Exclusive Interview: Jade Harris, Young, Gifted and Running in #HD24
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: JADE HARRIS
JADE HARRIS, 25, is running in the special election for House of Delegates District 24. The election will be on January 10, 2023, the day before the General Assembly begins session. The seat Harris is running for is considered a Republican stronghold but Harris is talking up the challenge with an already active campaign presence and a recent endorsement.
Campaigns in rural areas of Virginia have not received the same level of support and attention from the Democratic Party as candidates in NoVa have — a point that is often brought up by rural strategists and operatives on the left in Virginia. The failure of Terry McAuliffe to focus on rural Virginia as he was defeated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year and Republicans took control of the Virginia House is a painful example Democrats often cite. Youngkin traveled to rural Virginia often via bus during his 2021 campaign.
But Jade Harris is on the ballot and taking on the challenge. Below is an exclusive interview with Harris conducted yesterday.
House District 24 was vacated after Republican Del. Ronnie Campbell, who had served in the House since 2019, passed away on December 13. His wife Ellen Campbell announced she would run for her husband’s seat two days later on December 15. Her Democratic challenger will be Jade Harris.
Harris, lives in Glasgow, Virginia where she has been active in the local community as a member of town council and Vice Mayor. Her campaign website informs us that Harris is a graduate of Maury River Middle and Rockbridge County High School, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 2020 from Mary Baldwin University.
Harris has been an organizer with March for Our Lives, an advocacy group fighting to stop gun violence, and has participated in voter registration drives.
Harris’ campaign website states, “I am honored to announce my candidacy as the Democratic nominee for the 24th District's House of Delegates seat. I am campaigning on increased access to mental health resources, protection of reproductive rights, and bringing common sense and composure back to our government by actively opposing ideological warfare designed to sow the seeds of disunity.”
“Let's get real. Let's get to work. Let's make the Commonwealth a brighter, kinder place,” Harris wrote on her Facebook page.
On December 28, Black Virginia News spoke with Jade Harris.
🚩 What made you decide to run for the HD24 seat?
JADE HARRIS: We've got such an important session coming up in the state legislature, and I just wanted to make sure that we have somebody good going in, and there's nobody better to do the job than yourself. You know, if you want to get it done. Do it yourself. And that's why I immediately just jumped into the caucus and said, I want to do this. I'm dedicated. I'm ready to go. Let's go for it.
🚩 Tell us the basics about your life and education?
JADE HARRIS: I'm a lifelong resident of Rockbridge. County, Virginia, Glasgow, Virginia specifically. I was born there and then when I was two years old, we moved to West Virginia and then we moved back when I was 12 years old. My entire adolescence was spent here. I went to Maury river Middle School in Lexington, Rockbridge. County High School in Lexington. I graduated from there in 2016. And then I went to Mary Baldwin college and Stanton, what became Mary Baldwin University the day I started, and I graduated from there in 2020, with a degree in political science.
Then I came home to Glasgow, and that's where I decided I wanted to be on Glasgow's Town Council. I've been going to the meetings since I was like 13. I really wanted to make a difference there too. I knew I had good ideas. I knew how to get the job done. Show up. Show out all that good stuff.
🚩 Everybody says: This is a red district, there's not that many Black folks out where you are. What do you say to all that? What issues are you emphasizing in this race?
JADE HARRIS: Well, the black community here is tight knit, everybody knows each other and we love each other. We get the job done for each other. If anyone needs anything, we're there to support each other. Some of the issues I'm working on are just issues that affect everybody, but especially the black community. We need better jobs out here better resources. Infrastructure is a big deal out here.
We just did a project on town council to replace a lot of them our water piping our water system, because it's just so old, there's lead, there's other contaminants and we had to work hard to get that done. I also work to get the community center a roof because the need to replace it's an old building, needed some updates, Hvac updates. I worked really hard to get that done using ARPA funds from the federal government and that was a really great project. And just some of the stuff I'm campaigning on. It's just so important that we need to get this done like mental health care access. That's a big thing in our community right now.
🚩 You mentioned ARPA funds. Explain briefly what ARPA funds are.
JADE HARRIS: Those are the American Rescue Plan funds passed by Congress to support localities after COVID — and basically, it's infrastructure. Making sure town employees were paid through COVID we were able to give some small business grants through that money. And we got a hefty chunk. It was almost a million dollars at the time for Glasgow. We had to figure out the best way to spend it appropriately and effectively because you know, it's a nest egg and we're never gonna get something like that again. It's a great opportunity for our town and we really took advantage of that.
🚩 Finally tell us anything about upcoming campaign events and where voters can contact you.
JADE HARRIS: Sure, my Facebook account is Jade Harris for Virginia. My Twitter is @Harris4VA. We are website is about to go alive, probably in the next hours.
🚩 State anything else you’d like to emphasize.
JADE HARRIS: I just want to emphasize that I'm ready to get to work for the people, the 24th district. I mean, I don't want to say anything bad about my opponent, but she's willing to just go along with what her husband had planned, which was basically keep things conservative, you know, keep the status quo and I'm not here to do that.
I'm here to shake things up. I'm here to really hit the ground running and get to work in the House of Delegates. Our people need stuff and they need it now.
The special election for House District 24 is January 10, 2023.
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