A One-Man Town Hall
Photo courtesy of the Spirit of Jefferson
It may not have been the town hall that Congressional candidate Ace Parsi and Jefferson County Indivisible were aiming for. However, it was still an opportunity to answer the public’s burning questions as the general election in November draws closer.
The reason — incumbent Congressman Riley Moore didn’t show. According to the town hall moderator, Matt Ward, and Indivisible leadership, Moore was unable to attend due to commitments in Washington, D.C. Despite understanding the conflict, there was still an air of disappointment in the room at the Congressman’s absence.
“At the end of the day, you have to believe that the people that you’re representing have worth enough for you to show up and hear their questions, whether they agree with you — that’s irrelevant,” Parsi said. “I said at the end, the Congressman is not doing me a favor by coming here. He’s doing his job by being here. The time is coming that … you’re not entitled to the seat.
“You have to come in and present your ideas of how you’re going to make West Virginians’ lives better.”
Despite the conflict, Parsi dug in, pointing to Moore’s absence from his district since winning his House seat in 2024. “It’s not just this one occasion. The fact is that people all across the district have asked for town halls, and he hasn’t shown up. He hasn’t shown that level of interest,” he said.
The word “entitled” returned, as Parsi continued to push against Moore’s absence across the state’s second Congressional district, but also used that to segue into how diverse the concerns are in the northern half of the state, pointing to the unaffordable housing in the Eastern Panhandle to food scarcity elsewhere.
“But I think that I keep finding people that are on the edge, right? They’re on some edge of being able to make it or not,” he said. “And they feel vulnerable, and they want somebody to just represent them. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I am willing to really listen to people, and I care about their lives, whether they’re my party or they’re not.”
Although Moore’s seat on stage sat empty, the town hall still maintained its standard format. Ward pitched a series of fast balls with a curveball or two in the mix, like a thought experiment on a possible federal bill on data centers and artificial intelligence. “What’s in the Parsi bill?” Ward asked.
Immediately, Parsi leveraged that constituents need input on the construction of data centers in their area, explaining this is one of the major bipartisan concerns he’s heard along the campaign trail.
“I’m not for data centers; if they wanted to build one in Morgantown, I would be vehemently against it for a variety of reasons … but, say you are for them and there’s some sort of economic impact, you have no voice in where those things go,” he said. “I think that’s what people are angry about. That’s an indicator of where our democracy is. Patrick Morrisey and Mark Zuckerberg would never put a data center in their backyard, but they get to choose to put one in your backyard without your voice.
“If it was such a good idea, they would have a local vote on it. They know that it’s a raw deal for people here.”
He continued, saying he would push for an immediate moratorium on data center development and that any investment in a data center has to follow a community referendum.
“The county and community must choose,” he said. “Not a state actor, not a federal actor, not Donald Trump, not a big tech actor that’s not represented here. The community needs to choose that.”
The first question during the open forum was a follow-up to Parsi’s answer regarding data centers. The community member positioned that AI infrastructure’s likelihood of reducing the workforce, to which Parsi reinforced.
“When I worry about if my daughter will have a job in the future, that’s a real point, right? Why are people investing billions of dollars into this? It’s because they’re going to take your job,” he said.
In the same vein, Parsi recalled the push for coal miners to leave coaling — one of Hillary Clinton’s historic missteps in West Virginia during her 2016 election campaign — saying that it’s a microcosm of why people “lost faith in our government.”
“It didn’t have a real future for them,” he added. “I think the last 15 years have taught us, if nothing else, when Silicon Valley says, ‘Trust me,’ to not.”
Another concern from the audience caught some off guard, but was one that Parsi flipped on its head. The resident relayed their concern for Parsi and his campaign was his “Iranian immigrant heritage,” asking if the campaign has any strategy to “overcome [it],” insinuating a negative response from constituents across the second district, though not clear of his immigration as a child or regarding the current war in Iran.
Parsi took a moment and said he hears that concern more from progressives than anyone else.
“When I go around to different parts of West Virginia, I don’t ask anybody whether they’re Democrats, Republicans or Independents … I don’t get that from people,” he said. “People want to know, ultimately, that you love America and you can’t find somebody who loves America more than somebody who came from an authoritarian regime. … So I don’t get that from West Virginians.
“Not to say there aren’t fears, but we have to speak to our own fears inside us and we have to rise above those fears. … I know what the risks are. I’m totally fine with the risks.”
Afterward, Parsi spoke more on that question, saying he hears it all the time and used it to speak against misconceptions about West Virginia as a whole.
“There are bad apples everywhere, but sometimes people tell me ‘West Virginians as a whole will not,’ but [I say], ‘You don’t know West Virginians.’
“West Virginians are incredible; it’s the most welcoming state in the country. You go to any West Virginian’s home, they treat you with respect and dignity. And I find that so many West Virginians just haven’t had a representative. Somebody that comes up to them and says, ‘What would make your life better?’ I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, Republican, and I don’t care if you vote for me; if I win, I want to represent you. There’s something that happens, and they share things important about their lives, and that’s a blessing to be able to get that invitation with people.”
As for the moment, with the election less than 3 1/2 months away, Parsi reflected on the moment. Constantly moving around the state, he praised his team for helping with logistics, but also said something feels “different” in a race against someone in the Moore-Capito dynasty.
“There’s some of us that wish that we could turn the page to the end of this great book to see how it ends,” he said. “There are so many political talking heads that say, this is winnable, or that’s not winnable, or have you thought about it? And ultimately, I think that democracy is a participatory sport. It’s not like a spectator sport. We do this together.
“Some people say, well, you know, I don’t know if a Democrat can win in here. You’ve made that choice to believe that. I don’t make that choice. I believe in working right through the finish line. And this moment feels really big. It feels different.”
Parsi continues his tour around the district, next returning to Shepherdstown on July 27 as part of a statewide candidate caravan discussing the Valley North transmission line project. He’ll be joined by House of Delegates candidates Jenny Thacker, Marta Beck and Regina Dyer at James Rumsey Monument Park beginning at 5 p.m.
This article was originally published in the Spirit of Jefferson, July 22, 2026.
