<h4 style="text-align: left;">As your representative in the West Virginia Legislature, I will work to ensure that our community is a place where everyone has access to the support they need to thrive, where opportunities exist for all of us, and where all families have access to healthy food, safe housing, and excellent public education and healthcare.&nbsp;</h4><h1></h1>

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Community leader, mom, grandma, gardener, teacher, wife, dog mom...

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<h4>I’m Sarah Umberger, and I’m a candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates.</h4>I am running for office because I’ve seen the consequences of poor leadership and ineffective representation. I have the skills and knowledge to step up and be that voice advocating for those who are often unheard.I will work hard to be your voice in Charleston, working for solutions that benefit our community. Together, we can create a future that embodies the values that most represent the people in our district.

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I'm running for Delegate because I cannot stand by and watch our current legislature bring up bills that have nothing to do with our day-to-day lives while grocery prices are going up, our roads are crumbling, and our public education system is being gutted.

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House of Delegates · District 46

Working together. Improving Lives.

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<h3>Working for our Community</h3>As your representative in the West Virginia Legislature, I want to ensure that our community is a place where everyone has access to the support they need to thrive, where opportunities exist for all of us, and where all families have access to healthy food, safe housing, and excellent public education and healthcare.&nbsp;

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It’s time for your representative at the West Virginia Legislature to represent your family and our community instead of out-of-state businesses and special interests.

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Elect Sarah Umberger for WV House of Delegates

Meet Sarah

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I believe our public schools are the heart of our communities. We must invest in them, not undermine them. Every child deserves a strong, well-funded school in their community that meets their needs.The Hope Scholarship program, which allows parents to use public funds for private schooling, has drained our school system of the funds they need to maintain strong, well-qualified educators.Requiring little more than an application and a WVEIS (ID) number, parents can access funding for private schools and homeschooling. There are no performance standards or income limits for the education these children are receiving. This has to change.As your delegate, I will propose legislation to make the Hope Scholarship comparable to other state benefit programs with income eligibility requirements and strict performance standards. People who have trouble putting food on their tables must provide income verification to demonstrate their need. People who need housing assistance must meet income guidelines to receive benefits. I firmly believe that people who request assistance paying for their choice of education, when there are public schools available, should demonstrate a need and clear value for the taxpayers' investment in this benefit.

Our schools are the heart of our communities. We must invest in them.

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Strengthening Public Education

During the 2025 legislative session, the West Virginia Legislature passed HB 2014, which allows high-impact data centers to bypass local zoning and other ordinances, including those governing light, noise, and pollution. Our Legislature willingly and knowingly took away all local control of these huge facilities to serve the wants of out-of-state special interests. All of our local legislators voted for this new law.This legislation also mandated how the tax revenues from these centers will be distributed. Instead of the money from facilities located in our communities staying here, we will now receive only 30 percent of the revenue from them. Another 50 percent of the money will go to a personal income tax reduction fund. And 10 percent will be distributed across all 55 counties based on population, meaning that Kanawha, Cabell, or Berkeley counties would get a larger share of the revenue from a center in Greenbrier County than we would. Another 5 percent will go to economic enhancement grants doled out by the state, and 5 percent will be deposited in an electric credit stabilization fund also controlled by the state.This year, our legislators voted in support of HB 4983, which allows the Department of Commerce to certify the data centers, reinforcing our representatives' earlier decision to remove our local rights.Once elected, I will sponsor legislation to return decision-making and control of these centers to the local communities where they are proposed to be located. And I will work to ensure that the tax revenues from these centers stay in the communities where they are located to benefit the residents who are impacted by their construction and operation.

During the past two legislative sessions, all of our local legislators voted to support bills that removed all local control to support the building of data centers.

