We Can’t Do This Without You

I was raised to believe that when people gathered for a meal, no one started eating until everybody had a seat.

Maybe that sounds simple, but to me, it was one of the first lessons in community: notice who’s missing, make room for them, and don’t rush ahead pretending the table is full when somebody still needs a seat.

That’s the spirit I’m bringing into this moment in Pennsylvania’s 199th District.

I know this community includes people who have been showing up for years, people who just registered and are still finding their footing, and people who care deeply but stepped back after feeling ignored, talked over, or asked for their vote without ever feeling truly heard.

I understand that.

When people are disappointed long enough, other folks may call it apathy. I disagree. I think a lot of people step back from politics because they cared, paid attention, hoped things might change, and got tired of feeling like politics completely ignored their real lives.

There is still a seat for you here.

You don’t have to explain why you got tired, or pretend you haven’t been frustrated. You can bring your questions, your doubts, your disappointment, and whatever hope you still have left. All of that belongs here, because this campaign has always been about telling the truth about where we are.

Community is built in conversation — at doors, in coffee shops, outside schools, at church, at the grocery store, at the gym, and in all the ordinary places where people tell the truth about what life is really like. It grows when neighbors talk honestly about water, schools, rising costs, and the feeling that they are working as hard as they can but still falling behind. It grows when someone who has always voted one way takes a closer look and wonders whether this community needs something different now. 

If you voted for the incumbent before, I’m not asking you to feel embarrassed or apologize for a choice you made. I’m simply asking you to look honestly at this moment, at what the 199th District needs, and at whether the people who live here are being listened to the way they deserve.

It’s okay to choose something different this time. It’s okay to vote for someone who knows this place, loves this place, and understands that the people who live here are not an afterthought.

Voting is bigger than a party label or a campaign sign. It’s one way we say our families, neighborhoods, schools, water, roads, jobs, rent, parents, children, and futures are important enough to shape decision-making.

Make no mistake. Those decisions will be made either way. The question is whether the people living with the outcome will have a voice in them.

Too many people have been made to feel like politics is a locked room where decisions happen somewhere else, by people who already have access, while regular families are left to deal with the consequences. Then, when election season comes around, those same families are expected to show up as if they’ve been included all along.

That’s not good enough.

Public service means the people come first, and the concerns that people carry every day are not just background noise. Affording groceries, keeping schools safe and supported, protecting clean water, creating good-paying jobs, maintaining roads, strengthening housing, supporting aging services, finding child care, and giving families some breathing room are real, meaningful issues.

That’s why participation is paramount.

Everyone cannot give the same, and I know that. A person working two jobs, raising children, caring for an aging parent, managing their health, or simply trying to keep a household steady may not have the same time or energy as someone else. Campaigns are built by people who offer what they can manage.

Simple acts add up when they are rooted in love for a community. 

A conversation can change what someone believes is possible, a neighbor can remind someone their voice still matters, and one person coming back can make it easier for someone else to believe there is room for them, too. 

The future of the 199th District should be shaped by the people who live with these decisions every day: families with children in our schools, neighbors worried about clean water, seniors and caregivers navigating services, workers on roads that keep getting busier, renters watching costs climb, and communities seeing farms and neighborhoods changed by development. 

These are our lives.

Our lives deserve to be represented with care, courage, honesty, and accountability.

That is why I am reminded of the image of the table. The table is not mine. It belongs to the people who have been here all along, the young people voting for the first time, the families trying to hold everything together, the workers who are tired, the parents who are worried, the caregivers who are stretched, the neighbors who stepped away for a while, and the people who still believe we owe one another more than cynicism.

Even if you got discouraged, stepped back, or started to wonder whether your voice still mattered, your place in this community is still here. There is still time to take your seat.

I believe something better is possible here, but hope cannot stay only a feeling. At some point, hope becomes a plan, a conversation, a door knocked, a ballot cast, a ride offered, a post shared, a call made, or a neighbor brought along.

So here is my invitation.

Check your registration, make your voting plan, talk to your neighbors, and vote. Bring someone with you, especially someone who cares about this community but has started to wonder whether their voice still matters.

If you have time to give, we would be grateful to have you volunteer with the campaign. That can mean knocking doors, making calls, talking with neighbors, helping at events, sharing a post, or offering your gifts in whatever way you are able. Visit https://www.stallworthforpa.com/ to fill out the volunteer form and let us know how you would like to help.

If you are able to give financially, your donation helps us reach more voters, expand our outreach across the district, and make sure people hear directly from a campaign rooted in service, community, and real representation. To donate, visit https://secure.actblue.com/donate/stallworthforpa.

There is still a seat for you here, and just like I was taught growing up, we don’t begin until everyone has a place at the table.

Without you here, this community is missing a vital voice.

We can’t do this without you.