Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Hello, Oregonians, and welcome to Life and Legislation with Lucetta. If you've ever wanted to get to know your politicians personally or understand what it is they are actually doing, then you're in the right place. I'm your podcast host, Jessica Campbell.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: I'm your state representative for House District 24, Lucetta Elmer.
[00:00:21] Speaker A: This podcast is a place for you to get to know Representative Elmer both personally and professionally.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: We want Oregonians to feel connected with and educated politics. So we're so glad you've joined us on a fresh new podcast adventure as we cover all things about life and legislation.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Welcome, everyone, to the very first episode of Life and Legislation with Lucetta. We're so glad you've joined us for this new podcast. I'm Jessica Campbell, and it's my honor to be the district Outreach coordinator for Representative Lucetta Elmer and the host of this podcast. Lucetta and I recognize that there are so many Oregonians who really don't know much at all about their state politicians or what it is they are actually doing during their day. So thank you, Lucetta, for taking the time to connect with and educate everyone on your life and legislation. Before we dive into our topics for this episode, would you go ahead and introduce yourself to our listeners?
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yes. I just want to say thank you for having the idea of doing this, because I think that it's important that Oregonians do know who's out there making the laws that they are. L.
So my name is Lucetta Elmer. I am state Representative for House District 24, which includes most of Yamhill county and a little bit of Polk County. I live in McMinnville, which is the largest city in my district. But my district is pretty rural. So besides the big town of McMinnville, I also represent Lafayette, Yamhill, Carlton, Amity, Sheridan, Wilhelmina, and Grand Ronde.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: And if I remember correctly, like, a handful of homes in Newburgh.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: Yep. I have actually about 500 registered voters in Newberg, but it's more out of town towards Wine Country, Newberg, maybe even a couple in Hillsborough, a couple in Gaston, but, like, less than 10.
[00:02:09] Speaker C: That's so strange to me how they make those lines where it's not necessarily a full city. It could be part of a city.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: That could be a whole legislation question for a future episode. Right. How we get these lines in the first place.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: That has been very controversial in the past.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Okay, well, I want to start by giving you a moment to explain the mission of this podcast. What is your vision? You know, what are your hopes for these episodes? And what are some of the goals?
[00:02:35] Speaker B: I do think the first and foremost, that we have a goal that we're not going to bash others. You know, I'm going to try to draw good lines to show where people land and how it works. And in the legislative world, there is a majority party and a minority party always. So there are sides, sort of, but we don't have to be rude about those sides. I think that the legislation was created so that people have a voice and have their ideas brought forward. And we all have a very unique voice and we all have unique ideas. So this podcast, I think there's a couple goals. One is just to get to know your legislator and what we do and how we represent people that elect us. And then two, I guess maybe is just diving deeper into all of that of what. What is the true legislative process? How does an idea become a law? And really, how does it affect an everyday Oregonian?
[00:03:40] Speaker C: Absolutely. Because most of us don't know much more about politics other than there's, you know, three branches of government we might remember a little bit from a high school class. Otherwise, we don't really know much about the politicians except for what we see in commercials or when it's time to vote and we get that big pamphlet and just a bunch of words and a picture. For most of us, that's it.
That's all we know. And it was so different for me when you first ran because I knew you personally and that made all the difference in the world. And now you think, well, what if everybody could know all the different politicians personally and not just what the commercial says that was put out by the other side or what a newspaper article is even, but they just really know who you are and what it is they're actually voting for.
[00:04:32] Speaker B: Right, Right.
[00:04:33] Speaker C: So that's the goal. And I'm so excited to do this with you.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: Yeah. I just think it's so important that that is known. You know, it makes him a huge difference. So, again, I guess my goal with this would be to kind of take out the. It's not that it's scary, but maybe it just seems overwhelming. I mean, I didn't grow up in politics. I wasn't a poli sci major or spend my life in the political world. I got into this three, four years ago just from doing Life My Life, and decided, oh, I want to pivot. I want to try this. So I guess that, you know, one of my major goals is to just make the whole political scene or who you're voting on not seem so Overwhelming and be able to really just talk about it on a very basic level.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: I think you hit the nail on the head when you use the word overwhelming. That's probably how a lot of us feel when we think or talk about politics now. We are going to cover so many legislation topics as our episodes continue. But I love that this is also a place where we get to know you as a person, not just a politician. Today's episode has a theme of beginnings. We want to know about the beginning of your political career, but first, will you share about the beginning of your life? So where are you from and what was your childhood like?
