Stay Home. Save Lives!

Social Distancing and the Virtual Campaign Trail

Now that the legislative session is over, it is legal to open and add to my campaign website and Facebook page. As an incumbent legislator, I have access to frequent bulletins and information that may be missed by those who don’t receive the local paper. All my pages will have information in this difficult time. For constituent concerns you can still call my office for questions about my poisitons or how I vote. You can go on the state website and my state home page. There may be a lag to get back because all are working from home and getting used to a new way of working. For information about the campaign you can directly message me at the bottom of this page.

Before the current need to stay at home because of the virus, I made the decision to run for another term as your State Representative. Although I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish there is much to be done.  Now that we are all avoiding public contact to keep ourselves and each other safe, I must find more creative ways to report back to you and to explain my positions and to ask for your priorities and how I can help. Normally, I view the campaign as an opportunity to let the people I represent know who I am, what I do, and most importantly how their government works and how they can be involved. Until we get past this stage in the pandemic, public meetings and doorbelling are off the table.

Each time I have run for office, I have been told that people want us to govern in a civil and bipartisan way. I am a proud democrat because the values of the democratic party reflect my own values. Putting people first, a government that reflects those it governs, an economy that truly provides equal opportunity for all and a strong system that provides the services that make this possible. I believe in these values and my work reflects that. But I also represent those who may disagree with me and others in my community. Those voices are important and all people I represent deserve to know where I stand. I volunteer for a national organization that is bipartisan and is devoted to changing our politics to be more civil, inclusive and that reflects the best in us as a democratic society (National Institute for Civil Discourse). If you think we are less civil and more divided than ever you are right. Let’s change that. I work closely with colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Some of what we have done we were able to do because we had the majority. But much or what we do depends on respect and compromise. In this moment we have more time to think about what is important. We are at home and we are worried. We worry about ourselves and our friends and families. We worry about the people who do not have homes. We don’t know when things will become more normal.

But we also are connecting and re-connecting with each other in new ways. We are connecting with our inner selves. Some of us have been so busy we have not done that in a long time. This campaign will require that I seek new ways to connect. I plan to try to do that through both technology and old-fashioned paper. Some of this will require money and some time. Some will require that you let me know how you want to hear from me. When we can gather again, I will come to your neighborhood and other group meetings. If you send me questions, I will answer through email or video posts. One of the things that has bothered me about politics and campaigning is the underlying assumption that people will not read anything that is too long or that has more than three brief ideas in it. This is a year we can dig a little deeper. We can make sure that those we elect have the depth and character to solve the truly complex problems that face us. I believe that public service is an honor and a privilege. I will continue to work hard and to be open to ideas and to make our state better. You have a right to know how I decide my priorities and to ask me to share information about how things work. I represent many people who do not agree with each other or with me. But we can respect each other. I would be honored to continue to do this work.

- Sharon Wylie
State Representative,
WA 49th Legislative District Positon 1 (Vancouver)