What It Means To Have Support
Tonight I spent close to three hours with many people who want to support me in my quest to sit on our local school board. It is kind of surreal because I do not know most of them on a personal level. Many recall my election effort two years ago and are excited at the prospects this year. There is a lot on the line, including taking on the current school board president, current vice president, another long term board member, and what is anticipated, the former board member who was handpicked by the board as a replacement for a board member who had resigned (yes, the one that they picked over myself and fellow running mate, Tina).
And there are tons of issues this time around, many continuing from two years ago, and several new issues. There will be plenty of time to get into the issues, but for now, this blog is just about the fact that so many people believe that along with my three other running mates, we are the ones to make the difference for public education in our area. They support us. This is just one of many examples from my life, of when support has mattered the most to me, and made the difference.
And within our campaign, there is support. Alex is making his third run, the last time was in 2011 with me, and he did better with results than in 2009. He is facing the same candidates that he faced in 2009, but now he has three great running mates. Like me, he is a family man, married with two daughters. And he is super smart. I have spent a couple afternoons recently with him, just casual visits. Relaxing, interesting, and educational from a technology point of view. I know I will have the support of those in Alex’s circle.
Tina was a new-comer to our last campaign, but she brought something special, pride. She was “super mom”, sports mom, spirit mom. If you were involved in sports, everyone knew her. She is soft-spoken and passionate, but can totally relate to the parents and young graduates. She is very likable so many come to her to give her leads of issues. As we have shared car rides occasionally, casual conversations have led us to more vulnerable talks, giving us a more human feel for the campaign.
Murali (pronounce “murly”) is a newcomer to our slate, but not to our school district as he spent his entire education going through our system. He is a very nice, well spoken young man.
So we stood in front of a room packed with supporters. All interested in signing our petitions to run for the public office of school board director. So many expressed concerns for what they felt were issues that they believe were important, but also that we would hear them and listen to them.
This petition process will be done soon, and then it is time to put together a platform, narrowed down from more than a dozen issues that I feel need to be addressed, as well as the issues the other candidates have for the district. But bottom line, it is the education of the children that has to be the top priority.
Paul's Heart 