Friends,
What an interesting few days for Western New York politics. The news that unraveled last week caught many by surprise. I can truly understand the frustration and disappointment people feel when the person sent to Washington to represent your interests ends up as the punch line for late night television hosts. In spite of this, I think the people of New York's 26th Congressional District have a unique opportunity.
As the last few days have gone by, Erin and I have received an outpouring of support, advice, and encouragement from friends, family, and advocates who work so hard for the people of Western New York. For that, I would like to show my immense gratitude and thank you for believing in the effort we all started in 2008. It is incredibly humbling to receive the emails, phone calls and messages that have pledged support and told us to "Go for it!"
Erin and I spent the last few nights discussing the road ahead. Currently, I have the honor of serving the President and returning to the Army as a Special Advisor for Energy. This came as a result of my work leading Operation Free (www.operationfree.net), an energy security organization consisting of more than 700 veterans and 35 Admirals and Generals. We founded Operation Free when I was the Chief Operating Officer and Fellow at the Truman National Security Project (www.trumanproject.org), a progressive national security leadership organization.
Returning to the Army has been an honor and I am in the unique role of helping to form the path that will move our military toward energy security with clean energy technology and sustainable policies. As Tom Freidman said, "When the Army goes green, the nation will go green." I believe that the military's efforts on clean energy will help drive the nation in that direction and provide the energy security we currently lack.
While I have been honored to receive such remarkable support to enter the campaign for New York's 26th Congressional District, I have decided to continue my service to the Army. I do look forward to a time in the future when I can once again work to represent the people of Western New York, and hope I can have your support at that time.
I hope to help in whatever way I can, and look forward to staying in touch.
Thank you for your support.
Jon
I'm glad for Jon's sake that he's happy and fulfilled in his new job, but personally I have to say that Congress suffers for the lack. Some here may remember having met Jon at Netroots Nation 2009, when he was around promoting Operation Free. I have no doubt they'll second me in saying that Jon is a great guy, very smart, very conscientious, and dedicated to doing good public service.