[00:05:53] Speaker B: So the personal question about where am I from? And my childhood is a whole story in itself, but the short version is, you know, I was adopted. And so we'll start with my birth parents, whom I didn't know until I was in my 30s. But they my birth dad was from New York. My birth mom really traveled all over, but essentially we'll say Alaska.
They went to college in Oregon and that's where they met. So I was adopted when I was three days old. My adoptive parents are from my dad's from here in Oregon. My mom came from Pennsylvania when she was a child. And they raised me right here in District 24 for most of my life. I think we moved here when I was five, but we moved from not too far away. And I so grew up out between Wilhelmina and Sheridan. Funny thing is though, is that my birth dad was very and is still very interested in politics and he actually worked on one of our previous governor's campaign when he was going to school here in Oregon. So that was fun, you know, funny to find that out later in life. My dad that raised me, he's also very much into politics, but from the standpoint that many people are where he's watching the news constantly and very aware of what's going on, but he loves following my political journey. So growing up, I grew up on a farm, about 40 acres. My grandparents lived up above us. And so it was a very sweet childhood. We had all kinds of animals and went to a very small school in Wilhelmina from kindergarten all the way through high school. Small school allows you to do all the things they offer if you want. So I was involved in everything that I could and loved it all. Loved the music aspect. I very much am passionate about music. And so I was in the jazz choirs and did piano and also loved sports and did all of the sports from basketball, track, cheerleading, softball, all the things. So childhood was fun, but growing up rural and then being even more rural on a farm led to me always just wanting to be involved and very social was very extroverted. My family is a little less than me and so I was always pushing them to go do more and to be involved in everything I could. Grew up with a fondness for animals because they were all around me and I had definitely had my share of chores to do with those animals. So I mean I can muck a stall, I can ride a horse bareback, can do all those things. But the second part of childhood or getting into high school, then, you know, then I entered into the shopping mall era and enjoyed all the girly things. So I think I got a really good balance of both in my childhood.
[00:08:49] Speaker A: From mucking stalls to shopping. All part of what makes you you.
[00:08:53] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: Well already I have so many follow up questions, but we will get to those in future episodes. Now I'm going to pivot to our legislation question of the episode and continuing on with the theme of beginnings. When and how did you decide to run for office? And maybe as you explain your experience, you can also just explain how anyone would begin the process of becoming a state representative.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Yes, how to become a state representative. Mine was truly organic. I wasn't pursuing life and politics at all. I was living my life as a small business owner, mom, wife, all the things. And the former state representative from our area contacted me and said that he thought I should consider running for office. And I knew him, not super close, but knew of him more than just as our state republic and very much respected him. And so I was just curious and didn't know why we were having this conversation. But I guess during those early moments I realized that there are people that are passionate about the whole process and they have packs and they are working on recruiting potential candidates and trying to figure out, you know, who would be best down the road right there.
[00:10:19] Speaker C: For anyone listening, what is a pac?
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Good question. A PAC is a political action committee and those are formed to. It's a way to raise funds to support a candidate. And candidates have their own PACs usually. And so when they're out campaigning and people donate to them, that is where their money goes to pay for their campaign signs or host a fundraiser or do whatever. Or you have PACs that aren't necessarily tied to one candidate, but they have common goals. And so they use their funds and their pack to support maybe several candidates that line up with their goals. So yeah, so there were those things exist right here in House District 24, probably all over Oregon and so there's a couple different ways that came at me. One was through our former representative. Another was through someone that had a pack in our area. And he sort of was a little more sly about it. He was vetting me without me knowing by just getting to know me and asking questions. But they were all working together. And eventually I decided, after lots of talks with my husband and my family, and because it really changed, obviously it changes one's life, I decided to go for it. And that took a couple years, honestly, to get there. And then there was that whole process. But there is another way. The other way is probably more traditional, and that is through one of your local parties. So, you know, there's the Democrat Party and the Republican Party are probably the two most obvious ones. There's lots of them, but those are the two biggest ones in America. So right here in Yamhill county, we have the Yamhill County Democrats, and we have the Yamhill County Republicans. And in each of those groups, you have PCPs or precinct committee person, and those are people that say, hey, I'm interested in politics. I want to, I want to dive in a little more. It's at the very, the most local level, the smallest sort of election you can win within this, this realm. So you just say, I want to be a PCP within one of these groups. And then they, they elect lots of PCPs. And usually when the Democrats or the Republicans are looking for who they're going to put forward in the next election, they will pull from their PCPs. So those are people that are just already interested in it and they might have a little more understanding of the, the local temperature and the political world for their area.
