Listen Up with Host Al Neely
Hi, I'm Al Neely. I've spent most of my life asking, " Why do people behave a certain way? Why don't people understand that most everyone wants basically the same thing? Most everyone wants their fundamental need for peace of mind, nourishment, shelter and safety."
What I have learned is that because of an unwillingness to open one's mind to see that some of the people you come in contact with may have those same desires as you do. We prejudge, isolate ourselves, and can be hesitant to interact, and sometimes we can be belligerent towards one another. This is caused by learned behavior that may have repeated itself for generations in our families.
What I hope to do with this podcast is to introduce as many people with as many various cultures, backgrounds, and practices as possible. The thought is that I can help to bring different perspectives by discussing various views from my guests that are willing to talk about their personal experiences.
Hopefully we all will learn something new. We may even learn that most of us share the same desire for our fundamental needs. We may just simply try to obtain it differently.
Sit back, learn, and enjoy!
Listen Up with Host Al Neely
The Classroom to Capitol Journey: Cheryl Smith's Run for Virginia Delegate
Cheryl Smith brings a refreshing perspective to politics after dedicating 38 years to educating Virginia's children. In this candid conversation, she shares what compelled her to run for Virginia's 98th District Delegate seat after decades in the classroom.
Growing up in a military family during the Vietnam War shaped Smith's worldview profoundly. While her father served overseas for nine months at a time, she was raised by what she calls "a community of women" who supported each other through difficult times. This early experience of solidarity forms the foundation of her political philosophy today—rebuilding community connections in an increasingly divided society.
Smith's decision to challenge incumbent Barry Knight came after learning about three critical constitutional amendments needing protection: reproductive rights, marriage equality, and restoration of voting rights. "No one was running," she explains, "so my family told me, 'Mom, you need to do it.'"
Throughout our discussion, Smith articulates her six-plank platform with passionate clarity. Her advocacy for veterans stems from her own family's military service, while her commitment to education addresses not just classroom issues but the family stability essential for learning. When discussing reproductive freedom, she moves beyond polarized abortion debates to highlight women's healthcare access as a fundamental right.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn when Smith reveals what she's learned from firefighters on the campaign trail—including inadequate cancer screenings despite constant exposure to carcinogens and limited mental health support despite high suicide rates. "They keep our cities alive," she says with visible emotion, "and we're not doing better by them."
Whether discussing affordable housing, environmental protection for flood-prone Virginia Beach, or her unequivocal support for marriage equality, Smith speaks with the practical wisdom of someone who's spent a lifetime helping others thrive. "A donation to my campaign," she concludes, "is not a gift to me—it's an investment in us."
Join us for this eye-opening conversation with a candidate who brings decades of community service to her first political campaign.
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Hello everyone. I'm Al Neely with Listen Up Podcast and today we have Cheryl Smith. She's running for Virginia State Delegate in the 98th District of Virginia. Virginia Beach, virginia Beach, okay.
Speaker 2:Well, it's 98th in Virginia, but it is a Virginia Beach district.
Speaker 1:Okay, it's been explained to me before, but how many actual districts are there?
Speaker 2:Okay, In the state of Virginia we have 100 delegates.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So that's 100 different districts, and it's mostly by they set them up by population. So Virginia Beach, we have what? Six different districts, and mine happens to be the biggest just because I'm the Southern part of Virginia Beach.
Speaker 2:So, I have Oceana all the way over to the ocean front, all the way over to the Chesapeake border, down to the North Carolina border, all of Pungo, Every, if you go to Kellum High School, Ocean Lakes High School, a little bit of First Colonial, a little bit of Landstown. It's a big district but it's a lot of land.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's pretty spread out Very diverse yeah.
Speaker 2:The Southern part is yes, yeah, your background.
Speaker 1:So your background you were a elementary school teacher. I was.
Speaker 2:I was a teacher Chesapeake Public Schools. I taught for 38 years and I started out in middle school. I like middle school. It's not my favorite. I did a little bit in high school as well, but when I got my elementary job, that's I just love. I love the younger kids. I coached middle school, coached high school, but I love teaching with the elementary. So no, not a politician, nothing about politics.
Speaker 1:All right, you're from a military background.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am.
Speaker 1:Your father was in the military. Your mother was a nurse.
