Douglas Crockett

Douglas Crockett graduated from Fort Chiswell High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Emory & Henry University in 1979, graduated from the Gammon Theological Seminary in 1985, and earned a law degree from the Marshall Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary in 1998. His career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm running for the House of Representatives in the Ninth District. I'm a retired United Methodist minister (ordained elder) and retired Virginia attorney. I am running because the country is headed in the wrong direction. I am from Wythe County. I live in Wytheville Virginia. I've been married for 44 years to my wife who is from Buchanan County. We met at Emory & Henry where I attended college, got a B.A. in Business and Economics, played football, and ran track. I committed myself to a life of service in my early 20s . I have been in the struggle for over 40 years on issues of poverty, race, women's issues, environmental issues, and peace issues from the perspective of law and ministry. I am a progressive but I truly believe that we will not achieve the lasting prosperity that we all want and need until progressives and conservatives agree to work together toward that common goal. I worked two years at the Abingdon Westinghouse plant, went to seminary, and worked 10 years full time in the church, and then went to law school and after law school, I worked in both law full-time and as a pastor part-time. My wife and I have two adult children and 3 grandchildren. I have an older adult daughter who has 3 children and one grandchild in Wythe County. I would love to have your vote. We get the government that we choose. We are personally responsible for the deeds of the government.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Hyperpartisanship on the left and right is tearing us apart as a nation and holding us back from lasting prosperity. We must have unity in order to have prosperity. Republicans and Democrats are growing further and further apart. This division is self-defeating in our community. There are outsiders who are creating and fostering the division for their own benefit. It's time we turn to each other and not on each other. If we care enough and try hard enough we can work together. Those who gain from our division don't want us to talk to each other. We need to reject their meddling and do what is in our best interest. Unity is in our best interest for the good of ourselves, our neighbors, and our region.Getting older as a nation is natural, but growing up into the best version of ourselves as a nation takes some real effort. It is incumbent upon us as a nation to courageously face our big problems and issues. We need to live up to our ideals or else what we achieve will always have a stain. We need to tackle the issues of women's rights and racism with fairness. We need to tackle the issue of immigration with compassion. We need to tackle the issue of discrimination against the LGBTQIA community nonjudgmentally. We need to address our changing environment so that future generations will have a livable world. We do not want American prosperity without American maturity.Lasting prosperity in the Ninth District is the main goal. Lasting prosperity must be earned while embracing unity and American maturity. The median household income in the Ninth District is about $30,000 below the national average. We are also behind in health care, broadband, and infrastructure. We have a higher poverty rate. Young people are moving away because of a lack of employment opportunities here. It is my understanding that our economic issues can be traced back to companies taking the resources and not investing back in communities. Those resources powered the nation. We need the nation to step up and give back to the region with a mass infusion of dollars to address these issues.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about tax policy and how it can be used to incentivize a no region to be left behind policy. With proper tax policy we can end food deserts, maternity deserts, broadband deserts, affordable housing deserts, etc. in the Ninth District. I am also passionate about removing the policies across many policy areas that disincentivize trying to improve one's financial situation by giving assistance with one hand and taking something else away with the other. For instance a person receives disability income and SNAP benefits are withdrawn. I am also passionate about immigration policy, anti-discrimination policy, and environmental policy.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I am inspired by the example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He did not just work against the effects of racism but also against the social ills created by materialism and militarism. I believe he exhibited the ideal of Christian patriotism. That is to take responsibility for the actions of your democratically elected government and work to get justice and fairness for those on the margins and struggling to eat, be housed, and find comfort. I am also inspired by my parents and grandparents who modeled faith, hard work, loyalty (married over 50 and 70 years respectively), morality, and humility.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Qualified, trustworthiness, loyalty, honesty, and responsibility

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To represent all the people. To work to create, support, and pass good laws that help and don't hurt good people. To work to prevent, oppose, and vote against bad laws that hurt good people.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be known as a serious Christian statesman; that I was a serious person who took my responsibility as a representative seriously; and a person who approached the issues with intelligence, rational deliberation, and insight for the common good.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked underground in the zinc mine in Ivanhoe Virginia for the New Jersey Zinc Company in the summer during college on swing shift.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Unfortunately, the struggle to overcome racism and racial stereotypes is one that I have struggled with. More lasting than slavery is the prejudice and racism against people of African descent that affects people over 150 years after the end of slavery. There is the overt racism like what occurred shortly after my interracial marriage in 1982 when I was threatened with gun violence by a white man brandishing a firearm because my wife was white and I was black. Then there is the lasting atmosphere of a stigma ingeniously designed and carried out that can cloud the truth that we are all brothers and sisters with the lie that one is better, smarter, etc. because of their ancestry.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Large number of members (435) in one policymaking body in the federal government, representiatives provide regional representation and connection to the people within states, legislative power of the purse, holds impeachment power to removing a president, only a two-year tenure until another election, formality

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Preserving a liveable environment, managing the deficit, maintaining and strengthening the social safety net, restoring and creating laws that affirm and protect the dignity and safety of every person regardless of race, color, sex, oriention, immigration status, etc., and successfully absorbing the impact of the technologies related to artificial intelligence

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

There is a place for compromise in policymaking; however, there are some things that should not be compromised on in policymaking. A liveable environment, a woman's right to privacy in her body, and the dignity of every person are too important to cut corners on. On things upon which I cannot compromise in policymaking, I will try to understand and help address the concerns on the other side by other means.

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

The assassination of John Kennedy November 22, 1963.