For Immediate Release

Charlotte Pritt has endorsed progressive Democrat Lissa Lucas for WV House of Delegates, District 7.

Lucas is a native West Virginian, and the granddaughter of a petroleum engineer who drilled many traditional gas and oil wells in the area. She’s a mineral owner, and a surface owner. A political newcomer, she’s running because, among other things, she feels the WV Democratic Party is sacrificing her frack-impacted district “in order to get upticket campaign donations.”

“Look at how many Antero execs, and even their wives, donated money to former Governor Tomblin. It’s pretty clear to me that they gave him money hoping for his positive review of the frack waste landfill they’ve proposed putting in Ritchie County. Lo and behold, it worked,” Lucas explained. “Now a bunch of folks here who once had beautiful farms are looking at a future defined by the burden of living beside an industrial wasteland, beset with 600 trucks every day. We just can’t continue to operate this way; we can’t allow our peace and quiet, and the natural resources of our rural communities to be stolen. I won’t see my neighbors’ farms sacrificed like that.”

Clearly Lucas is not afraid to call out fellow Democrats. “It’s not Republicans against Democrats. It’s all of us regular folk against the corporations pulling legislative and judicial strings. There are good folks in every party. You can’t put party over people,” she said. “My campaign slogan is ‘Holler from the Hollers!’ for a reason.”

Lucas wants to get the money out of politics so both major parties will work to help West Virginians, rather than continuing to focus on helping outside interests.

“Antero wants to bury their frack waste within the zone of peripheral concern for the drinking water source for Ritchie’s two largest towns and another small town—about a third of the population of this county,” she says. “They’ve been clear that they want to site their landfill at a spot that is risky for the people who live here and for everyone downstream, because it saves them money. But our community shouldn’t have to bear the risks and costs while they get the profits and then leave us with the mess. Frankly, this is why WV comes in last in almost all factors of well-being, despite our wealth of resources.”

This is also among the reasons Pritt feels so strongly about Lucas’ candidacy. As the daughter of a coal miner—and a distinguished member of the WV House of Delegates and WV Senate for a combined 8 years—Pritt fought to make sure hard-working West Virginians would benefit from our resources.

Lucas is also committed to people-centered policies, such as safe jobs, good roads, reliable internet, and better schools. She wants to diversify our economy and keep our money here, rather than see it funneled out-of-state. And she wants to promote transparency and ethical dealings in our government.

Principled governance is near and dear to Pritt’s heart as well. “I truly believe Lissa Lucas is one of the smartest and most principled persons I have ever met. I will help her in any way that I can,” Pritt explained.

Pritt has a long record of fighting to help all West Virginians.  She’s been the recipient of many awards and honors, including “Outstanding Legislator of the Year,” the “Si Galperin Award” for her outstanding record on behalf of consumers, the environment, and good government, and the WV state “Susan B. Anthony Award” for her work on behalf of women and children. She was named “Outstanding Woman in Government” by the West Virginia Woman’s Commission, “Outstanding Legislator” by the Council of Senior Citizens for work on behalf of the elderly; she won the “Woman of the Year Award” from the Charleston Area Professional and Business Woman’s Club, and the “Mother Jones Award” for her anti-corruption and good government policies.

Like Pritt, Lucas comes from a family comprised of both Democrats and Republicans, and believes the people of this state, no matter their party, deserve far better than they’ve received. For Pritt, endorsing candidates like Lissa Lucas—candidates dedicated to helping people, not corporations—is a part of her continuing dedication to the Mountain State.

Lucas is appreciative. “I’m humbled,” she responded. “It’s an honor to be endorsed by someone with Charlotte’s record and principles.”

Lucas maintains a blog at lissalucas.com and an e-newsletter called “The Appalachian Oracle” that both draw attention to the many issues surrounding extraction in the Mountain State. She enjoys brewing beer, keeping chickens, playing dulcimer, gardening, and hiking with her rescue dog Reggie. Professionally, she coordinates social media and interactive marketing for a small agricultural company focused on rare chicken breeds and small flocks.

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