Speaker 2:Correct.
Speaker 1:So what inspired you to want to run for an office in Virginia?
Speaker 2:Well, my dad definitely was military. My brother also was a Navy SEAL and one of my nieces is also in Navy intelligence and so I do have that military background. Mom's a nurse, mom was always the helping one, so I don't know. Back in the 70s it was imagine the Vietnam War my dad goes out to sea and he's, all you know, gone for nine months. You know, during the Vietnam War those cruises were a little bit longer and the women in the community all pulled together and they helped each other out. They raised, we were raised. I was raised by a community of women.
Speaker 1:Where'd you grow up? Where'd you live?
Speaker 2:Everywhere East coast, west coast, east coast, west coast and Virginia Beach.
Speaker 2:I didn't come to Virginia Beach until 75. So we were in Florida, I was in California, we were in Maryland, we were um would be Island, washington. Wow Was when my dad was. Mostly was the Vietnam war time. So it's a community of women that all took care of each other. We knew what was going on with every family. We helped everybody out. The men, when they were home, were like the fathers for everyone and we would all go out and play together. I mean, it was just a community. And so now I see my neighbors in my community and I'm just, I'm disappointed that I walked down the street, I ride my bike and I walk my dogs a lot and I say hello, good morning, to everybody. And some people will say hello back and others just they're like, you know, grumpy, miserable, don't talk to me, kind of thing. And so even in my neighborhood I've been trying to make just my neighborhood a little bit more community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so just thinking about that same thing today, people are so angry. Yes, right, and I think, as a coach and a father and a leader, yeah, people reflect their leaders, right. So, um, right now we're in some really angry times in politics. Everyone's angry Um it, it, it's very, very.
Speaker 2:I think it's, yeah, I think it's very sad yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But that's actually not why I decided to run. Yeah, I was just doing things for my neighbors when I retired from teaching. I was just helping some of the older neighbors. I got involved with helping veterans and that kind of thing, just trying to make at least my street a little bit more fun. But I worked with a member of Virginia Democrats and I just went to a meeting in February. I was going to help out the Spamburger campaign anybody else, I'm a worker bee. I was going to canvas or write postcards or do whatever they needed. And I realized that when they were talking they were talking about the three amendments that need to be passed and if the Democrats do not win the majority this year, the I just make sure I have them right the reproductive rights amendment.
Speaker 1:We'll talk about that. We'll address that in a few.
Speaker 2:The Marriage Equality Act and the restoration of voting rights.
Speaker 1:Right, and those are the things that you're running on, yeah.
Speaker 2:Those are the six main issues that your platform is based on. Nobody for the Democrats was running. So I went home and I said my son happened to be home. My daughter was home, my husband I'm like dudes, you know, can you believe this? No one's running. He's going to win again, and so they were like mom, you need to do it.
Speaker 1:Who are you? Who was my husband? Your husband is your opponent. Oh no, no, I'm sorry, my opponent, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:I thought who was I talking?
Speaker 1:to.
Speaker 2:My opponent is Barry Knight. Okay, he introduces himself as a humble farmer, but when he got elected he got himself a nice little helicopter and doesn't farm anymore. So I don't think he's really representing the farmers, and he's certainly not representing those of us farther north in the 98th district who are, you know, families. There's just a lot of working families.
Speaker 1:So I see.
Speaker 2:So here I am.
Speaker 1:One of the things that your your priorities as far as your platform is protecting veterans. Let's talk about that for a little bit.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, veterans. My father is a veteran Vietnam War and as he's gotten older and his friends I mean these are families I've known for home all my life, you know, and now that they're getting older and they're having other issues, and so many of the veterans that came back, I remember my mother sitting in front of the TV when some of these veterans would come back, you know, and she's just in tears because they were being spit on, they were being having things thrown at them. You know they didn't choose to go fight, they did what they were told, and so I have always just that community. It's like you know they deserve to be treated better than that.
