| Dear Family and Friends,
Well, it's been a busy week, so I thought I should write you and bring you up to date.
I am going to try to secure the nomination as the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 23rd District.
We are moving a step at a time and I will consult with my family and advisors to evaluate our position at every step.
As you know, 21 months ago, my family and I set out on a journey motivated entirely by two things, our frustration with the Bush Administration and their collaborators in Congress and a strong desire to improve the quality of life, economic and otherwise, of the citizens of this District.
Soon, we were joined by you, and all of us continued that journey and tried to make history by working to bring change to the the 23rd District.
Despite the outcome of the election, it's hard to say we lost. The fact is that with very little money and the strong support of volunteers like you, almost 70,000 voters joined with us in that effort. In Madison County we received 45% of the vote, in Clinton County 44% and in Franklin County 43%.
Now McHugh is leaving; it's an entirely different situation. The seat will soon be vacant and as I said, I want the nomination as the candidate for the open seat.
All of us worked very hard last year. Together we covered every square foot of this District, we shook hands with thousands of people, we marched in a multitude of parades, we met the people of each committee, met the people of each and every county, town and village and worked as, I believe, no other Democratic candidate in this District had ever worked before. I familiarized myself with the issues facing the citizens of each region in the District, and while there is much work to be done, I believe that we have the potential to work together to resolve many of them. We achieved name recognition, we delivered a message that resonated with the people and succeeded in more goals than any underfunded campaign had the right to expect. And, importantly, our organization remains in place. All this we accomplished with hard work, sweat, shoe leather and little else to sustain us.
The fact is, that being just six months out from the election, we are in a position where we could, literally, begin the campaign again tomorrow. This, I think, will be very important in determining the designated candidate.
The fact is that this time out, we will not be hampered in our fund raising by the presence of so many high profile campaigns around us. Remember what we competed against in fund raising? Aubertine Special Election, Hilary and Obama primary, Aubertine election, Maffei election, Arcuri election, Obama election.
If we are the designated candidate in this Special Election and the election takes place this fall, we compete with no national races.
There is a process in place to designate that candidate. I want to be that candidate. My family, my staff and I are familiarizing ourselves with that process but believe that it is intended to be inclusive, comprehensive and peaceful. Our work in the last campaign was not in vain, but we will have to prove ourselves again, but most especially, I have to reprove myself.
As I understand the process so far, the decision will be made by the various County Chairs with the advice of many, including their committee members and local voters.
I know what I'm made of and I know what you're made of and I know that we can both secure the nomination and together go on to win this race.
Please help me by being supportive of me and respectful of the process. Feel free to discuss this with others; a note to your County Committee would probably help. Feel free to forward this letter as you see fit.
I am convinced that we will achieve our goals and that we will make history by bringing significant change to the lives of people in this District.
Let's be ready.
Mike |
