear you, we hear that you haven't felt represented, and so we are kind of a as Lucia stated part of that like new era, a new generation of leadership, um, and and making sure that those people who maybe feel displeased by the whole of it also have brand new can, like first-time candidates who are doing things differently, who they have the option to vote for, and making sure that they understand that connection, um, because you know, this is really we. We're trying to bring about the change that people so desperately are asking for, and so helping them understand that that's really what we want to do.
AJ:Yes, and that's where it gets to be thinking that there's a bigger, possibly a bigger shift going on, that we were talking about off air as well, and it could be. It might be a little big shift, or it could be a big, big shift. What are you guys thinking on that level? Are you sort of just step at a time and see how this goes, or do you glean something in the zeitgeist, as it were?
Lucia:Yeah, I think that you know for us both to be young women running at this moment where, you know, women are the least represented in West Virginia, in our state legislature, than any other country in the state. So we're in the nation sorry, so we're vastly underrepresented. You know we don't see a lot of youth leadership in our state right now either, and to be running as Democrats, you know we have such a, we have a super majority here in West Virginia, and so I think, keeping all of that in mind when we first decided to run for office, you know we know that there are not a lot of folks who look like us right now, who are doing what we're doing and so understanding that that's going to be like, hopefully, the shift that we're starting to see at the state level.
AJ:And not only that. You were saying you, your fundraising has against all official sort of predictions.
Lucia:Yeah, people people are not investing in west virginia democrats right now because they see that you know we have our party has. You know, people think our party has a while to go before we, we um, regain leadership. Um, and so for us to be both, you know, young female Democrats running in West Virginia out raising our opponents, our races are actually being invested in. That is something we haven't seen in a while.
Maria:Yeah, I mean, we've both raised over $50,000 in our respective campaigns. And you know, I think that's so interesting because we've always heard, oh, it's hard for Democrats to raise money in West Virginia, especially in these times. And you know, I think that's so interesting because we've always heard, oh, it's hard for Democrats to raise money in West Virginia, especially in these times. And, like Lucia said, we're kind of breaking out of the cages that were set around that, right? So we've been told these narratives but we, we are doing it differently. I mean, people are really becoming part of the movement and they want to give to something they can believe in and I feel like we are trying to stand for that. And to your question of you know, is something larger kind of going on and brewing here?
Maria:I definitely think the United States and, in talking to you and some other folks from other countries, maybe even on a global level, I think we are in the midst of a grappling right, like people are grappling with. What does this post COVID world look like? Where is my place in all of this? What you know, even from a global security and war standpoint, is like what is our role as a collective? What does that really look like, and I think people are asking themselves some really big questions and I think, as they do, that they don't have a lot of the answers, and so I think it's a really ripe time for, like, brave leadership to step up. I think it's what has set the stage for us both to run the campaigns that we are currently running and to hopefully serve our communities from those positions, because that's really what we're hoping to do is to transform a lot of this just from the campaign to effective leadership at the state level.
AJ:It's interesting to think that you certainly Maria didn't expect to be running.
Maria:No.
AJ:Didn't expect to be here, and that instigation came from the woman next to you yes but Lucia, I'm fascinated. Thanks girl. I'm fascinated that even before you came across the dirt road organizing thing, you had decided to run. So where did that come from for you?
Lucia:yeah, I think you know I spent a few years um advocating on environmental policies at our state capital and so my background is in environmental science and policy and, you know, really wanted to focus on protecting our resources here in West Virginia. And so I was first approached about running by our Democratic Party about like two years ago. And you know, again, you know they were looking for um first candidates, just to have candidates, because we had had so many races that were going on uncontested since we had, you know, since our super majority had um had taken hold, yeah, and so um folks were really looking for candidates. They, you know, they want to see females running for office, they want to see young people running for office. So I was approached about it but didn't quite feel ready, um, didn't know what that could even look like, that it was even possible. I think I was, like you know, 24 at the time.
Lucia:Um and just like was not on my radar, and so I decided not to run at the moment but just to lean into my policy work at the state level to learn more about how our legislature works and the ins and outs of the process and get to know lawmakers to see, like you know, how did they run for office? What did their race look like? What does it mean to do this work? And so I kind of took the position advocating at the capitol, knowing that I wanted to run eventually, but I wanted to understand it better first. And so then, once you know it was getting closer to this election cycle, the incumbent who holds my seat now is not running again, so it's an open seat. So it felt like a really great time to put my name in and I feel like I had been intentional about um, you know, trying to learn the ropes and learn the process before I decided and I felt a lot more ready to do the work.