Data Centers

With the stage all to herself, alongside moderator Scott Womack, Sarah Umberger shared her background with voters. “I’m a retired school teacher with 24&nbsp;years in the school system. I worked as a special education teacher. I have a lot of experience in leadership. I’m a really hard worker, and it’s reflected in everything I do. My husband and son are both combat veterans. I feel like there are a lot of divisive issues right now when we need to be making sure people have food to eat and water to drink.”The first question revolved around Vandalia’s controversial decision to close the labor and delivery unit at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center. Umberger was asked what she could do about it as a delegate?“We need to look at the whole Certificate of Need (CON) system,” she said. “It’s my understanding that how it works is it took out competition between other providers. I think the CON program either needs to be abolished or reformed.”Next, an audience member asked Umberger how she would reconcile the desire for school choice and strong public schools?“I strongly feel that parents should choose the type of education their kids receive,” she said. “I also strongly feel that recipients of the Hope Scholarship, which is another government program, should have the same requirements people who need help buying food have. If you need food, you have to fill out a bazillion forms. If you want the Hope Scholarship, you fill out a form and it’s done; it’s not fair.”As a follow-up, she was asked, “What could we do to have same level of accountability?”&nbsp;“We have to pass legislation that requires there be educational standards for homeschoolers and private schoolers just like public schools.”Members of the public listen to candidates at The REAL WV’s Candidate Forum in Maxwelton on Tuesday.Attention then turned to the county’s largest employer, The Greenbrier Hotel. Is she concerned for the jobs of her potential constituents as hotel ownership heads to court with Omni Hotels?“I’m not particularly concerned,” she replied. “Omni Hotels knows how to run the hotel business.”&nbsp;Womack then asked Umberger if she supported or opposed data centers, particularly the notion of a lack of local control?“I think that data centers are a fact of life,” she began. “We can’t ban them. But there was also some really misguided legislation that went through the legislature the last few years. The first thing I to do is reform that (lack of) local control. They gave away our tax money. We would get 30% of the taxes. It just appalled me. 50% goes to personal income tax reduction fund. How many of you really saw a lot of benefit? 30% comes to county. You think we’re gonna get a whole lot of money or is Kanahwa County gonna get that? It’s just wrong. We need legislation that will bring back local control.”&nbsp;Where does she stand on separation of church and state?“I’m probably one of the only people in this room who is Jewish,” she said. “I have really strong feelings. I can tell you what it’s like when you have someone else’s faith forced on you.”As a final question, Womack asked on behalf of an audience member who submitted a question if Umberger would commit to removing state laws that have been on the books for years and proven ineffective, rather than just passing new laws each year? &nbsp;“Yes, absolutely,” she said. “The Hope Scholarship and data centers.”Early voting begins on April 29 and the election day is on May 12. Stay tuned to RealWV for other stories on additional races represented at the candidate forum in the coming days.For the full video of the forum,<a href="https://youtu.be/tMBZT_UPHxE?si=hXqQYRgB0eHEV_LD" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> click here.</a><h5>Author</h5><a href="https://therealwv.com/author/stephen/">Stephen Baldwin</a> The Real WV<h5></h5>

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House District 46 Candidate Sarah Umberger shares policy views at forum MAXWELTON, WV

Public office is about service, listening, showing up, and doing the hard work for the people of West Virginia. That’s what leadership should look like. I promise to listen to you and to represent the best interests of our district, not cater to the desires of political leaders or special interests.During the last session of the Legislature, legislators focused most of their time and effort on national political issues, like food dyes and immigration, and very little on the real issues facing West Virginians, like food security and clean water.West Virginia families are hurting because of high gas prices, high food prices, the lack of access to quality, affordable healthcare, and the shortage of jobs that pay a living wage. Those are the issues our elected leaders should focus on - and where I promise to spend my time and energy.Economic growth doesn't mean giving large out-of-state corporations tax cuts and a pass on regulations that keep our communities safe. Real economic growth is about making sure that our communities have opportunities here that attract and keep our young people, provide good-paying jobs, a strong public education system, and access to local quality healthcare. Those will be my priorities as your representative in the West Virginia Legislature.

West Virginians need strong, dedicated public servants.

Public Service Above Politics

No parent should have to work two or three jobs to afford groceries, housing, and childcare. We need policies that support fair wages, good jobs, and the dignity of work. Parents should not have to worry about finding and affording childcare. I want to ensure that our community is a place where everyone has access to the support they need to thrive, where we make sure opportunities exist for all of our neighbors, and where everyone who puts in a hard day's work earns a living wage.Our kids are West Virginia's most valuable export. My kids left after high school, one to join the Army and the other to college. Neither returned, instead choosing locations with good-paying job opportunities, strong schools, and accessible health care. I wish they could have stayed close to home.

No parent should have to work 2 to 3 jobs. We need to support fair wages for West Virginians.