Trending
CHARLESTON -- Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus in the West Virginia House of Delegates hit the road Wednesday to start a three-day listening tour across the state to bring ideas back to Charleston.
Representatives of the eight-member caucus held a press conference in front of the House Chamber Wednesday to kick off the Women in Leadership Country Roads Tour.
"As we kick off our first-ever Women in Leadership listening tour, I hope that this is the beginning of a long tradition signaling a new era of more listening and less talking in politics," said Del. Cindy Lavender-Bowe, D-Greenbrier.
"I'm really excited to take off across this beautiful state and meet you where you are," said Del. Amanda Estep-Burton, D-Kanawha. "We can think of all the great policy ideas, but that doesn't come from setting it as it comes from you and hearing your voices and letting your voices be heard."
Their next stop Wednesday was Cafe Appalachia, a farm-to-table restaurant in South Charleston that provides job opportunities to people in drug recovery; and the East Bank Town Hall in Southern Kanawha County. Today's stops include Huntington, Parkersburg and Clarksburg. Friday's stops include Weston, Fayetteville, and Bradley.
"When I first proposed this idea to my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus, I had three simple goals in mind: to hear from the people what they want from us in the 2020 legislative session; to elevate the profile of the people's issues in our state; and to inspire, recruit and yes, cajole women into making their voices heard and putting their names on the ballot," Lavender-Bowe said.
Wearing hooded sweatshirts that said "LEAD" -- which stands for Listen, Empower, Act, and Dream -- members of the caucus stressed their focus isn't solely on issues important to women. They want to hear from all West Virginians of all stripes.
"We all have to work together and not just as women and obviously the other part of the legislature, the men, but also in a bipartisan fashion to do what true West Virginians want us to do, not about what's the political rhetoric sometimes that we hear across the state and the country that's dividing us," said Del. Lisa Zukoff, D-Marshall.
"Everyone is invited to come. We are mountaineers and we are free," said Del. Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia. "This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is a people issue. This is a listening tour. There are no exclusions, there is no discrimination, there is no prejudice, and there are no boundaries or barriers. If we are in your area, we want to see any and all of you."
While caucus members want to bring back issues for the 2020 legislative session starting Jan. 8, lawmakers are already working on issues, such as foster care reform, clearing the waitlist for intellectual and developmental disability waivers, and prescription drug prices.
"Diabetes does not pick out people to afflict based on whether they're Republican or they're Democrat," said Del. Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia. "I'm just shocked by the amount some families are paying. We won't just be talking about so-called women's issues, men's issues or wedge issues. We're going to be talking about economic issues. We're going to be talking about health care issues."
Other members of the Democratic Women's Caucus include Delegates Sammie Brown, D-Jefferson; Linda Longstreth, D-Marion; and Margaret Staggers, D-Fayette.
(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)