Trudy Berry, of Lunenburg, recently announced her candidacy for the House of Representatives District 61. Berry, with Friends of the Victoria Public Library, secretary for the Lunenburg Chamber of Commerce and regular participant at the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors, said she has wanted to run for delegate for years. Beginning late last year, she felt she could not sit back after seeing the issues facing people in the district. “I just said now is the time,” Berry said. The election for the 61st district will take place November 2019. The seat is currently held by Tommy Wright. She said her goals would be to look into bringing environmentally and economically beneficial industries to the district, taking steps to eliminate the opioid crisis, and look at ways to make health care more accessible. Berry said she became involved with the Lunenburg Democratic Committee in January, and was inspired to volunteer after meeting 5th District Congressional Candidate Leslie Cockburn, particularly after Cockburn spoke about the same issues Berry had concerns about. “We want jobs,” Berry said. “We need a living wage. We need to clean up our environment.” Berry has lived in Lunenburg County for 20 years. She said she received a degree in sociology with a concentration in criminal justice from Longwood University. Berry said she worked to find employment until working for Gallion-Elder Insurance in Victoria. She also became involved with the Lunenburg Chamber of Commerce as secretary in 2011, and around that time she also became a familiar and active presence at Lunenburg Board of Supervisors meetings. Berry said the environment is a particularly strong issue for her, expressing concern about the rise in industries that may pose negative ecological or health-related effects, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) in Buckingham County and the proposed landfill in Cumberland County. She said the goal over the next year is to get to know more citizens in Lunenburg, Cumberland, Appomattox and Nottoway, which consists of the 61st district. To learn more about Berry’s campaign, contact info@trudyberry. com.