Speaker 2:A lot of them got into the military for whatever reasons, but they weren't. I don't think they necessarily wanted to go out into wars, into fighting SD, like we've got all these veterans that because of the loud concussions and their, you know, brains have been damaged from all the concussions, the chemicals, from the fires. You know they didn't ask for all that. They're serving our country and so that's always been a part of the community that I just felt I wanted to help out a little bit more. So I started working with Old Dominion Honor Flight and they find veterans from we've been finding them from Vietnam, korean War, world War II, and we've been giving them a special day bus trips up to DC to see their memorials and stuff. But so I've just, you know, and I've met some wonderful veterans with that and just it's a great community that I just want to make sure they have their benefits and I want to make sure that they're taken care of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're. They're often forgotten about, like you said, once you get you come back um. I just started, I just think they just started being able to shed a light on the PTSD issues you know, and it's because of the movies.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But I also remember growing up and watching family members come back from Vietnam and just how it affected them. Yeah, and there was no explanation for it at the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So it is by us living in this area. You know we're everything is military in this area. So it does shed light on those areas for them. Yeah, another one of your platform issues or priorities is public school, public education.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:And that's probably your passion, wouldn't you say that is my passion. That's where you spent most of your life.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I just think children are so important. I mean they're I don't care rich, poor, the color of your skin, what language you speak. Children are absolutely amazing and they are all brilliant. They all have their own talents and their own abilities and I always wondered if each child could have just its basic needs good food, a decent house, parents who love them, parents who helped out with their education and just gave them the opportunities to succeed and be whom they are, we would have a brilliant nation because our kids are so, I mean, they're so diverse and they're so amazing and they have just so much abilities and talents. I would love to see that we improve not just our education, because it's not just about education. You have to improve families, because when you've got kids that come to school and they're hungry and they're tired and you know they're not I had a child who seventh grade he came to school one day before everybody else and he's sitting at the door of my classroom and he's in tears.
Speaker 2:So this little 13 year old, I brought him in, asked him you know what was wrong, do you want to talk? And he's like I'm afraid when I go home my mother's going to be dead. I was like, wait what? And so father, alcoholic, got angry, took an ax, mothers locked the kids and themselves in the room and he's banging on the door, and you know what movie scenes we're thinking of. And so the mom escaped, got him, got the kids to the neighbor's house and I said Well, honey, the police came, you know it should be safe, she goes. No, mom dropped me off early because she's going to the police station to go get him out of jail. And you know, kids can't, they can't focus on education or tests or anything else.
Speaker 2:It's survival have a little bit better. Maybe we increase pay and insurance so that they have health care and make sure they have good homes and the families aren't struggling all the time. I had so many kids whose families parents two or three jobs, so the kids would be up till nine, 10, 11 o'clock at night eating potato chips for dinner because the parents are trying to work their second and third job.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know. So it's not just about education, it's taking care of the families too.
Speaker 1:I hear stories about children coming to school and they're hungry. Oh, yes, okay, if we do away with these programs that are going on now. I've always thought it was very difficult to do anything when I can't, I wasn't, I hadn't eaten, and I'm not nourished. Are we going to be in a situation in Virginia if elected and we get the right leadership? And are we going to be able to protect some of those rights you feel like?
Speaker 2:Yes Again with the Department of Education and all the funding that they're cutting. Plus now you know, with the DEI. Hey, if you do your DEI things at school, we're not going to give you this federal funding which pays for your Title I schools and lunch programs and that. So I do know a lot of the delegates that are already in. They have been discussing. We have to be the safety net. We have to make sure, if the federal government cuts this funding so we don't have these programs, we are going to have to be the ones that make sure the budget is changed and so our kids do not lose these programs. So that's why it's absolutely vital.
Speaker 1:What portion of the funds actually come from the state and from the federal government.
Speaker 2:As far as I know, a big portion of Title I funding is from the federal government and that's for food, that's for poverty areas. So when you're below a certain salary level or pay level and you've got a certain percentage of kids in your school that are at a poverty level, then you're a Title I school. So my schools we fed our kids breakfasts and they would walk in and there were bagged breakfasts already ready. You didn't have to ask, you didn't have to say anything. So even if you weren't technically a Title I kid, if your mom just didn't have time to make a breakfast, you got a breakfast.
Speaker 1:If you work in three jobs.
Speaker 2:You're right. So lunches and we had after-school programs and if the parents picked them up around dinnertime, we also, a lot of times, three times a week had dinners.
Speaker 1:Oh, really For the families.
