Jena Crisler is the democratic candidate running for the House of Delegates to represent Virginia’s 35th District, which includes parts of Augusta, Rockingham, Bath and Highland Counties. Her opponent is Republican incumbent candidate Chris Runion. Crisler, a semi-retired physician, is a first-time candidate. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn asked Crisler what inspired her to run for public office.
*This story includes details about sexual assault.
Jena Crisler: I became activated, I'll say, when I saw what was happening with the 2024 presidential election. And I had the time and the energy and motivation and got myself down to the Democratic headquarters and said, put me to work. So be careful what you ask for, little girl, for surely you shall get it. And the next thing I know, I am District 3 chair, which means motivating people who want to work towards a better democracy. And then it came, I came to the attention of Dr. [William Ferguson] Fergie Reid Jr. He is the son of Dr. [William Ferguson] “Fergie” Reid Sr., who was a surgeon in Richmond, and he's 100 years old. So, Dr. Fergie Reed Sr. was the first African-American elected official since reconstruction in Virginia. And his son, who lives in LA, decided that it would be very helpful if we could get a candidate in every single delegate race in Virginia, because otherwise it would just be forfeiting the race. So no, it never occurred to me to run for office, and I realized I can bring a very unique perspective to this office. I've been a member of this community for 20 years. I have been intimately involved with so many people in their families from essentially the worst day of their lives until things can get better, if they're going to get better. And I love living in the valley. So, when I was approached, I harnessed my inner Katie Porter, my inner Zelensky, and I said, if not me, then whom? And I got myself on the ballot.
WMRA: Going back to what you said there with most of your neighbors here in this community, working with them on what was essentially the worst day of their lives. I assume you're talking about working with them like in your capacity as a doctor, right?
Crisler: Exactly. I'm what's known as a hospitalist. I'm an internal medicine physician. I trained at a Johns Hopkins program in Baltimore called Ed Sinai. And I became a hospitalist, which is in the olden days, your regular family doctor or your internist would see patients in the hospital before clinic hours, at lunchtime, and again afterwards. But we are able to do so much because medicine has come so far that to actually get into the hospital, you have to be sick as stink. And you have to be able to respond to nurses' calls and be there, which is not possible for them, if you're at the office seeing your follow-ups. So, a new specialty called the hospitalist was born, and I was the first wave, essentially. I think it came to be maybe 1999, 2000, and I graduated in 2002. And I came down here from Baltimore, And I took what's called a locum's job, which is a temporary job. So, I was trying on the hospital, and they were trying me on, and they chased me around with a contract for about two years. And finally, I said, okay, let's sign this. And I, because I had been going back and forth. And I was able to do this job and commute from Baltimore for four years because it was a week on, week off. I actually came down with my suitcase, and I rented a room in Dayton. I lived on High Street. And I would work my wonderful seven shifts and then I would go home for seven and I would come back again. And then my husband got a wild hair and he said, let's move to the valley.
WMRA: Now, in your work here in the valley as a physician, how is that inspired or informed how you're approaching your campaign?
Crisler: Oh, it has everything to do with that. As a physician, I can see We do what's called a history and physical, and that's where you get all those questions about your social circumstances so that we know what we're dealing with. And as a physician, there is a law called EMTALA, and everyone is treated equally. All emergencies are treated and stabilized in the hospital. So as the hospitalist, I would come down, and I would meet the patient and the family, and get all of the social history as well as the medical history and make a plan that we all agreed on that was appropriate. And fingers crossed, and a lot of studying and blood, sweat, and tears went into getting to those decision-making. And so, I saw so many social ills that can be addressed, from homelessness to veterans being homeless, to actually having access to some of our social services but not being able to get them for medical reasons. You just don't have the capacity. That happens in so many medical processes. So, you see all the social ills, and I can see where we can provide better. We can absolutely provide better. In fact, we can avoid so many illnesses and hospitalizations if we just take preventative steps.
WMRA: How would you want to apply that preventative approach, maybe not just to healthcare policy, but to anything that would affect the constituents here, you know, in this region?
Crisler: I think there's a lot that we can be done. And if we start young, by feeding children. Did you know that Elkton has decided that no matter what financial stability the child has, they will get two free meals a day? And I do believe that they're trying to provide meals even when school's not in session. Waynesboro does it, and Bath County is doing it too. So, no matter what your financial situation, you're entitled to two free meals. So, no child is hungry. I have even heard of a program, and this is piecemeal where they put a refrigerator in and you can put your untouched leftovers in the refrigerator in case someone's hungry and they can grab something because you never know what someone's underlying issues are. So that's why I am such a proponent of the SNAP program and anything that gets food in the pantry and in the refrigerator. And then with education, I truly believe that every child deserves the quality education that's actually guaranteed in the Virginia Constitution. and that it should not be dependent on your property taxes. It should not be dependent on your zip code. We all deserve quality education. And where does that start? Besides having a good night's sleep and not being hungry, your teachers need to be those passionate teachers who want to go in and go to school and embrace the day and inspire our young. So to do that, you know, we could start instituting a Virginia-wide program where we take promising students who want to be teachers and assist them by pairing up with mentors and providing an education at the institution of their choice and having it be no cost or low cost. So, we could, and we can do a lot more. That's just one program, but making sure that teachers regain the respect that they deserve and are paid for it because, traditionally teaching's been a nine-month job catering more towards women, and it's not that weighs so much anymore and it deserves to be paid what it's worth, which is priceless.
