Melanie Stambaugh - Washington's Youngest Legislator

Elected Officials of America: Underdog Stories

Melanie Stambaugh beat a 5-term incumbent at the age of 23 to become Washington’s youngest legislator, and is the youngest female elected to the Washington state legislature since 1934. If beating a 5-term incumbent wasn’t tough enough, she is now battling 44 ethics violations and facing thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees, simply due to sharing public Facebook and YouTube videos. Melanie is also a musician, self-taught graphic designer, and a small-business owner who is not seeking re-election to focus on her confidence coaching business, You Impression.

2:37 - Melanie talks about her time playing the marimba.

3:30 - What was your first thought about running for office?

5:30 - Who was the first person you told you were running for office?

6:30 - Can you go into the background of your business?

7:30 - Did you have any nagging in your head that was telling you not to run?

8:20 - How was the experience of the campaign?

9:10 - What was the most negative aspect of your campaign?

11:40 - Do you think the negative mailers hurt her in the end?

12:05 - Any other resistance about running for office?

13:35 - What were the emotions the night you run?

14:10 - Melanie talks about allocating $2 million towards a school.

12:20 - What would you say to another young female who doesn’t have the confidence to run?

14:20 - Did your team ever help you when you felt down?

16:08 - What lessons do you have to getting along with people who don’t like you?

16:50 - Can you talk about the Ethics Committee convening?

18:10 - Were you the first legislator to share the Facebook videos?

20:30 - What is the composition of the Ethics committee

20:52 - Do you think you’re being targeted because you’re a young, Millenial female?

21:30 - Will this Ethics committee help you at the end of the day?

23:50 - How have the marimba concerts to pay the legal bills been going?

25:00 - Are the concerts themselves a potential ethical concern?

26:00 - Can you talk about the heroin epidemic?

27:50 - What can we do as a country to come together again?

29:45 - What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your life?

31:00 - What is the best advice someone has given you?

31:45 - What can the country learn from Washington politics?

33:00 - How will President Trump affect the Republican Party?

35:40 - Do you face pressure from the Party being so bipartisan?

37:20 - What would your message to America be?