Nancy Young Wright: a WYSIWYG legislator (That’s a good thing)

by David Safier

When you're creating something on a computer, and what you see on the screen looks just like the final product, techies call that WYSIWYG — What You See Is What You Get.

The term came to mind as I watched Rep. Nancy Young Wright (D, LD-26) at the legislative forum I attended this morning.

It's not just that she's clear and intelligent when she speaks, which she is. It's that she says what she means, both on an intellectual and an emotional level. In other words, she's an honest person, and she's capable of expressing herself in a way that showcases that honesty. She doesn't do much spinning. She doesn't use many buzz words, unless, of course, the buzz word is also the right word.

She thinks out the issues. She knows where she stands. She knows how she feels. And that's what comes out when she speaks.

I've worked with Young Wright on educational issues, and I find the same qualities on a personal level I saw today at the forum. She listens well, talks clearly and speaks her mind freely.

After the forum, I complimented Nancy on her skillful, honest communication. She told me she wants to let people know who she is and what she thinks. If they want to reelect her, fine. If they don't, that's the way it goes.

It's so refreshing to hear a Democrat talk like that. Democratic politicians spend way too much time worrying they'll offend someone, that they'll be attacked for what they say, that they'll lose votes if people don't agree with them. Meanwhile, Republicans are totally outrageous on a regular basis. They figure, any publicity they receive short of scandal is good publicity.

Even when Democrats win on the issues, too often they lose elections because of their timidity.

Democrats are wrong to waste so much energy worrying they'll say the wrong thing. They need to expend more time figuring out the best way to say the right thing, the thing they believe. Voters don't expect to agree 100% with a candidate.They want someone who is in their ideological ballpark and who stands for something. That's the candidate who gets the votes.

Nancy Young Wright is a moderate Democrat in a swing district. That
makes her an excellent fit at a time when the Russell Pearce wing is
calling the shots in the Republican Party. If she campaigns hard and continues to be a WYSIWYG candidate, she should do just fine in November.