Speaker 2:But that's all Title I funding and if that goes away, we're going to need to make sure Virginia's going to have to make sure that we can cover that for our kids, because we just can't. We can't let generations of kids just not have the basic things we want them to learn. We want them to succeed. You can't learn when you're hungry and you're tired and you're afraid to go home or you're worried about you know your parents are never home. I mean, it's just not. It's not fair.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Another one of your priorities is food and housing, which we're talking about the food part. But what are your, your plans for housing, affordable housing?
Speaker 2:And so I know, and I haven't had a chance again education was my thing and I'm still getting into this, but I need to sit down.
Speaker 2:We have some departments of housing, even in Virginia beach, and I want to sit down with them. But, for example, is it the state of Delaware? They have an amazingly successful housing department of housing kind of thing, where they've got low cost housing and if there's a family that needed a housing and they get you in, it's at a rate or it's at a rent that's not going to raise. They make sure you have a job, they will help you find a job. They do counseling with you, they help you set up a budget and they help you set up a savings account and then they try to help you with all this stuff so that by the end of the seven years or whatever, now you're able to go and get your own apartments or buy your own home, because they said it's not just affordable housing, but now we're going to teach you and we're going to help you get to that point.
Speaker 2:So I'd love to do a little bit more research on what we do in Virginia Beach or what does the state of Virginia do for that kind of thing, apartments, I just think. I mean I have three grown kids. I am still co-signing for adult kids' apartments. I am still co-signing for adult kids' apartments, my adult children who are college graduates, who are still, I mean they're working paycheck to paycheck.
Speaker 2:And I still have to co-sign because they want all this stuff. You got to show all this, got to show all that. Half the times they don't even look at their applications because, oh, you're not earning three times the rent of this apartment? Well, no, I'm not, but I was going to get a roommate, kind of thing. They don't care, it's just, it's a nightmare trying to do all that. There's got to be something that can be done at the state level to say, hey, you know, maybe just when you put in your application fee, does it have to be so expensive for an application fee? And how do we know these apartment places aren't just saying, sure, put your applications in and they're just they have no apartments but they're just collecting. Yeah, we'll call you. How do we know? I don't know.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to go ahead and give you a precursor to you having a debate with your opponent.
Speaker 2:Okay. So is that going to happen? I?
Speaker 1:hope, hopefully, you'll get the opportunity to debate him. But what do you say to those people that say these programs are just a burden for taxpayers and they are not helpful?
Speaker 2:Good question. I would have to say first of all, do you know these people? Have you met these people? Talk to these people, because there are so many hardworking people out there. Okay, the people that work in your grocery stores. Don't they deserve to at least earn a wage where they can pay for their own?
Speaker 2:If we gave them a living wage and they could afford food and all this stuff. We wouldn't have to pay money for SNAP benefits. We wouldn't have to be doing this. A lot of this comes down to good wages for people and giving people just opportunities. You know, sometimes we're all I mean. Look at all our federal workers now. Sometimes you lose your jobs. Okay, do we just say, well, sorry, you lost your job, you're just going to have to fend for yourself now. Or do we have programs set up Because, who knows, it could be you, you might be lost your job? How do we know social security now? Is there, don't our older people who have been working so hard for all their lives?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, don't they deserve Right?
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm just saying, I'm talking to people who are you know, naysayers.
Speaker 2:I just want to say that Right, but um, so I think I would just kind of. I am a people person and I have always been taught don't complain about something or don't make judgments until you've walked a mile in somebody else's shoes, and so that makes me stop to think okay, what are their situations? There's so many situations I don't know about, but the more I talk to people and the more I hear about them, it just makes me think, yeah, there's so many things, stories out there that folks just don't know. So we bring those people's stories to the front and maybe make them understand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have you found that now that you've been campaigning for office For?
Speaker 2:four whole months, for four whole months.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, if you're doing it right, you can cover a lot in four months.
Speaker 2:Yes you can, yes, you can.
