Speaking Up for Tenants
In 2023 I testified on multiple bills at the legislature, one of which was a rent control bill presented by Senator Pat Spearman. The bill was defeated by industry lobbyists, as were most bills that would have helped tenants or workers. Hear my testimony here:
Community Organizer
As a struggling single mother, I’ve made it my mission to stand up for people like me.
When my son was a baby, I found myself in a situation where I had to leave my partner. During this time, I was fired from my job due to a lengthy custody process and a lack of vacation time. Like most people, I was living paycheck to paycheck, and the moment I was fired I knew I had very little time to fix it.
When I reached my lowest point, I discovered how little help there really is. Childcare assistance would take a year or more to come through, shelters for mothers were completely full, and no one would hire a mother who didn’t have childcare immediately available. I lost everything, and it would take 3 years to come back from the loss and begin to rebuild. Now, more than 4 years later, we are back on our feet.
Yet inflation and rising rent prices threaten to pull us right back down again.
My work in the community keeps me to face to face with the reality that it isn’t just me – every one of us is living with the reality of low wages and rising prices.
That’s why I’m running for Assembly now. I know what it’s like to wake up every morning with a knot in your stomach because you don’t know if you can afford your next lease. I’ve watched as more & more people face this reality. Our legislators are not acting fast enough or serious enough, and it’s time someone does.
Activist
Single Mother
Background
Val is a former steering committee member with Las Vegas DSA, a Clark County Dems Board member from 2021-2023, Organizer for Bernie 2016 & 2020, and now works for the Teamsters union. She was born in Nevada, graduated from CSN, and has one 6 year old son.
Val for Nevada 