You should run for office in West Virginia.  And now is the time.

In a democracy, we get the government we deserve. For years, our politics has become more cruel, divisive, and out of touch.  Lawmakers scream at each other about the stuff that doesn't matter.  Meanwhile, the problems we all agree on (jobs, drugs, schools) go unsolved.

Look at the numbers.  This past year, 29 percent of city council races in West Virginia's 10 largest cities went uncontested.  Meanwhile, our state legislature looks nothing like our state: working class people, women, young people, people of color, and even middle class people are all underrepresented in the State Capitol.

There are three things you can do about it.  1. You can run.  2. You can encourage someone else to run.  3. You can volunteer on a campaign.

If you are interested in any of those things, please sign-up on the form to the right.  In 2017, we will be offering 4 candidate trainings around the state - these are for new candidates, old candidates, campaign managers, and folks who think they might want to run in the future.  By signing up, we promise to keep you in the loop as we schedule these trainings.

In 2015, we trained 108 people.  36 of them have already run, and an astonishing 22 already won their first primary and/or general election!  

We train folks from all parties on how to run campaigns that can win, while also remaining accountable to our communities and their needs.  

This non-partisan West Virginia Candidate Training Academy is organized by the Our Children, Our Future Campaign -- and supported by the WV Secretary of State's Office, the WV Community Development Hub, the WV Chamber of Commerce Executives, the WV AFL-CIO, TEAM for WV Children, WV Citizen Action Group, the Sierra Club, Generation WV, the WV State School Board Association, the WV Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, the League of Women Voters, and many others.