TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF:
I am a proud graduate of Concord University with a B.A. in English. I was awarded a
graduate teaching fellowship at Radford University where I earned my M.S. in English.
While there, I taught composition courses and assisted one of my graduate professors in
instructing a literature class. My thesis was also published. Later, I earned 18 graduate
hours at Marshall University in Education. I currently hold a postgraduate professional
teaching license.
I have taught everything from preschool to high school and from college to correctional
institutions. Learning is my passion. In fact, I would describe myself as infinitely curious.
There’s not a subject out there that I am not interested in learning more about. That’s a
quality you want in your representative. More importantly, I bring a mix of education and a
whole lot of common sense to the table. That’s one asset that we can all agree is much
needed in government.
My husband and I ran a successful bookstore and we learned a lot about small business
and how important entrepreneurs are to small towns. I have also assisted my parents in
theirs. My Dad retired from mining and went on to own a trucking company. I know all about
the struggle in that industry; regulations, audits, insurance, lack of a workforce, and all of
the other difficulties that come from being a small business. My Mom opened a furniture
store when she was 76 and has ran that with my assistance for the past 9 years. We are no
strangers to hard work. There isn’t a job out there that I would ask someone to do that I
wouldn’t do myself.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO RUN FOR OFFICE:
About a year ago, my neighbor and I started attending the county commission meetings. I
was instantly hooked. As a passionate follower of politics since I was a child, I felt that I
could make a difference here in my own community. I have always said that most people
can recite a lot of information about what goes on in D.C., but they don’t always know what
their local politicians are doing. It all starts on the local level. I also wanted to run because I
feel like the average person is disenfranchised from local politics and politics as a whole.
We feel like our voices don’t matter. We have let the good old boys control the narrative. It’s
time we give the voice back to the people, pull back the curtain and let the taxpayers decide
where they want THEIR money spent. I intend to do that!
WHAT ARE SOME ISSUES FACING MERCER COUNTY:
The economy is something we are all worried about. As someone raised in a small business
oriented family, I know that entrepreneurship is tough, but it’s incredibly vital to our
community. I would like to create a small business network that meets once a month to
discuss grants and resources available to everyone, not just a select few. We have to offer
as much support as we can to the little guy because they are the backbone of our county.
We also need to figure out how to draw big business into our area. Mercer County
geographically is prime real estate. We are two hours from Winston Salem, an hour away
from Christiansburg and close to other major cities. There’s no reason that we can’t create a
tax base that attracts big business.
In addition, we have citizens in Mercer County who don’t have access to clean water. There
is no reason for any American to not have clean drinking water. We fix this by demanding
that Charleston be held accountable for their lack of funding for essential infrastructure. And
we hold all of our politicians accountable for their lack of advocacy.
Accountability brings me to my next concern. We need accountability and transparency in
every aspect of government. No one should feel left out of the decision making process. A
lack of transparency creates distrust. A people alienated from their own government will not
contribute to the success of a society. We need to be accountable for every decision that we
make as an elected official.
WHAT MAKES ME STAND OUT AND WHAT DO I BRING TO THE TABLE?
I am not a politician but rather I see myself as a public servant. I bring out of the box
thinking, energy, compassion and the intense desire to bring positive changes to my
community. I believe that we need candidates who don’t feel they are above the very people
that elected them. I envision an open door policy and I want citizens to know that I care
about the issues that impact them and their families. I bring authenticity, the ability to
empathize, problem solving skills and an open door policy. Your situation is my situation.
We are going to solve it together.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT VOTERS TO KNOW?
I am certainly not a one dimensional candidate. I am a person who has the ability to view
every situation from the perspective of all involved. I want to know who will benefit, who will
suffer and how does the issue at hand impact our community as a whole.
I am an animal advocate and will fight to support animal causes in our area including
population control and the humane treatment of animals in our community.
I am a strong advocate for veterans and because of that, I created a group called Operation
Respect (we are on Facebook) to make sure that all of our fallen military in Mercer County
are honored with a flag on Memorial Day. Last year we started with 2300 flags and a
handful of volunteers. This year we have over 9000 flags and several organizations have
offered to help. I believe our cemeteries are historical lands and they need to be preserved
and properly cared for.
I am the mother of a daughter with autism, so lifting families and individuals up who have
special needs is something that is very close to my heart. I am a passionate and common sense candidate who is ready to hit the ground running.
Finally, I want everyone to know that as commissioner, this will be my sole job and focus. I
want to dedicate my time to collaborating with citizens in making this county one that we
can all be proud of. Our kids deserve a better tomorrow and so do we! Anyone wanting to
know more about my stances can follow me on Facebook at Stephanie Dempsey for Mercer
County Commission
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