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The Decision to Run

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When I left the Army and returned home I saw symptoms of failure out of our leaders in Washington. There were few job opportunities, an economy that wasn't working for all Americans and dysfunction out of congress. Voters were upset with the games, the gridlock, and the partisanship. I was upset with our elected leaders' selfish behavior and service to subsets of Americans. Politics as usual was not working, and voters wanted something different.

But this happens every 2 years. Election after election voters say they want something better, candidates promise them something better, but we get the same failure. The same party servants, self servants and special interest group servants, both on the ballot and in congress. I thought to myself, "this is not working for America, and we deserve better". But where is the better? Who steps up and offers voters the type of change we need? 

I was at a crossroads. I could stick with the original plan of settling down, securing a good paying job, buying a home, finding love, and starting a family; or I could postpone what I wanted and use my time and resources to offer voters something different.Two paths, both rewarding. One easily attainable and less stressful, the other very challenging and uncharted. Then, on election day 2010, I was in the voting booth casting my ballot when I said to myself

"do it. Step into the arena, get on the ballot, and offer voters your vision of leadership".

But I had a degree in political science, I studied this stuff in college, the odds of an independent winning an election were far from favorable. Why try? I knew our political system was rigged for two party dominance. I knew district lines were drawn for partisan gain. I didn't care much for the odds, but I could not join a party, my vision of public service was based around the idea of serving all Americans equally and parties serve subsets of Americans. If I was going to do this I was going to stay independent, that meant I would face challenges many party backed candidates don't:

  1. How was I going to win when all the districts in Florida were drawn to benefit a Republican or Democrat?
  2. How was I going to win when party candidates raised massive amounts of money?
  3. How was I going to win when party candidates had well organized groups of people ready to help get their message out?

Tough questions. But, in the end, nothing that held me back. If I cannot win in a gerrymandered district, I would run in the only district that party leaders had no control over, I would run statewide. If I could not compete with their ability to raise massive amounts of money, I would turn the disadvantage into an asset. Voters despise how money influences outcomes in politics, and so do I. So, I would limit campaign contributions to only small dollar donations. To deal with the lack of organization non party affiliated candidates are faced with I'd have to learn how to leverage the great equalizer known as the internet.

And I am doing it right now.