Chris Runion is the incumbent Republican candidate running for re-election to the House of Delegates to represent Virginia's 35th District, which includes parts of Augusta, Rockingham, Bath and Highland Counties. He previously represented Virginia's 25th District from when he first took office in 2020 until 2023. WMRA's Calvin Pynn asked Runion about what he's learned during his first few years in the House of Delegates.
Chris Runion: I'll tell you what I've learned in the General Assembly. A couple of things. Some are really good that there are folks that you can work across the aisle in both directions. And I call those handshake-type people. And, you know, Delegate Wilt gave me a lot of help as I got started in helping me identify and understand how the process really works. It appears that we fight like cats and dogs. We do not. We fight on cats and dogs issues because we're supposed to. Those are those value-based circumstances or those value-based issues that we're going to have differences of opinion, and we need to have those conversations. But so much of what we do is really driven by the goal to make people's lives better in the Commonwealth. How do we make the Commonwealth the best place to live, work, and raise our families? And that comes from different perspectives. I personally think you get the best solution to those by having conversations. And so, what I've learned over the last six years is... incumbent on me to reach out to everyone. Even with issues that I'm 99.999% sure I know what I'm doing, but it's important to me to hear what the other side has to say. The real success in our country and in our commonwealth is to have those conversations and reach the solutions that are best for everyone, again, without compromising our values, without disrespecting what other people have to say, but let's move forward to make the best opportunities available for our citizens.
WMRA: During this campaign so far, what have you heard from your constituents in terms of what they are maybe concerned about? But also, what are they interested in and what would they want to see addressed on a policy level and how you might address that in Richmond?
Runion: Yeah, great question. And each of us does this differently. I'll share with you that I now have 192,000 miles on my truck. Those are all from the last six years. Most of those miles are within the district. And because I do believe to do the job effectively, you have to get out where people are. You have to understand what's important in their lives. You have to see what's going on. I took a couple of days last week to drive out through rural Augusta and Rockingham to see where the broadband installations were going in, to make sure that the contractors were doing what they needed to do, or make sure the contractors didn't have any questions or things that our unique world creates that are obstacles for them. So that we could all work together, you know, the state, the local government, the contractors, the utilities, all work together to make sure we achieve what's important to our community. So, when you're out there listening, and I do that, you know, continuously, it's year-round.
And it's been interesting; there's not a whole lot that's different now than it was a couple of years ago. Folks are very pleased with the course the Commonwealth has taken. They like Governor Youngkin's leadership, they're pleased with the economic growth we've had, job opportunities, investment in education, investment in transportation, a recognition and an honest conversation, a true and transparent conversation about what's going on. So, people like the direction we're going. And what I'm hearing from the 35th District is: “let's stay the course. Let's continue along. Let's make sure that government does the things they're supposed to do effectively and efficiently, but make sure they stay in their lane.” And one of the big issues we've got that's a big concern in rural Virginia is this belief from urban Virginia that they need to tell us how to use our land. And what I'm specifically referring to is the renewable energy folks. So, whether it's windmills, we don't have areas so much for windmills, but solar. And let's have an open and honest conversation. How does that impact our community? How does it impact our region? And how does it impact our Commonwealth? And that's what I'm hearing from the 35th District. Those things haven't happened on very, positive things.
We're seeing a lot of folks excited about a focus on career and technical education and certificate programs. I've carried legislation to enhance our aviation technology maintenance program. Who would have thought that there'd be a robust aviation industry based at the Shenandoah Valley Airport and in Rockingham and Augusta counties? One of the big goals that I have personally is not to export our children. And I saw that historically in rural America and rural Virginia, opportunities weren't as available for folks when they grew up. And, you know, there are some, but the Valley's been very fortunate in that we've had a general expansion of business, not like the Northern Virginia uncontrolled growth, but we've had a very managed growth and very opportunity, but we're still need to make sure we provide adequate opportunities for our kids. Broadband's a part of that education program, education that meets the needs of both the student and the employer, which I see a focus over the last couple of years that has really improved and been enhanced. So those are some of the things that are important to me, and I think also important to our community.
WMRA: How do you facilitate those opportunities and create access at the policy level?
Runion: I appreciate that question, and I want to write down a couple of things. We want to talk about quantity or availability of educators, okay? And then we want to talk about the opportunities for their education, and the first thing we want to talk about is how do you get there, and that's the how or the what. It has to be you have to listen first. You have to say, what's important in my community? Go to parents and say, what's going on in your life? Go to kids and say, what are the decisions you're making? Or when they're talking to you, you listen. You know, the last several years, I've heard an awful lot of kids say: “I'm going to go to Blue Ridge and then transfer,” or “I'm going to go do this program instead of a traditional four-year model.” Some folks are saying: “I'm doing four-year model, but I'm doing it in this way.” It is all unique to what their needs are, but there's a component of affordability in it. And I didn't hear that six years ago, and to be honest, 10 years ago. You know, we ran down this path for a long, long time that said a four-year degree is your path to middle class. And in parts of society, that was true, or for time in society, that was true. And in parts for certain opportunities, that's still true as well. But I think we ignored those folks or those opportunities that were more hands-on or less traditional four-year educational model. That has switched around. And so, we went through this student debt crisis a few years ago. And, you know, we've had a big national discussion about that. The real issue there is that we had created a system that allowed for those debts to be incurred that people struggle to be able to afford to pay for it. So, I think we're pulling back. And what I'm really pleased to see is I'm hearing it out of the kids now. Not the mom and dad who are oftentimes writing the check. I'm hearing it from them too, but I'm hearing it out of the kids. I'm making this decision because. That's a great thing. And so, once you hear that, then you start saying, well, what can we do to create those models? Can we remove the friction points for transferring from a two-year from a community college to a four-year? And we've done a really good job on that. And that's been a bipartisan effort.
