For the past five months, senior Chloe Kienzle has been working hard on Jim Hingeley’s campaign for Albemarle Commonwealth’s attorney. She served as a volunteer and then an intern on the campaign trail for two months before being promoted to White Hall district organizer.

This role was not an easy one; she had to balance her schoolwork, after-school activities, and an eighteen hour per week minimum on the campaign. One of her main jobs was manage the canvassing events, where she had to find volunteers, train them, and keep them interested and involved in the campaign. She also organized community events, such as meet-and-greets, where people could connect with Hingeley and learn about his political stances.

Her work was applauded by her fellow peers and teachers. They appreciated and recognized how hard she’d worked and the action she was taking in the community.

“It was really inspiring to see somebody take action to stand up for an issue they want to fix instead of sitting back and waiting for someone else to change it,” said her good friend Jenna Malyn.

Kienzle first heard about Hingeley’s campaign when she met a woman already involved with the campaign at a post card writing event that she had organized with her friends. After researching Hingeley and his stances, Kienzle realized that her beliefs aligned nicely with his, and offered to help out.

Even though meeting that woman was what linked her directly to the campaign, Kienzle found that what really compelled her to get involved was the Criminal Justice Reform movement. A book titled, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness” sparked her in these issues.

“I always knew that mass incarceration was a big issue here in Virginia and in the United States, but I didn’t really understand the full scope of it. This book really opened my eyes to that. I realized something had to be done, and nobody else was really doing anything about it,” said Kienzle. “Everyone needs to get involved if you want to see change.”

Hingeley’s campaign was not Kienzle’s first experience working on a political movement. She worked as a fellow on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and volunteered on Leslie Cockburn’s 2018 Congressional campaign. However, this campaign was the biggest and most extensive leadership role she has had so far.

While she is unsure what what candidate she will be supporting, Kienzle is looking into campaigning opportunities during the 2020 presidential race.