NCLM Southern City Volume 71, Issue 3, 2021

NCLM.ORG 17 I just knew that I wanted to grow up and help. And I always knew ... that social work and law was by far the best marriage because it dealt with the issues that are systemic. Dealing with systemic issues and being solution-focused on trying to find out how we can help fix it. And so, because I did that for so long, it naturally transitioned into somebody coming and asking me and giving me a hard sell on why I should run for office. So yeah, it was definitely not on my bucket list. It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve, but it was definitely not something I thought about four years ago. Were there certain things from the community that people were telling you they were hoping to see? And did you already have a speaking relationship with local elected officials? SB : When you’re running for office, you’re in the same bubble with everybody. You’re going to similar events. You get to know everybody, et cetera. But when I won in the House in 2018, I decided very quickly, “I know what I know. And I don’t know what I don’t know. And because I had not served on the county com- mission, I had not been on a town council—I was new to politics— I reached out to the town managers and local officials and really started building relationships with them. And as quickly as pos- sible said, “Hey, if this bill is coming through, can I have your cell phone number? So I can text you if we’re in committee, because you know that sometimes you find out what’s in the bill when you get to committee and you realize something’s been changed, or amendments running on the floor.” I started very early on, working with the town managers and the councils to see what would be the most helpful and supportive with regards to legislation moving through and that would affect them. Because I believe that people should stay in their lane. I was elected to the state, so I deal with the state issues. I don’t believe that I should then go in and start messing around with what’s happening on the local level. I should support my towns, make sure that I’m hearing from them as to what they think is going to be most helpful for them. And for me and my district, almost all the towns are on the same page. You’re not really close to your constituents with state (office). You’re closer than federal, but the people who are the closest to everything that happens and functions within a town or the council and the town managers and everybody else who actually has to work on balancing their budget, figuring out how to deal with roads and what frankly makes most of us the most frustrated, which is at the town level, right? Oh, there’s traffic or this school is going to be coming into my dis- trict. So, working with school board members, working with the team has been really integral. And I think what is by far the most successful aspect of what we can do as legislators in the build- ing is to communicate and cultivate those relationships, because we’re just a pass-through for most money that goes to the towns, and the towns have to go ahead and deal with all of the other things that we all enjoy within our towns, whether that’s parks and rec, whether that’s new housing developments, et cetera. We should be a support for them. And that’s how I view my relation- ship with the municipalities. I just knew that I wanted to grow up and help . And I always knew ... that social work and law was by far the best marriage because it dealt with the issues that are systemic. Busy Life to Busier Life: Legislator Q&A