I want to talk about the importance of meeting voters. I mean meeting them face to face, talking to them (not at them), and hearing what they have to say. We have spent the better part of two years meeting thousands of neighbors, and we have adopted the motto, both personal and for the campaign, to bring neighbors together. This is not just a rebuke on the partisanship of our country, though that is also an issue. This is a rebuke on our current American campaign system.
I want to be clear- we need money to run our campaign. It’s the reality of American political life. Sometimes we even need a lot of money. But spending 10 hours a day, calling people that usually can’t even vote for us, and asking for their money is, in my opinion, not conducive to what we should really be trying to accomplish. Not having enough money can lose an election, but having a bunch of money certainly does not guarantee a win either. And we as candidates need to meet the people we want to represent and not just pander to them or use them for photo ops. These things have been on my mind as we go into the final day of our campaign’s annual eight county 9th Congressional District summer tour.
We met a man in one of our rural counties yesterday who has been selling watermelons all of his life. We talked and I listened to his story. I heard the pride in his voice as he shared with me how he was taught by his grandmother and how she also taught him what to grow in cooler months. I shared with him how I was taught hospitality by my own big catholic family who made sure we went up to everyone to shake their hand and welcome them when they came over to my grandparent’s house. They were from all around the world since my uncles worked for companies that trained test pilots for helicopters before they were sold to that country. We were taught to always make them feel at home and I shared with my new friend yesterday how this valuable lesson gave me a skillset in my professional life as a leader in the hospitality industry. Afterwards, we toured a local farm and this helped reinforce the notion that our district needs to enhance its agriculture production and trade and we need quality infrastructure to do this. We met a couple today that told me they feel so lucky to have federal healthcare benefits because the husband works for the government and that they often worry about their situation if they did not have federal benefits. We have to remember why we run for office and why we fight our fight. It is not to keep winning election over and over. It is not to see who can raise a million dollars the fastest. It is to represent our family, friends, and neighbors. It is to meet them, listen to them, and then develop a plan as best we can to be their voice at the table of governance. This is precisely the reason I signed a 3-term limit back in 2015- I don’t want to have to worry about the next election or if we have enough money to run an ad year after year after year. We must be the change we want to see.
We have fought for local candidates in town council races, protested along side Indivisible, and even went to Georgia to fight for Jon Ossoff. In the fall, we plan to head to Utah to fight for Kathy Allen and anywhere that need us to protest, knock doors, and make calls. We need leaders with the courage to tell the truth and to face the people they wish to represent. We need to show hospitality to our neighbors. Locked away in a room dialing for dollars doesn’t accomplish that goal. It might get you elected but it is not being the change we wish to see. It is not the change that my family deserves or that any of us deserve. It is not the change that I would be proud of if it is how I am elected.