Why we won.
Last week, a miracle happened. Against all odds, the legislature found $1.06 million in funding to save
dozens of programs statewide that help our most vulnerable children and families. Miracles take hard
work.
Here is the official story. On Friday, members of the Governor’s staff met with community leaders,
abuse survivors, and lawmakers. They told us that nothing would be done regarding the budget cuts
before next year. On Tuesday, 225+ parents, advocates, and workers held a vigil at the Capitol,
recognizing the real costs of the cuts: 80 people losing jobs, over a thousand families in crisis losing
support. House and Senate Leaders leveled with us. They told us “never give up.” They also told us not
to get our hopes up. But the next morning, Wednesday, House Republicans and Democrats each issued
proposed amendments that would restore our funding through gaming revenues – something that
previously seemed impossible. Then, the House passed the amendment 90-0. The Senate passed it 301. Thursday, Governor Tomblin praised the legislature and said he planned to sign the bill; today, he
signed it.
How did this miracle happen? How did a group of low-income families, children’s advocates, religious
leaders and other allies buck the odds?
This was a campaign aimed to unite, not divide.
The Our Children, Our Future Campaign is a statewide effort, with 177+ partners. The
Campaign’s premise is that the only way we can change the future for our West Virginia kids is to be
united. That means leadership from churches and community groups, Republicans and Democrats,
unions and chambers of commerce, teachers and doctors, and most of all: the children and families who
are most affected. Together, our campaign has won 13 statewide victories in 19 months.
On this particular issue, a rainbow coalition emerged: thousands of everyday citizens, the
Bishops of West Virginia’s 3 largest denominations; Democrats like Nancy Guthrie, Barbara Fleischauer,
Linda Phillips, Brent Boggs, Tim Miley, Jeff Kessler, Bill Laird, Ron Miller and John Unger; Republicans like
Amanda Pasdon, Erikka Storch, Mike Hall, and JB McCuskey; law enforcement officials like US Attorney
Booth Goodwin; the AFL-CIO and business leaders like Lloyd Jackson; and community groups of every
stripe.
But that public display of unity only scratches the surface. Back in November, Family Resource
Networks and Starting Points Centers agreed to link arms and fight for their funding together. Then,
when initial cuts were announced in January, the FRNs and Starting Points Centers made the heroic
decision to widen the circle even further: to include Domestic Violence Programs, Child Advocacy
Centers, Home-Visitors, and Child Abuse Prevention groups – all of whom had been cut.
All for one, and one for all. In a year when every dollar was going to be hard fought, the leaders
of these various programs bravely agreed that they would rather their programs suffer united than
survive divided. Lots of folks talk about shared sacrifice and collaboration. People like Jim McKay, Joyce
Yedlosky, Tonia Thomas, Marcie Drake, Emily Laird, April Miller, Stacie Dei, David McMahon, and Marla
Short actually did it. To be sure, their resolve was tested. Back in March, one of the programs was
offered the chance to get their funding restored, but it would have meant the other groups wouldn’t get
theirs. They said, “No.” Two weeks ago, child abuse prevention programs were re-granted $260,000
through a loophole; instead of declaring victory, they showed up the next day at a press conference to
say that it wasn’t a victory until everyone was restored. That’s what unity looks like.
But that’s still not the full story. Those groups couldn’t have done it by themselves; they also
agreed to unite their issue with various other issue campaigns under the shared banner of the Our
Children, Our Future Campaign. That Our Children, Our Future Campaign and its allies were actually
successful on 6 issues this year – raising the Minimum Wage, Future Fund, Parent Mentor Program,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Land Trust legislation, and increasing Physical Activity in schools. The
Campaign – with the leadership of the Community Development Hub, the Center on Budget and Policy,
and the WV Healthy Kids and Families Coalition – began their process of picking issues way back in the
summer of 2013. This has been a long fight.
When the Campaign brought voters to the Capitol in February, there were hundreds of little acts
of unity – a family fighting for a raise of the minimum wage telling a legislator not to forget the Future
Fund, a meeting with a legislator where union members supported business leaders supported youth
activists. But one moment stands out: Dr. Jamie Jeffrey, a pediatrician who was leading our efforts on
the Move to Improve Act, had one opportunity to meet with a representative of the Governor’s office.
