Taysha DeVaughan, a Democratic candidate for the 9th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the general election on November 8 heard concerns from voters at a picnic sponsored by the Patrick County Democrats on Saturday, April 30.
DeVaughan, a resident of Big Stone Gap in Wise County, said she decided to run as she felt the district did not have the representation that it deserved. “It’s not even that we don’t have representation, he just doesn’t show up. He’s not there, he doesn’t listen, and when he does and he does vote, it’s usually not anything that directly impacts us here,” she said of incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.
Griffith has said he will seek reelection in November.
Through her environmental activism, DeVaughan sits on several boards that create legislation. This has allowed her to help craft some legislation, visit Washington D.C., and lobby representatives.
“I walked away a lot of times feeling like it’s just so much more that these people could be doing. There’s so much more that could be voiced, and so much more votes that could be happening,” she said.
DeVaughan said she felt she wasn’t doing enough when the November election happened last year, and she felt driven to help her home and the people living in her district.
“I know this is going to be an uphill battle, I know that we are rare when it comes to Southwest Virginia, but we’re not alone and there’s actually a lot more of us than it looks like,” she said.
DeVaughan’s wish is to reinstall the hope and faith that the people as a party can move forward by being in the community and showing up to start a movement.
Born in Lawton, OK, DeVaughan is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. She graduated from UVA-Wise with a B.A. in communications in 2018 and began her career at the Appalachian Community Fund as a Regional Organizer before being promoted to her current position of Donor Engagement Coordinator.
She is the president of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, is active in Lonesome Pone Mutual Aid, and is a gubernatorial appointee to the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice.
Jobs & Economy
The first issue DeVaughan hopes to tackle is bringing jobs to Southwest Virginia. “What can we do to make sure we’re having that infrastructure that also goes to our local jobs and economy,” she said.
DeVaughan said diversity of jobs in the region also is important, especially since many of the industries have either left the area or downsized in the past few years.
“Why would our people want to stay here if they can’t work here? They can’t live here and they don’t see a future here, and I feel like we can change that,” she said, and added that this is especially true amongst the area’s youth as many leave to find jobs and raise families elsewhere.
Going forward, DeVaughan believes that there should be a Rural Federal Investment Plan for the area. “I think there should be a plan specific for our type of challenges because they are unique and we have the unique solutions, but we have to be involved in making those legislations,” she said.
Environment
As an environmental activist, DeVaughan believes we must preserve the beauty of our land while exercising responsible stewardship to protect our natural resources.
This is especially true when it comes to the just-transition to a new energy economy. She said the environment vs. economic development is a “yes/and approach,” and that people know that the environment can be protecting while creating economic benefits at the same time.
“It’s been coming for a long time, people know that it’s been coming, and we’ve just been sitting on it,” she said.
DeVaughan said the region’s natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and national forests can also be used to attract visitors with eco-tourism. “I think that we can do that across the 9th. I think we have wonderful assets when it comes to our natural beauty, and I think not just recreation, but also any other type of public access that we can have because access is very important,” she said.
In addition to sharing Virginia’s beauty, DeVaughan said eco-tourism could also help bring in more jobs and improve the infrastructure needed to use areas for recreation. “It’s the people that are going to be employed at those agency levels that are going to make sure that we are protecting our air, land, and water,” she said.
DeVaughan said there are different levels to eco-tourism from the people building the sidewalks and the trials to the camp counselors working at summer camps to those employed at the government levels that ensure the environment is taken care of.
“We have to protect what we have while we’re also going to build around it,” she added.