Lucia:Um, and like I had an understanding for what was happening at the state level and how that related to my community. Um, and again kind of referencing our point earlier, that our community is at such an inflection point, I think we really saw the need for leaders to step up in our community so that we have a voice at the table, um, in the future of our community and that the things that we love about this place aren't just going to slip away from us because we don't have folks who have our best interests in mind and kind of wrapping that into the dirt road. Organizing, you know, was asking myself what does it mean to run for office in a red state? What does it mean to run for office in a rural community? As a young person and as a Democrat right now, yeah.
AJ:So when you came across the dirt road crew, you were pretty keen even though you'd done your sort of due diligence, as it were to jump on that too. It felt like that was going to help you.
Lucia:Yeah, yes, I, as soon as I saw the film and started reading the book, you know I knew right away that these are folks that I needed to get connected with because they were doing the work in such a similar way how I envisioned myself wanting to do the work and you know, chloe being from a rural community in Maine, there was a lot of similarities between her community and ours here, and so just automatically was like, yes, this is, this is inspiring.
AJ:And what would you say that it added to the kit you had already?
Lucia:I think it helped me just kind of create my framework around the race, like be grounded in the values of why I'm running for office. Running a positive campaign was really important to me and something that I was so inspired by Chloe for the way that she was able to just, you know, not lean into that divisive rhetoric that we see just be so harmful and counterproductive. And so I think they really just kind of gave us a guide and a playbook for what it could look like and touched on those key elements of you know, a race, like you know making sure you have a campaign manager and a treasurer and you know a timeline for when you're going to want to start canvassing and sending out mail, just all those things that we don't really have the infrastructure support at the state level here. Um, but to find a group that was able to, you know, help support us in that way was just super helpful yeah, it's really interesting.
AJ:There's a saying back in the australian context of when they go low, you stay high. It's interesting how the themes are very similar yeah and that it's it's working yeah, it really is so then.
Maria:So then you were going to help Lucia, yeah so I was actually going to be Lucia's campaign manager, and that's something. So, again, we have experience working together at the Capitol in West Virginia. She encouraged me to apply so my background's in public policy I've worked in a few different areas of policy work ranging from criminal justice policy, restorative drug policy and environmental policy and so she approached me and said you know, this job is open. I've loved doing it. You should really consider coming down and advocating at the Capitol with me as a lobbyist. I was like that's a great idea. So I applied and I got the job, and so we were actually on the grounds of the Capitol once before already. Hopefully we will be again, but we were in there together making the change and I really saw how necessary it was to be standing up for the things we believe in.
Lucia:I mean it?
Maria:was something like you know, we were passing this bill for clean water and I saw, how you know, my opponent, who I'm currently running against. He voted against this bill and in a 100-member house, only nine people voted against this clean water bill that we were working to get passed, and he was one of the nine. And so it was really this eye-opening moment of like oh my goodness, my people need clean water. I have to stand for this. So it was kind of all these pieces and so, long story short, I thought I was just going to be helping Lucia get into the statehouse and I was going to act as her campaign manager and we were talking about what that would look like and I was applying to Dirt Road as staff. And then, as conversations continued to evolve with Lucia and with other people in our community, we sort of had these really early on, organizing meetings where we'd just get together, we'd have a ton of snacks and we just chat about the state of things and what was needed to build this movement, and it kind of came clear of like, we need someone to run against this guy and it's gotta be someone who is ready to stand up for what we really believe in. And so the more I thought about it and the more as time went on and nobody was signing up to run against them. You know, as Lucia talked about these uncontested races, that's what it was being set up to be if nobody stepped up.
Maria:And so I waited and waited and I was thinking I applied to Dirt Road as her staff and then I said I've got to do this. And it was just kind of all at once I was like, all right, after thinking about it for a very long time, all at once I was like, okay, I'm ready to do this, I'm ready to take it on. And so I emailed Chloe and Canyon from Dirt Road Organizing. I said, hey, I applied to be in the staff cohort, but I actually would like to switch my application to the candidate cohort because I'm going to do this as well. And so we're running in neighboring districts and I think it's been such a unique and amazing opportunity, especially given how much work we've already done together for our state and for our community that we love.
Maria:I mean, lucci and I grew up side by side, together, here in this community, you know, and we are still standing up for our community in these brand new ways, and so it's been so amazing to have each other's backs while running for office, and I think that's one thing Dirt Road does such an amazing job of providing as well is it's a community. You asked Lucia before you know, what tools did they give you that you didn't have before? And my answer for that is that they helped us feel like we weren't alone. They gave us this network, this groundswell network of people who, all across the country, are grappling with these same questions around what messaging do we use to reach our constituents and what narratives are we pushing past and pushing against in this effort and just really helped us feel like part of a community in this pursuit for positive change.