Speaker 1:Have you found that you're running into situations and people that you never thought about and it's maybe broadening your viewpoint on things? Yes, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, I was just telling them upstairs. Two weeks ago I had a meeting with AFL-CIO and they brought in all these union workers, not just like the presidents, but the real workers, and they were all telling their stories. But, like the fire department, I am shocked that our cities don't take better care of our fire and rescue. Everybody loves fire and rescue, right, they're not Republican, they're not Democrat, they don't care who you are. They show up, they help you, they save lives and they are they're. They are fighting for, for example, cancer screenings. Virginia or the um, whoever is in charge of their insurance or whatever, is not even paying for cancer screenings. All the toxins in the carcinogens that they work in and are breathing in all the time. We owe it to them. They just want cancer screenings and then every three years cover that in their insurance. How hard is that? Like traumatic events, all the traumatic events. They go through PTSD. They have PTSD, just like all these other police and military and stuff.
Speaker 2:Suicide is the third leading cause of death with our firefighters. Did we know that? No, I had no clue, because they always seem emergency. Squad 51 was my favorite show growing up.
Speaker 1:You're probably too for that.
Speaker 2:Okay, they were my heroes. And to think that we're not even taking care of our fire department. Um, third leading cause of death was suicide and their coverage for mental health treatment. They were saying all you get is 52 weeks, that's it. And everybody else police, everybody else gets like 500 weeks if you need it for the rest of your career, whatever it takes. You know why aren't we doing that for our fire department? They want to change wording on a law with their insurance about workers' compensation. So workers' comp says we will cover throat cancer. Okay, so the doctors you know how technical they are will say something like oh, you have esophageal cancer or oropharyngeal cancer. Well, it doesn't say throat cancer, so they're not covering it. Well, it doesn't say throat cancer, so they're not covering it. So they're asking the delegates, they're asking the House of Delegates please change the wording on that, because the city mayors and the cities that they work for are not covering their expense.
Speaker 1:I mean seriously, is that?
Speaker 2:just the most ridiculous thing. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:You need to have compassion.
Speaker 2:So every day I'm talking to more people and I'm finding out this stuff and I just cannot believe we treat workers who are. They keep our cities alive, they help us out. We're not doing better by them. It just really makes me angry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah makes me angry yeah, yeah, um, probably a big one is right now is the reproductive freedoms and virginia's uh been hanging on, hanging in there. We have been um by the skin of the teeth. Yes, right, so it's a battle. How do you see that? You know what I?
Speaker 2:think. I really think and again this comes down to getting people out to vote in November because the majority of people really do want reproductive freedom, and it's not just about, I mean, we should have the freedom to choose when we're ready to start our families or if we don't want to start our families. People should have the right to choose. If a woman is like you know, I'm not sure what, if she's got an alcoholic husband or drug addictions or something, it's like this is just not the right time because I'm not ready to be a good mom, or we're not ready to have a family. A lot of people are putting off having a family because they just can't afford it. Kids. A lot of people are putting off having a family because they just can't afford it.
Speaker 1:Kids are expensive yeah.
Speaker 2:And shouldn't they have?
Speaker 1:the right.
Speaker 2:Yes, and shouldn't they have the right? Daycare is so expensive and everyone deserves the right to be able to choose. But it's not just about and this is where everybody gets all upset All they think of is the word abortion, oh my God. But there's so much more to that. There's just women's health issues. The states right now that have banned abortions or they've done like oh, you only have six weeks and then that's it. They are losing more women. More women are dying now because of miscarriages and whatever, because the doctors, if they just the smallest amount of a fetal heartbeat, will not treat him, and there are stories they're left sitting in the emergency rooms, they are being sent home and by the time they come back, toxins and everything. They can't save them. So it's a lot more than just, you know, reproductive rights. It's just health issues as well yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I, from what I understand, talking to women in my family um being able to go to a health clinic and just to get the help that you need. That's part of that. So I never thought about it, but I listened to the women that are around me and their opinions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like even Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood, everyone just focuses again just abortion. But they're in there just for daily checkups and making sure that you know cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infections and anything else they need. Sometimes it's just counseling, just. Sometimes it's just you know, there's so many things that go on and it's it's a very important program and everyone's trying to defund them and it's like no, you're just taking away a huge portion of women's healthcare. So you know, hopefully people will see that and not be so black and white, because there's so many gray areas and there's so much in their other people's stories.
Speaker 1:you just got to listen to people's stories yeah, um protecting the environment is another one of your priorities yes um, now for people that don't know Virginia Beach, there's been a rising tide for the last what? 10 to 15 years, it's very difficult to get insurance.
Speaker 2:I know down at the oceanfront Right.
