Last month, I announced I was running to be my precinct’s central committee member of the Medina County Democratic Party. I’ll cut to the chase before I give you the background as to why I have signed up for this fight:
Of all the central committee races, mine is the toughest battle. My opponent and those who support Medina’s old guard are pissed that I’m running against her at all. They’re pissed that anyone in the party is running against their ineffectual leadership. It’s going to take clear vision, dedication, hard work, and, sadly, money to get our message out and to win this battle.
When I announced my candidacy in my January 16 bloggy thing, on the very day I announced my candidacy three of my online readers donated $200 to my campaign. In a bit, I will tell you how I spent that money and how you, too, can donate to my election campaign.
Here’s the background:
I have often said Medina was way too white and way too Republican for me. But I’ve now lived here for over 35 years and, despite my irritation and downright ire with a city run by an elite who stay in their offices, elected and otherwise, way past their expiration dates, I love my city. I plan to die here. Hopefully later rather than sooner.
I felt pride when the Medina city council recently passed an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance with bipartisan support. It was the right thing to do. I was disgusted but not surprised when all those who voted for the ordinance found themselves with single-issue opponents in their reelection campaigns. The single issue was, of course, that every one of those opponents wanted to discriminate against the LGBT citizens of Medina.
In my ward, the opposition candidate was a vile zealot who railed against the LGBT community on his social media. His faux-Christian beliefs included subjecting women to male domination and forbidding his daughter from having male friends. I couldn’t countenance this man representing me on the city council.
I wrote a letter to the local newspaper praising the city council candidates who supported the ordinance and condemning the bigotry of those who opposed it. My family and I took it one step further.
Using screen caps of the zealot’s rants, we mailed a letter to all the Democratic voters in our ward. It cost us three hundred dollars to do this. Naturally, we were accused of smearing the opposition candidate because how awful of us to share his own words with the voters. We also had people coming to our home to thank us for the letter and the revelations included therein.
Our incumbent councilman crushed his opponent in the election. Even better, every single-issue candidate was defeated in their quest to discriminate against some of our fellow citizens. Once again, as is my wont, I wrote a letter to the local paper praising the citizens of Medina voting for fairness and against bigotry. It was a victory lap of sorts.
I believe with all my heart, intellect and soul that the solutions to the problems facing our cities, states, nation and world can be found in progressive liberal philosophies and policies. It has been proven over and over again that the Republican Party offers succor only for the already wealthy. They are gutting the middle class of our country. They are vilifying the poor. They oppose the diversity that has made our country great and can make it truly great again.
The Central Committee does not have many responsibilities. Our two main ones are electing a slate of fellow Democrats who will set the goals of our party...and appointing people to fill any positions left vacant by the elected official leaving their office before the end of their term. I am far and away the best choice for this position in my precinct.
I’m running against an incumbent Democrat who has been involved in our local and country politics for decades. It would be fair for me to describe her as one of the “elites” I mentioned above. She has become complacent in opposing Republicans, even going so far as to endorse the Republican mayor of our city in his election. Though she was in favor of the LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance, she stayed well on the sidelines when the council members who voted for it were challenged for their seats. She is no longer effective in promoting progressive policies. I can do better.
I don’t want to work with Republicans. I want them to work with us. We have allowed them to set the agenda for far too long, especially given how little that agenda offers the vast majority of Americans. They have worked against the best interests of our citizens and of democracy itself. We need to change that.
My son Ed is part of a vibrant part of the party who are, indeed, seeking to change things. They want to lead the party. They want to promote a more progressive agenda. They want to support progressive candidates. Their opposition is the “old guard” that has failed to grow the party in our county and, like my incumbent opponent, did not show up to support our progressive candidates. They believed those candidates would be defeated.
Later today, I will drive to the post office to send out the first of two mailings to the Democratic voters of my ward. My son will be ordering the signs you saw at the start of today’s blog. Just this first mailing and the signs have put our campaign war chest solidly in the red.
I’m prepared to finance my campaign with my own funds if necessary. However, the more donations I get, the more I can do in my campaign and others. My race is on the March primary ballot. After my race concludes, whether I win or lose, any remaining donations will be used to support our other progressive candidates. If you wish to donate to my campaign, you can send the money to my PayPal account.
Next week, on Tuesday, February 11, I’ll be making my first public appearance as a candidate at Geeked Out bar and grill in Brunswick. This is a New Hampshire primary watch party.
Also next week, I’ll be sending out the second of my two mailings. When the campaign signs arrive, we’ll be getting them on the lawns of our neighborhood supporters. After that, I’ll be knocking on the doors of the Democratic Party voters in my ward to introduce myself and answer any questions they might have.
I fully expect there will be considerable pushback from my opponent and her fellow elites. I’m prepared to do a third mailing if need be to respond to that pushback.
There needs to be a change in Medina County and in the rest of our state and country. I’ve enlisted in that great endeavor. I hope you will as well.
Thanks for your time. I’ll be back soon with the usual comics and pop culture bloggy things.
