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Last week, we covered Tommy Wright launching his re-election campaign for the House of Delegates District 50 seat. Now we know at least one of his opponents. Trudy Berry announced on Friday, Jan. 10 that she’s running for the seat as an independent. 

The House of Delegates District 50 representative is chosen by voters in Charlotte, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg and Prince Edward counties, along with some of Halifax. Berry said she’s running for several reasons. The first is that people are tired of nothing happening. 

“Too many people are frustrated with the two-party system; they are disgusted with representatives putting their party, corporations, and high-dollar donors before them,” Berry said. “They are tired of the political in-fighting and angry that nothing gets done and nothing changes. Too many people have quit voting or won’t register to vote for those reasons.”

The second reason she’s running, Berry said, is that her opponent has been in the General Assembly too long. 

“Our Delegate has been in the General Assembly for 25 years; that is a quarter of a century,” Berry said. “Families have been raised in that length of time. Two generations have started and graduated school. If nothing gets done and nothing changes for our district, maybe it’s because our Delegate hasn’t changed for 25 years. No one should expect change, and no change will come, unless people actually cast their vote for a new Delegate. I am running to be their new Delegate.”

Current District 50 Del. Tommy Wright was just seated one year ago, in January 2024. After redistricting caused him to no longer be in the area for District 61, which he had represented for several years, Wright ran for the newly created District 50 against Democrat Josh Blakely. Wright won with 65% of the vote in the general election.

Why Trudy Berry made a change

Berry, who ran in previous elections as a Democrat, said she and many others are tired of the current system, which is why she’s switching parties. She specifically pointed to the issues encountered as a Democratic Party candidate last time. 

“I have returned to my independent roots because I have learned that political parties put themselves first, they work to push their own agendas forward, they work to beat the other party,

and by doing so they put people and their concerns last,” Berry said. “I have always campaigned to put people over party and I am running unaffiliated with a political party to make it clear that I am a representative of the people, not a party.”

The last race Berry ran was for the State Senate District 9 seat in 2023, against Frank Ruff. Ruff won the election in what would be his final campaign, before passing away in 2024. However Berry, despite being the Democratic Party candidate, wasn’t actually listed on the ballot. The official reason is that Clem Oliver, a Danville Democratic Party leader, mistyped an email address when filing Berry’s paperwork with the state. Oliver passed away after battling cancer, but before being able to correct the mistake. No one, from the Democratic Party to the State Board of Elections, would allow the paperwork to be resubmitted, as it was past the deadline by that point. 

Ranking priorities 

Trudy Berry also laid out her top priorities that she would focus on, if elected. 

“My top priority is the economy, the economy is personal,” Berry said. “It isn’t that Wall Street is doing well, it is do I have money in my pocketbook to pay my bills, groceries, and healthcare? I will address jobs and wages, public school funding, and affordable housing and healthcare. We need permanent full-time jobs with a livable wage, not the temporary jobs that landfill and solar farm construction provide.” 

As for Berry, what do we know about her? She received a B.S. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Longwood University. She also has a and a Certificate in Social Policy Administration from the university. Then Berry served in the U.S. Air Force from 1974 until 1978, worked as a Legal Services Specialist, and received an honorable discharge. Her website is trudyberry.com.