Gwen Mason – Candidate for the 17th House District

by Jessica Smocer

Farm Team endorsed Delegate candidate Gwen Mason is frank when speaking about the Virginia’s 17th District. “People want a drama-free government that can provide services in an efficient way.   Our citizens want and deserve elected leadership that provides funding for their schools, funding for services and they desire effective people in office representing them.”

Gwen Mason grew up in Richmond, arguing current events around the dinner table with her parents, Dick and Gene Williams.  Her dad was a lawyer and judge and her mother an advocate of public libraries and the arts.

Choosing a career in public service and participating in “the sacred privilege of American democracy” was a clear choice for Gwen.   Her interest in natural resources led her to a career with the Department of the Interior, where she worked for 13 years. When her husband Billy was offered a position in Roanoke in 2000, Gwen embraced the opportunity to move to beautiful southwestern Virginia and be at home with their young children.

Gwen quickly became involved in political races at the national, state, and local levels. Her experience sparked her appetite for local government and when a Roanoke city council seat came up in 2006, she decided to run.

She worried about the impact on her family, the public exposure, the potential for being embarrassed in the media, and making certain she understood all of the complex issues going into the campaign.  But Gwen felt the stakes were too high, the issues too important, to sit by and not run. “My knees were knocking and my teeth were chattering,” she recalls.  Gwen’s ticket of independent Democrats swept all three Council seats in the May 2006 election. Once in office, Gwen got right to work representing the people of Roanoke.

When the 17th House of Delegates seat came open unexpectedly in February 2009, there was much less time to decide.  But deciding to enter the statehouse race was the right decision.  The Masons’ children, ages 11 and 14, “are rooting for me, totally engaged in the process and understanding of the time the campaign is taking,” she laughed, “…the kids and my husband are also somewhat forgiving of the lack of daily grocery procurement and the occasional bowl of sugar cereal for dinner.”

Gwen has a proven track record of building consensus on the City Council, and has been well received by the Democrats and Republicans in the City of Roanoke who elected her in 2006. As a candidate for the 17th District House of Delegates seat, Gwen is committed to aggressively pursuing economic growth and development, increasing educational opportunities, and maintaining the fine quality of life people enjoy in the Roanoke Valley.  The 17th district includes parts of Botetourt County, Roanoke County and Roanoke City, and Gwen has received wide ranging support for her candidacy.

While her opponent as of this posting has yet to be identified in a hotly contested primary, Gwen has been vigorously campaigning throughout her community, speaking to constituents and listening to their very real concerns. They are her allies in their impatience with the bickering and the partisanship in Richmond. “People tell me how tired they are of the fussing in Richmond…they want responsible leadership…[T]hey want experience and they need someone to get the job done.”

As she makes the rounds of the district, Gwen said, “I have a vision for the 17th district.  With our people and resources, we build on our sound economic foundation to attract new jobs, expand educational opportunities and make southwestern Virginia more competitive.”

For more information on Gwen Mason please go to: www.masonfordelegate.com
Gwen Mason is a Farm Team endorsed candidate and we encourage you to support her campaign.