AJ:Listening to you speak, it's like because, from the outside and the historical context I guess of what was the terminology you have a super majority for the Republicans yeah and male dominated and Democrats just not being sort of present historically for a while here and all that sort of stuff not being sort of present historically for a while here and all that sort of stuff makes me think that so much of it suggests it'll be a hard road that you've opted for nonetheless and we know Chloe experienced some of that in Maine, with less of that community perhaps.
AJ:But as I'm listening to you speak about community and about well, even just you guys doing it together at the same time how the fundraising has gone, Like it doesn't you guys don't sound like it's hard in those ways, Like you're stepping into a cauldron, Yet the culture that still expects to play out hasn't changed yet.
Lucia:So yeah where do you sit?
Lucia:well, I think, um, in a way it's by design sometimes to try to, you know, scare us out of these spaces and, um, stop us from really stepping up to the challenge. But I think, kind of going back to our experience at the capital, you know, marie and I spent our time, you know, as an advocate at the capital. You're non-partisan, you're there to represent, you know, the group that you're working for and to represent the issues, and for that, for us, that was clean water and environmental issues, which I see shouldn't be partisan at all, because these are all resources we all need. And so we had a really, really unique experience advocating for environmental policy that traditionally, because it's been so partisan, is kind of associated with the Democratic Party actually caring about climate issues and things like that. But for us we automatically had to push past party to work with Republicans, because those are the folks who are in charge and leadership, who can get stuff done and get bills passed. You need to have the majority. And so we were able to see these really meaningful pieces of legislation pass with Republican sponsors, with, you know, republicans on board co-sponsoring the bill, and so that just kind of gave me such a unique perspective where I've never really.
Lucia:I guess I see the skills that are needed and I think that we both have those because we have the experience that it felt like it kind of took away from the challenge of running as a Democrat, because I know once we get to office and we are elected, we already know how to work with folks across the aisle and that's the missing piece. That's the piece that is missing. I say it's a lost art form in our state right now, in our country, right now, that you know you should be able to be elected in whatever party you're running for. But if you can't work with other folks who are elected, if you can't work with other folks who are elected, if you can't work across the aisle and find common ground, then essentially, uh, you're going to be super ineffective.
Maria:And so, keeping that in mind, yeah, and I think that's totally true. And you know, one thing canyon speaks to in the film is this suggestion that in order to run for office, you have to give up the things that make you who. You are Right, and that's honestly. I'll be honest with you. When I was grappling with this decision, lucia knows I was thinking about running for office for a long time and I was saying yes and I was saying no because I didn't want to give myself up. I was so afraid that it that running for office equals giving yourself up, but it doesn't, and it doesn't have to.
Maria:And I think one thing we've really tried to do and that, you know, is the message I want to send home to people in their own communities is like the same thing Canyon said what would it look like for you to bring your whole self to the race? What would it look like for you to, you know, have your background in? For him, it's running for me. It's like for you to, you know, have your background in. For him, it's running. For me, it's like farming, or being part of this community for my whole life. It's like I just wanted to be.
Maria:You know I'm barefoot right now recording the podcast. It's like I still wanted to be in touch with those parts of myself that make me who I am, and I think that's what has allowed us to run for office and not feel totally like we've let ourselves go or that we're totally burned out because we're bringing our full selves to the race. And I think, you know, when I go into a forum and I feel like I can speak from an authentic place in my heart and in my soul and connect to my community and bring their voices to the table, that's my strongest position right Is when I can just really authentically show up fully as myself. And so that's what I would make sure people know is that. You know we've been told that politicians only look like one thing and they are heartless and they don't have a soul, and this that and the other.
Maria:They're serious and they're usually older white men and you know, but there are so many variations beyond that and, like you, have a place at the table our representative. Representative. Democracy is supposed to represent everyone.
AJ:It should look like all of us being in the room and then you cite that instance of the clean water bill and it was, you know, close to unanim, like overwhelming. So it says the humanity's not gone in the people in the institution, but the way it's come to be expected, it's been normalised to happen, can be dehumanised. It's really interesting to think about that. So I wonder then, coming into this election, how you're feeling and how it's looking and in the context, of a this election, how you're feeling and how it's looking and, in the context of a federal election, how you're feeling about that.
Lucia:Yeah.