What can we do to make sure that we're providing the degree models to achieve the employment that you want? And what I'm specifically talking about is we're clunky right now on how we get agriculture education teachers certified in the Commonwealth. I'm not sure how it got to be clunky, but it is clunky. And interestingly enough, [West Virginia University] has stepped up to where they're able to educate kids that we want to come back here and teach our kids. We've got to get that in the Commonwealth. That's one of the things I've been speaking with both Blue Ridge and JMU about, they understand that. And so, they're very focused on what are the ways that we can improve the system and the process, remove those friction points. The policy role of the legislator is to make sure that we're not artificial or we're not inadvertently creating friction points that keep you from achieving the things that are important. And then work with local government, work with local education. And again, we're an interesting community because we have a very robust public education system, private education system, religious education system, and homeschool education system. And those are all equally important to me. And they have different concerns, or those friction points are in different places.
But I think it's incumbent on us to identify those issues and have an honest conversation about them. And then try and address that. And I think we've done a good job in the district on that. Quantity is a big deal in rural Virginia. And we've got to figure out maybe there's a role at the state level to create some economic enhancements to keep our teachers here or attract our teachers here.
You know, I'm privileged to represent Bath and Highland County. Between the two of them, they have less than 700 students, if I remember right. They're big areas. You know, it's long bus rides for the kids and, you know, small. There's a lot of values. You know, I walk in one of those classrooms and I see a lot of engaged kids and small one-on-one. And think about it. You know, if everybody knows everybody - and they do - then it's a different environment than in the more urban area of the valley over here. So, they bring a lot of things to the table. But then they also create some of the challenges. One of which is if you don't have affordable housing in your community. How do you get a teacher to move? And that is a reality. That's a reality in Rockingham and Augusta as well. So, let's address those things. Let's figure out what those friction points are. And then how can I be able to carry legislation or regulation or just have conversations with people? How do we solve these types of problems?
WMRA: If you are reelected, are there any bills from this past session that didn't make it through that you are planning to reintroduce or maybe rework that you'd be able to talk about right now?
Runion: Yes, or at least the issue. Funding for rural schools. And rural schools are Augusta and Rockingham as well as Highland and Bath. There are different ends of the spectrum. You may not know this. The average school district in the Commonwealth is somewhere around 5,000 kids. It's been a couple of years since I looked at that. Augusta and Rockingham are a couple of years since I looked at that. It's been a couple of years since I looked at that. Augusta and Rockingham are twice that. Who would have thought that, right? And then Highland and Bath. Highland's less than 200 or Bath's less than 500. So, you've got to end the spectrum. When the system for funding was designed, it did not have those ranges of size. The discrepancies or the distances apart were not as great. And there also were not the demands or the requirements on the local services that we had. Actually, the LCI funding for them is, I think, 50 plus years old. So, you know, it's worked pretty well. It needs some tweaking now in the era that we're in. There was a great JLARC, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. It's our agency that helps us study things for the House and the Senate. It said there's a number of things you need to address. Some you can address pretty quickly. Some of these are going to take a little more moderate time frame and others are going to be really a long-term fundamental change. We're looking at those types of things.
What I would like to see is a reduction. Recognition of the disparities. It's interesting that JLARC reports that our funding system doesn't work for really small districts, but it also doesn't work for really great big districts, you know, the Fairfaxes. And so that's really interesting. The math doesn't work on the ends of the spectrum. So, let's talk about that. Let's figure that out. And I'm not sitting here advocating that I need to rob Peter to pay Paul. That's not the solution. Let's figure out if there's money available somewhere else that is being collected from our citizens to be able to use to help these districts. Tennessee, I think, has a pretty decent model that you look at. They give some incremental funding to the smallest districts in a certain way. And so, we've investigated that. But that is an area that I want to work on a bipartisan basis because it isn't a Republican and a Democratic issue. It is a community. It is a community or a Commonwealth issue. So that would be one of them.
I'm really concerned, and I touched on this, with changing the balance of local land use. The Commonwealth system has worked really, really well. And I'm a believer that the government decisions should be made, they are best made as close to the people as possible. And so, you know, if a local government makes a decision, you're going to see them at the grocery store, you're going to see them at church, you're going to see them at a school event. You're going to have an opportunity to have a conversation before or after the decision is made. As you go further away, you know, you get to Richmond and then you get to Washington, you see how much more difficult it is to be able to have those citizens have a true access to folks.
I work hard to make sure that happens, but I represent - I'm privileged to represent - 85,000 or so people. And I don't know, I'll joke, I've met half of them, and I want to meet the other half. But you still, you know, you think how complex that becomes. The other would be, we've talked about it. At Agriculture Education, we've talked about it. about educational funding reform. And then the other thing is that I would like to make a run at this again would be the early voting. We want to have a safe and secure and reliable voting system. And I think in Virginia, we do a really good job with that. But I think the early voting thing, both from a policy point of view and a philosophical point of view, ought to be narrowed up and make it a little more tightly addressed there. The other thing that I think we want to do, we're going to have a new administration. And I'm hopeful it remains in Republican control. But regardless, we'll have a new administration. So, you build those new relationships and work across the aisle because it is so important that you work collaboratively through local government, through the governor's mansion, through the legislature and all. So, Calvin, I do appreciate this.
WMRA: I appreciate it, too. Thanks so much for coming in.
Runion: Absolutely.
