MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — It’s a more than 300 mile drive from the state’s Eastern Panhandle to the front steps of the capitol building in Charleston.
That doesn’t stop some of the region’s youth and young adults from getting involved in state politics. One such group is The Eastern Panhandle Young Democrats, focused on Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties.
“We’ve been trying to stay active in the area and encourage young people to not only vote but put their names on the ballot,” said Executive Vice President Aneesh Sompali. “We’ve achieved that goal in the sense that we have three vibrant, young candidates who are about 30 years of age or younger running for state house right now.”
Sompali is referring to John Isner for the 59th House of Delegates District, Sammi Brown for the 65th and Sam Brown in the 63rd. Sompali believes getting more young people involved in running will be beneficial to the Mountain State.
“I think you have to get folks elected that are younger first. Then other young people will see ‘hey, I can do this too…I can be a voice in my community. I can run for something small. I could make change where I live.’ So that is what we’re trying to start.”
Another younger candidate for the 63rd District is Brett Rogers, hoping to help correct some of the frustrations he has held with West Virginia.
“I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve worked in the community my whole live. I’ve just seen how things have gone in politics and I just decided I talk about it and complain about it enough that I wanted to take it a step further than just voting. Actually get involved and try to run for office and change some things.”
Rogers also addressed the state’s opioid epidemic, stating he has seen too many former classmates’ and residents’ lives become ruined by drug abuse.
“There is no legislation that’s going to be passed that’s going to solve this problem. This is a personal responsibility issue. We’ve got to have people that want to take control of their lives, get them back on their feet and give them a purpose. Because I think that is what is the root of this crisis…people don’t have a purpose.”
Sompali echoed Rogers’ comments in regard to community concerns, adding that while his organization is primarily focused on getting young people to vote and perhaps on the ballot, they do get involved with community issues. The controversial Rockwool insulation plant under construction on a piece of property annexed by the City of Ranson is among them.
“We are active in that issue. And it doesn’t really have to just be Rockwool, but I think we have a vision of what we want Jefferson County, Berkeley County to look like. We have the opportunity to shape that.”
Eastern Panhandle Young Democrats hold monthly events and meetings to gather input from members of concerns, spread awareness of their purpose and give back to the community.
“Voters I think have been overly positive and receptive of us. We’re getting a great reception from the community so far. A lot of the folks that might be in the legislature now, I think they’re a little bit worried that there’s a younger, fresh, vibrant group of folks that are putting their names on the ballot. We’re trying to change the status quo.”
Part of what Sompali describes as the “status quo” are the issues surrounding growth and population trends across West Virginia. While the Eastern Panhandle continues to grow in population, some young adults continue to move to neighboring states in favor of a more diverse economy and job market.
“That’s understandable that not everyone is going to have those opportunities. We just don’t have as diversified of an economy here as we probably could have. We’re aware of the fact that we’re hamstrung by the state government of West Virginia, whose needs are the whole state. So the southern part of the state, the central part of the state…their needs are a lot different than what our needs are here. So I think that in a local aspect we have to start looking for ways to break away from that paradigm a little bit.”
Sompali hopes that with the help of organizations like his, coupled with the chance of more youth and young adults getting involved in politics, issues like population loss statewide can be resolved.
“You can’t convince people to stay if there’s nothing for them to stay for. So you have to have something come in to encourage them to want to raise their families here. If the quality of life is good here, then they may consider that. If we’re bringing in the wrong kinds of industry, if we don’t have the careers people are looking for…DC is only just a hop, skip and a jump away.”