Lucia:And how they fit together. So I think that you know, coming back to the state focus, this is our state was redistricted in 2022. So this is the first presidential election in our new districts is redistricted in 2022. So this is the first presidential election in our new districts. So there is a lot of historical data that is kind of not missing, but we've kind of had to piece together since this is a new district, and so I think you know, of course, across the country and the state, turnout is like the big, the big question mark right, and so there's a lot of kind of unknown territory there.
Lucia:But I think, again, maria and I have been both really intentional about making sure that the voters that we're trying to reach are the voters who feel like they aren't being represented. Those are independents, those are moderate Republicans, those are low turnout Democrats, folks who are disenfranchised or, you know, might really resonate with our local message and just our desire to push past how partisan and divisive things are. And so, you know, I think we both feel really good about the conversations that we're having. We have a lot of momentum, we've raised a lot of money, we're doing a lot of canvassing and direct voter contact and actually spending our time. You know, this last month really talking to voters, and so all of that.
Lucia:It's like we have this layered approach going on, and so I feel like we're covering all our bases. We've been working so hard and you know, the next step of that is going to be making sure folks actually get out to the polls. But you know, I think I have a little bit less of a historical context to speak to of like what to expect and how to expect this election to go at. How to expect this election to go Um, but you know the state is going to be watching our races on election night because we are seen as the two, um, most flippable seats in the state right now, and so I think that's an important thing to know too.
Lucia:Yeah, that's interesting and how the federal context looks to you.
Lucia:Yeah. So I think, um, you know, I think the shift in the ticket at the federal level really again has showed that folks are ready for a new generation of leadership. I think you know there's a lot of analysis going on right now of how that's going to play down to our you know down ballot races. But I think you know, I do think Democrats are more motivated to come out now for the election than they potentially were a few months ago. I think that will help us. I think you know folks are saying it's the year of the woman and being too young women running for office.
Lucia:I feel like you know it's a good time. It's that's in our favor. Right now, um and I think you know, even though West Virginia is definitely predicted to, you know, go red for Trump. Um, I think that we might see some, you know, moderate Republicans and independents who just don't feel represented at the federal level to either not vote top of the ticket, maybe just vote down ballot races and not necessarily turn out for, you know, president Trump. I don't know Interesting to see how that might play out. But Republicans are talking about that. You know folks who we know in those spaces who are, you know, saying there are a lot of Republicans who are disenfranchised by their options this year. So I think we both feel that.
AJ:Yeah.
Maria:Yeah, and I'll say I think we saw a really notable shift when Biden stepped down and Kamala Harris stepped up. I mean, we saw shifts in our campaign. We saw people go out and register to vote, we saw people tuned in, we saw people talking about you know, it's the year of the woman. That's why they're talking about it right. In the US we've never had a woman president and this could be the year that that happens. And so we are riding on a lot of that positive energy coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. You know, there was a lot of conversation about could this be the year? And so I think we're in. We're in slightly uncharted territory, I would say. And so, going into the election, it's a little bit like we don't totally know where we stand, but we've said like if we can show up to the polls and we feel like we're going in 50-50, that's a great place to be in, because at that point it's just up to the voter to decide.
Maria:And hopefully, you know, we've been working hard, like Lucia said, for 10, for her 12 months. We've been working and working. We've been talking to as many people as possible, we've been showing up at events, we've been sending pieces of mail. We've been sending pieces of mail. We've really been helping people to understand what's on the ballot and how important it is, and I feel like soon we're getting to the point. It's kind of like pushing a boulder up a hill. People have told me a lot during my race that they feel like I'm pushing a boulder up a hill. I'm like I too feel like I'm pushing a boulder up a hill, but we're about to get to that top of the mountain piece where, like you push, push, push and you're working so hard and that steep part is really hard, but then once you get to the point and you push it over the point, it rolls from there and we don't know what way that bowler is going to roll. It's out of our control. So soon it's kind of like our work is going to be done.
Maria:Um, for this phase, right For the campaigning phase Now, hopefully, we have work ahead of us. Um, beyond that, and that will be, it's kind of to be determined um, but for this piece of it it's soon to be that. You know we have put in all the legwork and it's time to let the voters decide, and so I think we're really ready to see where those votes land and and what the results, um, and and then next steps will be, because there's so much beyond just November 5th as well. I feel like Lucia and I and many other candidates in the Eastern Panhandle and across West Virginia are really working to build a movement. We are building the movement to answer those questions you asked earlier about what's next and what does this really mean on a larger scale, and I think that has yet to be seen, but we're excited to be a part of that and to lead with our communities through that 100%.
AJ:I wonder, could we even dream of a non-adversarial, depolarized, policy-focused you know? Could we dream of such a future?
