Damian is fighting for a county that works for all of us, not just some.
Damian is fighting for a county that works for all of us, not just some.
Early Life
Damian was born in Centralia to two working-class parents, who themselves are lifelong residents of Centralia. The result of a teenage pregnancy, Damian grew-up in a low-income environment spending most of his childhood relying upon the help of other family members and various welfare programs. At the age of four, Damian’s parents decided to separate and so Damian spent most of his childhood going back-and-forth between the two households. During his formative years all these factors would collide with a series of major floods and a recession that had hit his community. It was these experiences that taught Damian how important community was when it came to resilience in the face of extreme hardships, and rebuilding in the aftermath. Damian knew that when he grew up, they wanted to do something that would help his community.
Adolescence
As a child, Damian joined the Boy Scouts of America, starting as a cub scout and working his way up to the rank of Life Scout. During his time in the Boy Scouts, he gained an appreciation for nature and the important role humans have as stewards of the environment. As Damian entered high school, he became more involved with his church. However this would not last, Damian would eventually leave this church over its attitudes towards people on the fringes of society. It was around this time, in early 2021 Damian’s great-grandfather Jimmie Taylor, was diagnosed with Cancer. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and within a month was dead. Before he died, Damian made a promise to his great-grandfather that anything he did in life would be to help other people.
Political Work
Later that year, Damian was presented with the opportunity to work as a campaign intern in Virginia in a political race of national importance. Damian took this opportunity without hesitation and got to work as soon as he landed at Dulles. Damian would quickly make a name for himself, becoming a Regional Field Director for the Washington State Republican Party the following year. But in this time working in state and federal politics, it soon became apparent that the people in power did not share Damian's desire to do what is best for their constituents. This, along with many other key events —Coronavirus, George Floyd, January 6th, etc.— led to Damian leaving the Republican party and political life as a whole.
The Final Straw
After leaving campaign politics, Damian began to read up on the political beliefs of those he used to campaign against. After reading many books, articles, and studies, he quickly realized that his desire to help people was much more welcome among Democrats and progressives. In 2023, Damian was a firsthand witness to a group of self-identified white supremacists who attempted to disrupt the Lewis County Pride event. After the ordeal, Damian along with many other members of the community voiced his concerns over the safety of marginalized communities in Lewis County. These concerns were often met with indifference. Despite this, many local politicians have continued to use their platform to voice hateful rhetoric that puts marginalized communities in harm's way. In early 2024, after hearing that one of these people, Sean Swope, was up for reelection, Damian saw an opportunity to make a real difference in his community. On March 28th, 2024 Damian announced his candidacy for Lewis County Commissioner.
