NCLM Volume 71, Issue 1, 2021

NCLM.ORG 19 Time to Work Together: Legislator Q&A boundaries. When we have to work, we have to work. But, par- ticularly when I was on council and certainly once these COVID restrictions on life, there’s always somewhere you can be, there’s always something you can be doing, there’s always a breakfast, a mixer, a reception, a panel—there’s always something. And so that conversation I had with myself was: What things do I feel like I have to be at, want to be at, or really aren’t more important than spending time with my family. Managing those things helped a lot. With the want that you have to be here and service, certainly on the freshman end of things, it kind of makes legislative ser- vice a frontier. There’s a lot you can do in the future. What kind of mark do you hope to make while you’re here? VA : I want to make a memorable one. I want our delegation to make a memorable one. I think Durham is a really special place. I think we have a lot of passionate people who, to me, care about a lot of the right things. A lot about taking care of each other and making sure people’s basic needs are met, and I hope I can bring some of that here in a sustainable way. From my chair and my caucus’s chair, that feels harder to accomplish than we had hoped before the election, but I still hope even in this biennium we make some good progress toward the things that folks in my district and county care a lot about. I hope I make my mark as a capable legislator who’s easy to work with and who cares about—I think the front page super juicy issues we hear and want to talk about a lot—but also the less titillating things, like bike lanes. I want to be known for making an impact in both of those types of areas—I think (laughter). Something that I know folks who are more experienced than I am do, and that I try to do myself, is approach a situation with humility first and foremost, listen to what they have to say, but try to relate to them. It’s a common idea; the more you can make something relevant to somebody’s life and something that they care about, the more apt they are to listen . » Vernetta Alston , North Carolina State Representative Photo credits: The Office of Vernetta Alston.