She had less than 2 minutes to make a point. In that moment, she decided to tell a story about the need
for re-instating the Children’s cuts – instead of touting her “own issue.” She knew that others in the
Campaign would do the same for her. And they did. Our diversity was a strength, not a weakness. And
it lasted beyond the big advocacy days. Thanks to the Legislative Action Team, a project of TEAM for WV
Children, every children’s advocate at the Capitol (folks like Sam Hickman, Chris Kimes, Christine
Compton, Alyson Clements, Stephanie Tyree, Claire Butler, Jeff Allen, Rev. Brian O’Donnell, Julie Archer,
Rick Wilson, and many others), had the resources they needed – day in, day out – to stay connected,
track bills, and coordinate strategy.
This Campaign was defined by honest, authentic leadership, from everyday West Virginia families who
vote.
Unity is important. But victories like this aren’t possible without leadership from everyday
citizens. The restoration of children’s programs proves that the voices of voters can still trump the sway
of a lobbyist.
…Voters like Jamie Gudiel, Sabrina Shrader, two forceful West Virginia women, who make up
what they lack in income with more than enough fearlessness and determination. Jamie and Sabrina
sent a letter to the Governor after the line item vetoes, with the support of the Campaign behind them,
and asked the Governor for a meeting directly with the children and families who would be affected by
the cuts. They wanted the meeting so they could tell their stories, but also so they could go over the
numbers with him and make the financial argument. They never got their meeting with the Governor,
but they took every opportunity they did get. They educated his staff and cabinet secretaries about the
issue, they prepared other families to tell their own stories to reporters, and they helped lead our vigil
for families who would lose jobs and services.
…Voters like Celena Roby and Roger Lockridge, who courageously re-lived their own experiences
as survivors of abuse, more than once, so that lawmakers and members of the media could understand
what was at stake. Or like Daryl O’Dell, who shared how home-visiting programs made him a better
dad. Or dozens of other families like them, who weren’t afraid to tell their stories.
…Voters like the 812 people who asked off of work to come down to the Capitol in the dead of
winter, less than 3 weeks after the water crisis. Or the 225 more who showed up last Tuesday when
everyone thought that it was a lost cause. And it wasn’t facebook or twitter that put more than a
thousand people in the Capitol this year. It was local heroes like Marla Short and Diane Hughes, two
women who have done so much for women and children in their communities over the years that they –
along with their passionate teams of community leaders and volunteers – can organize buses full of
families to come down to the Capitol. Our Campaign is truly blessed to have dozens of Marlas and
Dianes across the state.
…Voters like those who organized 18 regional forums in their communities (from Kopperston to
Martinsburg), so that legislators could hear from their constituents first-hand about the issues that
matter to them. Kathy Brunty, Kathie Whitt, Greg Puckett, Stacie Dei, Walesca Marrero, Jamie Gudiel,
Emily Murphy, Eric Murphy, Elizabeth Shahan, Linda Watson, Jeff Allen, Karen Williams, John David,
Margaret O’Neal, Patricia Lally, Cindy Bowe, Martha Snider, Lida Shepherd, Reggie Jones, Sr. Janet
Peterworth, Jenny Hudson, Jim McKay, Tiffany Lawrence, Michelle Barnes, Pete Mulford, Linda
Anderson, Lisa Parsons, Marla Short, April Miller, Ben Shuman, Dana Singer, Gerri Mason, and dozens of
other local leaders who reserved rooms, bought coffee, assembled agendas, called the press, and
invited legislators to your meetings – these children’s programs would not have been saved without
your tireless work. Because of you, and with the help of professional community organizers Carey
Grace, LeeAnn Shreve, and Lisa Wotring, you showed that this Campaign is just as strong outside the
Capitol, as it is inside.
…Voters across rural West Virginia who couldn’t afford a trip to the Capitol, but stayed home
blowing up their Facebook pages and phone lines.
…Voters who were willing to speak from their hearts, but also their heads. After the Governor
announced his line item veto on the same day as a tax credit for a casino, people like Emily ChittendenLaird, Beth Sizemore, Rick Wilson, Jeff Allen, Ted Boettner, Stephen Smith, and Jim McKay spoke out
about the need for a budget to be a moral document. But those same folks, along with Audrey Morris,
Marla Short, Sabrina Shrader, Joyce Yedlosky, April Miller, Stacie Dei, David McMahon, and many others
– also started working on a well-reasoned, numbers-based report that would show the short and longterm fiscal benefits of restoring children’s programs. That report, spearheaded by the WV Center on
Budget and Policy, played a key role in bringing new allies in the legislature to our side.