Speaker 1:And the bay is warming, so it's changing the wildlife. That's there. What can we do at this point in Virginia?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I don't know. I mean, everybody's going to have to make their. Everyone's going to have to at some point. We're going to have to make changes. And I know everybody loves their luxury and we love, you know. There's the big thing now is the big trucks with burning all the gas and that kind of thing. We're just all going to have to to to make our own changes. We're going to have to get in and make some legislation, good legislation, so that we don't have big companies. Big companies just want to make money. They don't care if they pollute the air, they don't care if they pollute the rivers and the waterways, and you know. So we're going to have to make some legislation there in order to bring some of this stuff back. How do we get people to stop driving? Can we put in public transportation?
Speaker 1:You know, I just got back from oh, that's a sore point it is and I don't understand why.
Speaker 2:I just got back from Portugal my son lives there and they have these little trams and they're all little electric trams and they have these trams that you get on, show your little card because you paid your $1 or whatever and it takes you all over the place. You don't even have to. You don't have to own a car. He's never owned a car in his whole life because he's always lived in Europe and it's so easy and it's so simple and I don't know why we're fighting that here in the United States I think it's the car manufacturers, but I can't be sure we're going to have to do some things. Where do we build? You know you can't. Where do we build?
Speaker 2:We're going to have to keep our low-lying areas and I know Virginia Beach right now. People want to come in and take up some of that empty space we have in district 98 and they want to build their big I don't know big companies and their big whatever's. But we have to have regular land so that when we get all these rains the water can be absorbed. And we've got a lot of water, that drainage. We can't keep building houses because we've got to find a way to drain all the water into two places. I mean, it's just so. People are just going to have to come to grips with. Things are changing and we're just going to have to do do right by the land.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, Virginia beach has it. I was in a a town hall meeting we were talking about they were talking about discussing it with the residents of Virginia Beach.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Princess Anne area. Okay, where the?
Speaker 2:Field houses.
Speaker 1:The swamps and the marshlands are yeah. Those are all issues.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 1:Because they need to drain those areas. And how do they do it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, or should we? Should we even drain them Do? We need to leave it and I don't know, I don't know, that's a tough question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what is your stance on marriage equality?
Speaker 2:Absolutely we all should be free to marry whoever we want. No one told me who I had to marry, and if they did I would have gotten a little upset. You know, the government has no business telling us who we can and cannot marry. I just, I cannot even believe. Here we are in 2025 and we're still having that conversation.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What I don't understand. Why are people so upset? And if you're very religious, I appreciate that. If that's your thing. Well, if you don't want to marry somebody of the same sex, then don't marry somebody of the same sex, but we should be allowed to let people marry whom they want. It's just to me. That's a fundamental human right and government needs to stay out of it.
Speaker 1:I agree, definitely agree. Okay, so Cheryl needs funding. Okay, yes, so how can? Where can people go to donate? Well, the very best way is to find my website. Okay.
Speaker 2:Cheryl Smith for Virginia. Oh, cheryl Smith for Virginiacom is it acom? Cheryl smith for virginia, with the https slash thing. Okay, yeah, cheryl smith for virginia. And on there I have a donation where, if you wish to use a check, you can write a check to friends of Cheryl Bubeck Smith or you have a QR code. So I've got all that stuff and, if not, they can come by. I will be out in the neighborhoods, they can come visit me and I've got little QR codes. You can just put your phone up to it and make a little donation. So that would be super helpful.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And I have to say, if you don't mind I don't know how much time we have, but I was just telling one of my team members that I heard this quote, that it just stuck in my mind, okay. But it said and I wish I remember who said it now I should have written it down. And I wish I remember who said it now I should have written it down A donation to my campaign is not a gift to me, it is an investment in us.
Speaker 1:Isn't that awesome, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Because it would be an investing in us, because if I win, I can really get out there and help Virginians, and so I thought that is the perfect way to take a look at a donation to a campaign yes, the money doesn't go to me, it will be an investment to all of us.
Speaker 1:So if you like the policies that she's running on, invest, okay. Well, thank you for coming in and spending time with us today.
Speaker 2:This is a lot of fun. I appreciate the invitation.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. So that's it for today. Thank you for following us on Listen Up and we'll check you out next time on Listen Up.