[00:12:52] Speaker C: It's so interesting hearing you share the different paths to become a legislator. Again, most people don't know. They just see names that appear and don't know the path forward.
Now, recently you shared a much longer answer to this question about how you became a legislator and maybe some of the lessons you've learned and how it's gone for you over these past few years. Maybe we could take just a moment and tell the viewers of this podcast how they can find that recording and maybe go back and watch what you share shared at story night.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: Yes, I'll let you tell them how to find it. But I'll tell you what I said.
[00:13:30] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: So prior to being involved in the political world, I was a small business owner along with my husband, and we have several small businesses here in McMinnville and throughout the state a bit. And So I was just all in doing that. And with being in the small business, business world, you try to be involved in your community and do what you can to promote your businesses. So I, I was involved with our local chamber of commerce. I was on our local downtown association board, I was on a local school board. And all of those boards, lucky me, when I was on them, seemed to be having some, some tough waters that they were going through. And I happen to be sort of in charge at the time that those difficult times hit. So with the chamber, I was serving as the chair, and there was some difficult things that the city was going through with business owners. And it drew quite a crowd and, you know, sort of lines were drawn and people were heightened with their emotions. And I got to navigate that and sort of help people walk through it with the school, school board, sort of the same thing. There was just some real tough, tough things that were happening and lots of emotion. And so again, I was chair at the time and having to navigate that. They both were pretty public. And I think that's where our state representative saw me. And he just said, you know, I think that you would be a good fit for this because you clearly don't have a problem tackling the hard things and getting up and talking to angry crowds.
So while I appreciated his observation, I still thought he was nuts. Like, why, why would I do that? But I will say I was always interested in politics and even in college, I. My very first major declared was political science. But it was a short little window where I decided, no, I wanted to do something that would work well with our family, and I knew my wanted lots of children. So my degree is actually in education and I spent the first half of my career in education and then pivoted towards small business.
So it, it was, it was a journey because while I don't mind speaking in crowds, my husband very much doesn't like that, nor does he want to be in the paper or have attention drawn. And the political world is all about. About that. That was. There were a lot of conversations that we had to have, not to mention practical ones, about, like. Well, I mean, I. He and I were definitely working all of our working hours to our businesses. So then who was going to take my spot for that?
[00:16:13] Speaker C: Right?
[00:16:14] Speaker B: So like I said, it took a couple years to get everyone on board and to figure out all of those details, but the doors opened when they should, I think, and. And then here I am.
[00:16:24] Speaker C: Yeah, well, we're very grateful for your husband and kids being on board that, that we now get to have you as our state representative. And to Denny's credit, while he may not like public speaking, he gave the best father of the bride speech I have ever heard in like 40 weddings that we have been to. So good job, Denny. Now we'll get to talk more about how you guys met and built your family. In future episodes, we'll hear more about what you're doing as a, as a legislator, what you do during your day. Like what do state representatives do? Is this a full time job, a part time job? There's so much more that we get to talk about and hopefully just get to educate Oregonians on what's going on. Like I said, in a, in a friendly way. So that's the goal. Thank you for taking some time to do this. And as mentioned, you shared your full story at Story Night last week and we're so glad you did that. It was wonderful. I know the ladies had a great time and it was funny and it was interesting. So viewers, if you have no idea what we're talking about, Story Night is a community outreach for ladies where real women share real stories of real hope. You can visit storynighthope.com to learn all about the history of Story Night and to see the recording of Lucetta's story. So for anybody who missed it and for men, we know we don't really let you in to the Ladies Night, so if you want to hear her story, you can actually see it on the Story Night website. We will have that link in the episode notes as well. Well, Lucetta, thank you so much for taking time to do this again. I know your schedule is busy and it's so fun to just sit here and talk life and legislation with you Oregonians. We hope you enjoyed this very first episode of Life and Legislation with Lucetta. Hopefully you got to know her a little bit more personally and have some new information about what she does professionally. We hope that you stay tuned, come back for our next episode like us and subscribe, share with all of your friends and we will see you next time on Life and Legislation with Lucetta.