The lists above don’t begin to capture the names of all the people who sacrificed their time,
talent, and resources to make this happen, or the excellent journalists (epitomized by Whitney Burdette,
David Gutman, Beth Vorhees, Dawn Miller, Jessica Lilly, Pam Pritt, and many others) who told our story.
That’s what’s fun about working with such a broad movement – you can’t even keep track of every
single letter sent or action taken.
We don’t give up.
A campaign this difficult will offer you a hundred opportunities to give up.
When the cuts for Family Resource Networks and Starting Points Centers first came down in
January, in one of the tightest budgets in years, we had an opportunity to give up. We had plenty of
other issues to focus on. But instead, we linked arms with the other programs who were cut. By the
time the House scheduled its first hearing on the budget, there was no way we were giving up. And
neither were Nancy Guthrie and Dave Pethtel and Barbara Fleischauer and Don Perdue, who pressed
hard to restore funds.
When revenue bills fell through on the very last day of the session, we could have given up
again, knowing that we had fought the good fight.
After the Governor’s line item veto, it would have been easy to give up. Many of our friends and
allies advised us to do just that. They said things like “impossible” and “next year.” But at the same
time, other allies emerged. Like the Bishops who issued public statements and private letters on our
behalf. Like the 8 Republicans, led by Delegate Amanda Pasdon, who signed a letter to the Governor,
touting the way these programs bolstered law enforcement and reduced long-term financial costs. Like
the workers and families who emerged to tell their stories about the human costs. Like Dr. Laura
Capage, the Child Advocacy Center director in Monongalia County, and others who invited press and
lawmakers to tour their facilities, and see the impact first-hand.
When cabinet Secretaries found $260,000 in borrowed funds from other Children’s programs to
help plug some of the holes, we could have given up again. We could have declared a partial victory.
Instead, the next day, we went ahead with law enforcement officials and members of the Committee on
Crimes Against Children to continue advocating for the full restoration. Thanks to Barbara Fleischauer,
Linda Phillips, Nancy Guthrie, Emily Chittenden-Laird, US Attorney Booth Goodwin, and Senator Bill Laird
for not giving up either. You gave us the strength we needed.
The Friday before interims, we had a great opportunity to give up. Members of the Governor’s
staff told us that the Children’s Cuts would not be on the agenda for the special session and that the
issue would not be taken up again until next year. After that meeting, we had a conference call where
we had to decide: should we cancel the advocacy day we had planned at the Capitol the following
Tuesday? We had one group of Starting Points Centers in central West Virginia that had recruited more
than 150 people to come. They weren’t sure they could even afford the trip, which would of course
have to come out of their own pockets and local donations. Folks on the call – parents, advocates,
agency directors, religious leaders – decided to pitch in and help cover costs. In the end, our team
decided unanimously that we needed to make one last push, even if the only thing that came from it
was that we got commitments from lawmakers to make sure this never happened again.
When Tuesday
$1.06 million isn’t a lot of money in a $4 billion budget. That’s the equivalent of a family earning
$40,000/year deciding to spend 10 bucks on ice cream. $1.06 million is not going to solve the deep child
poverty crisis we have in this state (Remember: this isn’t even new money; it’s just maintaining the
same funding as last year). Last week’s victory was not only about $1.06 million; it was proof that
democracy in West Virginia is alive and well.
Yet even combined with the other victories won by the Our Children, Our Future Campaign and
its allies – raising the Minimum Wage, creating a Future Fund, saving child care benefits for 1400
working families, Medicaid Expansion, the Feed to Achieve Act – we are still just scratching the surface.
But we aren’t giving up.
We are both dads with young kids. Jackson is 2 years old. Jake and Jonah are 13 and 7,
respectively. We are in it for the long haul, because we are not ready to hand over a world to our sons
that is worse than the one that our parents gave to us. Neither are the moms and dads who volunteer
with the Our Children, Our Future Campaign, or the other 16 members of our Steering Committee.
We’re still at the beginning of this Campaign, and we could use your help. Like our Facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/ourchildrenourfuturewv) to get updates on the Campaign, or consider
attending or co-sponsoring our upcoming Policy Workshops and Policy Symposium this summer, where
we will start the process all over again of picking our top issues and turning out voters for next year (email ssmith@wvhealthykids.org or jim@teamwv.org for more information).
Jim McKay is with Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia, and Stephen Smith is with the WV Healthy Kid and
Families Coalition. Both are members of the Our Children, Our Future Steering Committee.