BY TAYLOR BENNETT, POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB
Legislators, both freshman and veteran answered with a resounding “Present!” when roll was called yesterday in the Senate and House Chambers. The Policy Team at The Hub is here too, and we’re thrilled to be headed into another session with you. As I’ve been preparing for this, I’ve been thinking about the opportunities for exciting and challenging conversations that every session offers.
Maybe that means getting up the courage to call your legislator for the first time about an issue that you care about; building relationships with legislators you didn’t know last year; talking with colleagues about policies that impact your work; or forging friendships with other citizens who care about the same issues that you do.
Whatever it means to you, it’s a sure bet that we’ll all be having many conversations over the next few months. My hope – and you can call me an idealist if you want – is that these conversations are a starting point for policy solutions to some of West Virginia’s greatest challenges.
Also, I want to share with you that our House is under construction!
Citizens making their way to the Capital this session will find that traffic patterns inside the building have changed due to some major construction on the blue and gold dome. The Well is walled off completely, making it more difficult to travel from one chamber to the other. In order to make your way from the Senate to the House, visitors can take a small hallway around the rotunda – located on the far end of the hall on the left side as you face away from the Senate Chamber. See the photo below!
Despite the construction, the Capitol is still open to the public, and our legislators still need to hear from citizens like you. If you want to visit the Capitol for a meeting with your legislator, or just to see how the process works, but you don’t want to go alone – let me know! Email me at T.Bennett@wvhub.org – I’d love to make the trip with you.
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