WMRA: It's one of those things that comes down to, as I understand it, like resource allocation.
Crisler: Exactly. I think I'm a frustrated accountant because I can see patterns and I can see the monies. And we have access to resources in Virginia that other states don't have the luxury. Plus, there is so much more that can and probably should be done.
WMRA: What are some of the other circumstances, realities that you see impacting people in your district that you would want to hopefully try to improve if you could?
Crisler: So, from education and economic development, I do think that we as a district can make sure that everyone gets equal rights under the law, that all humans are human and deserve dignity, respect, due process. I think that we do it in a healthcare point of way, and I would like to address that issue because we are not giving away healthcare to illegals. First of all, they're human, and everyone deserves respect. And it is amazing to me how hard people do work to get to this country, because if you do work hard, you can make a decent living as law-abiding citizens. So, remember, coming here illegally is not a felony. And it really shouldn't be a crime, and we should have understanding that everyone wants a better life. And in District 35, we all want to work towards a better life. And it starts with our basic needs. shelter, food, then let's go to education. And definitely healthcare has to be thrown in amongst that. For heaven's sakes, everybody is about one hospitalization away from being bankrupt and homeless. And I have seen that. And that should never have happened. I don't think healthcare should actually be a monetized commodity. I think it's a right.
WMRA: So during your campaign so far, have there been any folks you've met in the district as you've been campaigning, like any anecdotes you've heard in the last few months that have informed or maybe even changed like how you're approaching your campaign issues at all?
Crisler: Oh, so many things. Where to start? Mostly we all want the same thing, a better life, food, housing, all that. And if you talk to someone personally and you find out what their issues are, because I'm listening, I am hearing, I had an amazing conversation with a neighbor of mine who is aging out of farming and some of the issues. And there's so many. One of the things he wanted to do was put a solar farm in and I actually think that's an amazing way to put clean energy on the grid, utilize his land to the best ability. But with the subsidies gone away for that, it is not going to be possible. At a state level, that is really something that can be addressed. We could find a program if one doesn't already exist or can be tweaked, where we do recognize that clean energy coming on board is of value to us as a citizen. Broadband is the way to go in terms of education. I am representing, I hope to represent Bath County and Highland County. And there are huge gaps in their broadband service. Where they have it, it's great. Where they don't have it, it's not so great. And then it's very dangerous because you're out there in deer country. And then you have an accident, and you don't have access to any emergency services. When I was a third year medical student, the first day of my first rotation, and it was my very first patient. And this woman, a guardian, brought in a 12-year-old child who was clearly nine months pregnant. Wow. And she wouldn't give her name. The child, we had the child's name, but we didn't have the auntie's name. That was the relationship. And then this 12-year-old was abandoned to us. And this is July 1st. And the intern, who is the doctor on call, was his first day of his new job as an intern. So, this 12-year-old is nine months pregnant and in labor. And she is still a baby. She's still a child herself. And of course, she was a victim of so many things that our social net needs to address. The father of that baby was - well, the father of the fetus - was her father. So, there was incest, there was rape, sexual abuse, clear neglect, No prenatal care. Where was this child getting her education? I don't even know. She was too scared to even offer any information. Either she had been coached or was petrified. But now this child who'd been failed by every single system that was supposed to protect her is in our hands and is not going to be able to deliver that baby vaginally. So now she has to go for emergency surgery. So, we did the ultrasound, the very first one of her pregnancy. And remember, I am a third year medical student. I know nothing really. But I could see that the heart was so malformed that it would never sustain life. And that is something that could have been picked up much, much, much earlier. So, the fetus was never going to be viable outside of the uterus. All of this could have been prevented if we had the right systems in place. You saw that Swiss cheese model where that arrow went through. And I will work very, very hard to put systems in place, a social safety net that makes everybody's lives better. That's what I really want to do. In fact, that's why I went into medicine. I love talking to people. I love knowing their histories. And I want to help. So, if you value human life, you don't have to look too far for a reason to get up and go to work every morning.
WMRA: Oh yeah, absolutely. Jena, thank you so much for coming in and talking about your campaign and best of luck.
Crisler: Thank you. Thank you for giving me some air time.