© 2020 Tony Isabella
Of all the central committee races, mine is the toughest battle. My opponent and those who support Medina’s old guard are pissed that I’m running against her at all. They’re pissed that anyone in the party is running against their ineffectual leadership. It’s going to take clear vision, dedication, hard work, and, sadly, money to get our message out and to win this battle.
When I announced my candidacy in my January 16 bloggy thing, on the very day I announced my candidacy three of my online readers donated $200 to my campaign. In a bit, I will tell you how I spent that money and how you, too, can donate to my election campaign.
Here’s the background:
I have often said Medina was way too white and way too Republican for me. But I’ve now lived here for over 35 years and, despite my irritation and downright ire with a city run by an elite who stay in their offices, elected and otherwise, way past their expiration dates, I love my city. I plan to die here. Hopefully later rather than sooner.
I felt pride when the Medina city council recently passed an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance with bipartisan support. It was the right thing to do. I was disgusted but not surprised when all those who voted for the ordinance found themselves with single-issue opponents in their reelection campaigns. The single issue was, of course, that every one of those opponents wanted to discriminate against the LGBT citizens of Medina.
In my ward, the opposition candidate was a vile zealot who railed against the LGBT community on his social media. His faux-Christian beliefs included subjecting women to male domination and forbidding his daughter from having male friends. I couldn’t countenance this man representing me on the city council.
I wrote a letter to the local newspaper praising the city council candidates who supported the ordinance and condemning the bigotry of those who opposed it. My family and I took it one step further.
Using screen caps of the zealot’s rants, we mailed a letter to all the Democratic voters in our ward. It cost us three hundred dollars to do this. Naturally, we were accused of smearing the opposition candidate because how awful of us to share his own words with the voters. We also had people coming to our home to thank us for the letter and the revelations included therein.
Our incumbent councilman crushed his opponent in the election. Even better, every single-issue candidate was defeated in their quest to discriminate against some of our fellow citizens. Once again, as is my wont, I wrote a letter to the local paper praising the citizens of Medina voting for fairness and against bigotry. It was a victory lap of sorts.
I believe with all my heart, intellect and soul that the solutions to the problems facing our cities, states, nation and world can be found in progressive liberal philosophies and policies. It has been proven over and over again that the Republican Party offers succor only for the already wealthy. They are gutting the middle class of our country. They are vilifying the poor. They oppose the diversity that has made our country great and can make it truly great again.
The Central Committee does not have many responsibilities. Our two main ones are electing a slate of fellow Democrats who will set the goals of our party...and appointing people to fill any positions left vacant by the elected official leaving their office before the end of their term. I am far and away the best choice for this position in my precinct.
I’m running against an incumbent Democrat who has been involved in our local and country politics for decades. It would be fair for me to describe her as one of the “elites” I mentioned above. She has become complacent in opposing Republicans, even going so far as to endorse the Republican mayor of our city in his election. Though she was in favor of the LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance, she stayed well on the sidelines when the council members who voted for it were challenged for their seats. She is no longer effective in promoting progressive policies. I can do better.
I don’t want to work with Republicans. I want them to work with us. We have allowed them to set the agenda for far too long, especially given how little that agenda offers the vast majority of Americans. They have worked against the best interests of our citizens and of democracy itself. We need to change that.
My son Ed is part of a vibrant part of the party who are, indeed, seeking to change things. They want to lead the party. They want to promote a more progressive agenda. They want to support progressive candidates. Their opposition is the “old guard” that has failed to grow the party in our county and, like my incumbent opponent, did not show up to support our progressive candidates. They believed those candidates would be defeated.
Later today, I will drive to the post office to send out the first of two mailings to the Democratic voters of my ward. My son will be ordering the signs you saw at the start of today’s blog. Just this first mailing and the signs have put our campaign war chest solidly in the red.
I’m prepared to finance my campaign with my own funds if necessary. However, the more donations I get, the more I can do in my campaign and others. My race is on the March primary ballot. After my race concludes, whether I win or lose, any remaining donations will be used to support our other progressive candidates. If you wish to donate to my campaign, you can send the money to my PayPal account.
Next week, on Tuesday, February 11, I’ll be making my first public appearance as a candidate at Geeked Out bar and grill in Brunswick. This is a New Hampshire primary watch party.
Also next week, I’ll be sending out the second of my two mailings. When the campaign signs arrive, we’ll be getting them on the lawns of our neighborhood supporters. After that, I’ll be knocking on the doors of the Democratic Party voters in my ward to introduce myself and answer any questions they might have.
I fully expect there will be considerable pushback from my opponent and her fellow elites. I’m prepared to do a third mailing if need be to respond to that pushback.
There needs to be a change in Medina County and in the rest of our state and country. I’ve enlisted in that great endeavor. I hope you will as well.
Thanks for your time. I’ll be back soon with the usual comics and pop culture bloggy things.
© 2020 Tony Isabella
Tony: While I do not live within your state, I applaud both your viewpoints and your efforts, so I wish you well in your political endeavors.
ReplyDelete