North Chesterfield, VA
Debra Rodman first spoke to LWCC, Liberal Women of Chesterfield County & Beyond, back in February. We had so many folks fired up and ready to go, that we ran out of parking spaces and then grass spaces to squeeze cars in at the member’s church that offered to host us. Debra’s district is our neighbor to the North. It’s, also, one of the Clinton 17 and a totally winnable district if we show Debra Rodman some support. She cares about jobs, healthcare, accessibility of advanced education, and refugee rights. To find out more about Debra Rodman and her platform click here.
CONTRIBUTE to Debra Rodman’s fight for the VA House 73
I recently asked Rodman about superheroes, community, and what she hopes to accomplish for her home District 73.
KDW: Who was your favorite superhero when you were a kid?
Debra Rodman: Wonder Woman! And I mean the Linda Carter, 1970’s style Wonder Woman. I grew up in the 1970s and 80s when there weren’t too many women in leading roles on TV and I thought Linda Carter was a badass.
KDW: Who is your favorite superhero now?
Debra Rodman: My superheroes are my professors who were the first generation of women to enter academia and pave the way for women like me to be able to make a living as a scholar. It’s hard to believe that I am only the second or third generation of women working in academia. The female anthropologists who mentored who me were really the first women to teach at research universities and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be mentored by these great women. Legendary anthropologists, Dr. Maxine Margolis, Dr. Helen Safa, Dr. Irma McClaurin, Dr. Sarah Melzoff, Dr. Anita Spring, to name a few, taught me the importance of understanding race, class, and gender to understand how oppression functions in our society. It makes me a better policymaker to recognize structures of power so that policy doesn’t represent only the viewpoint of the powerful.
KDW: What occupation did you want to be when you grew up?
Debra Rodman: I was a latchkey kid so I used to watch a lot of TV and that meant a lot of those old nature shows narrated by Richard Attenborough. So I knew I wanted to be some sort of scientist, maybe a zoologist.
KDW: What occupation did you actually become?
Debra Rodman: I went to college and fell in love with cultural anthropology. I, first, wanted to do archaeology and spent a year working for the Miami archaeologist when I decided I like live people better than dead people. Cultural Anthropology studies human culture and diversity and speaks to the fact that we are just one human race. I eventually did my research in Guatemala working in a Maya community where many people migrate to the United States, and studied the impact of immigration on people’s lives.
KDW: What is your favorite aspect about your community and the people that live there?
Debra Rodman: The absolute generosity of spirit and kindness of the people in the 73rd district. I am always blown away by the sincerity of the people I meet. Henrico is a community where people really care about each other and I do believe they really want what’s best for the community around them and are willing to do what needs to be done to make that happen.
KDW: What aspect about your community could be improved?
Debra Rodman: Infrastructure. Make it more walkable and bikeable, with communities more interconnected. You should be able to bike or walk to the store or to a park or recreation area. Henrico has the best park systems so we should be able to get to them on bikes and on foot.
KDW: Who taught you "wrong from right"?
Debra Rodman: My grandfather, Chas Gockley, who grew up Mennonite and spoke Pennsylvania Dutch. He worked for fifty years in a hat factory and taught me about tolerance and to respect people from all walks of life. He was a god-loving man and loved to travel to the southwest and Mexico. He had deep respect for people who lived off the land, and taught me a lot about farming and agriculture. When I was in Guatemala, I had a corn field and chickens. I always had a garden at home until I had neck surgery a few years ago.
KDW: What is your favorite book or poem?
Debra Rodman: Feminism is for Everybody by Bell Hooks. A classic. Poet: Pablo Neruda.
KDW: What things do people not know about you.
Debra Rodman: I can Irish Dance. I was trained by the sister of the founder of Riverdance. I’m not even Irish.
KDW: What is your favorite food and memory associated with it?
Debra Rodman: My grandma’s pot pie. It’s more like chicken and dumplings and reminds me of family and holidays. We also love something else she made, corn pie which is really just pie crust, sweet corn, milk, and hard-boiled eggs, baked together. I love chopped liver, bagels and lox. My dad always had this spread out on Sunday mornings and I miss him terribly and it reminds me of him.
KDW: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Debra Rodman: I think my biggest accomplishment is getting my advanced degrees. I have been working since I was very young and then I waitressed my way through college and at a certain point I thought that would be my only job. When I got the opportunity to go back to school and get my master’s degree, and eventually my PhD, I remember thinking, “even if I have to waitress the rest of my life at least I’ll have this because nobody can ever take my degrees away from me.” To become a professor was truly a life-changing moment.
KDW: What do you wish to accomplish once you win the House of Delegates seat for District 73?
Debra Rodman: To fully represent Henrico County. I think for so long we’ve had an incumbent that doesn’t listen to working families in our district and it’s time we have a delegate represents the values of our County. Henrico County truly believes in public education and I want to make sure our public schools get the funding they need and teachers get the salary they deserve. Many in my district are struggling to make a living and support their families. No one should be working two jobs and still can’t make the bills. We need better paying jobs for working Virginians. Healthcare is crushing for so many families. We need to work towards a system where everybody can have access to affordable healthcare. PERIOD.
Upcoming Events:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/rodmanfordelegate/events/