I am writing to introduce myself and let you know that I am taking the first steps to run for Congress in our 10th Congressional District.
As you may have heard, Representative Ellen Tauscher has been nominated to serve in President Barack Obama’s administration. The special election that will determine her replacement has yet to be scheduled, but has already attracted a virtual swarm of Sacramento politicians.
I am not a career politician and I don’t view the decision to run as an opportunity for advancement, nor a chance to reprise the empty campaign promises of years past. For me, it is a responsibility because the issues we face are personal and consequential.
As the son of a single mother from Fairfield who worked as a housekeeper, I’ve lived the fight for a quality education, while facing the uncertainty of being without health insurance for most of my life. After earning an appointment to West Point, I served two tours as a combat platoon leader in Iraq (watch a short video about my service below), and was awarded the bronze star for my actions in battle.
When I came home, I led recovery missions to help rebuild the lives of fellow citizens in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and challenged the military’s failed “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy – sacrificing a career I loved to stand up for what I believe.
Ultimately, I’ve seen too many Americans pay too big a price for the convenient choices of politicians. I believe the only way to break this cycle is to elect leaders who are willing to make the courageous choices.
I hope you’ll join me today in my fight to bring a little courage back to Washington, D.C. Sign up on my website, join over 1,000 supporters on my Facebook page and follow my updates on Twitter.
And if you would like to help, please join me on ActBlue and make a contribution, large or small. Our ActBlue page was recently featured as one of the hottest in the country.
In the weeks and months to come, I am looking forward to sharing my values, my vision, and my priorities for moving our district, our country and our politics in a new direction – with the real world sense of urgency that is too often missing from public debate on issues like universal health care, expanding economic opportunity, keeping faith with America’s veterans and eliminating the cancer of inequality from the world’s greatest democracy once and for all.
Some will call me young, but I have spent more time on the frontlines of battles than most politicians do in a lifetime. In this campaign, I believe that we have a responsibility to do more than promise change; we must deliver change.
To do that, we must be willing to forego the convenient politics of the past, hold one another accountable for the difficult choices that lie ahead, and most importantly, we must summon the courage of our convictions.
I hope I can earn your support.
Thank you,