Maria:it sounds great, if only here's to that.
AJ:I'll really look forward to obviously tracking how things go. Won't let this the train and then we'll close. I close every podcast talking about a piece of music that's meant something to people, even perhaps been really significant in their lives. But it makes me wonder with you guys, is there music attached to your campaigns? Is that, or even just one that you've held close personally in those moments when you need to recharge, or perhaps something yeah, bigger picture life that there's been a piece of music significant to you?
Lucia:yes I actually studied music in college, and so was a singer before a politician.
AJ:You sang something before. Yeah yesterday.
Lucia:Oh, yes, yes.
AJ:Would you do that?
Lucia:now.
Lucia:So, yeah, we can do that. So, yeah, I think I've always seen art and music as like a channel for social change, and so it was really important for me to incorporate just like fun and music into the campaign whenever we can. And so, you know, we've had some folks play music at some of our meet and greets and you know it was just definitely a way to kind of like decompress and, um, you know, come back down to earth a little bit. So, um, of course, we love our state song, country roads here, and that's one that we've sung many times along the campaign, just reminding ourselves why we love, love this place it's so interesting that there is that state theme.
AJ:That, yeah, it's, it's classic. It transcends time and and place. Would you believe that gets a good run in the Australian context too? For love of place.
Lucia:Yeah, we've heard it all over the country.
Maria:Yeah, I think the song that comes up for me I mean to play off with you. We have had music kind of flow through the campaign at different events and different ways. It's such a beautiful way to bring people together. But a song I heard last week is a kind of classic song for me. It's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay by Otis right, A very classic song and you know the lyrics kind of go that you know he's going to watch the ships roll in, he's going to watch them roll away again, but he'll still be sitting there in that moment and in that stillness and it's like to me it's a freedom song, right.
Maria:It's like thinking about what the beautiful vision from the dock looks like and how we can envision that brighter future. And you know he talks about his roots, where he's from, and I think we're kind of in the midst of that. And that's a song my dad used to play for me all the time growing up. My dad is a really big music buff and he's was very into, you know, various freedom movements over time and he's helped to run the data on my campaign. He's helped with Lucia's campaign, some too, and you know it's kind of just speaks to this like intergenerational hope that we have, and I think you know there's's many, many songs that are our theme songs or that we, you know, keep us going.
Maria:I know for me, um, in our Dirt Road cohort actually, we talked about how, uh, what songs we play during canvassing to like keep ourselves pumped up, and so we started a group playlist of like when you're canvassing and you're feeling down because maybe you had a hard conversation, you're like canvassing and you're feeling down because maybe you had a hard conversation, you're like blasting this song in your car, right, so I'll have to share that with you. But I think music is this way to really keep hope alive and to bring people together. So those are some of the things we hope to keep doing.
AJ:Wonderful. Would you sing for us, Lucia?
Lucia:Sure. Should I sing Country Roads? MARIA: yeah. LUCIA: Okay, Almost heaven. West Virginia, blue rich mountains, Shenandoah River. Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze. Country roads. Take me home to the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama. Take me home. Country roads.
AJ:Wow, that's just made my day. Lucia, thanks a lot. Maria, thanks for spending the time.
Maria:Thank you.
AJ:That was Lucia Valentine and Maria Russo, first-time Dirtr oad candidates at the upcoming elections for the state of West Virginia. And oh, did you hear the breeze blowing in the trees as Lucia peaked in the chorus there? Some of you might also remember that Cathy McGowan, now dubbed the godmother of the community independents movement back home in Australia, chose the same song when she was on the podcast. That's episode 85, if you fancy a listen.
AJ:Interestingly, the weekend after recording this, yet more community independents were elected to parliaments in Australia, and the woman elected to the New South Wales parliament was also a campaign manager before deciding to stand herself. A little global precedent for Maria. Links in the show notes, as always, and a few photos on the website, with more for subscribing members in great thanks for making this episode possible. You can join us by heading to the website or the show notes and following the prompts. Thanks, too, for sharing the podcast and these campaign stories. Perhaps the person you share this with will be the next community-minded candidate in your neck of the woods?
AJ:Stand by for a bonus episode featuring the Q&A that took place after the film with Lucia, Maria, Canyon and the other local candidate in the room that day, Troy Miller. And we'll certainly be keeping tabs on how things pan out for everyone this time around. And finally, the new film talked about on last week's episode with Joel Caldwell has raced to 15,000 views online in just a few days and the premiere event on Friday was a super engaged full house. My name's Anthony James. Thanks for listening.
