Running...for office?!
..an overview of my inspiration...and perhaps finding your own!
For those of you that really know me, one thing that is part of my identity is “running”. I started at age eight, running down the streets of Wausa, Nebraska and competing against adults.
I was the underdog, and that didn’t bother me a bit. I’m highly competitive, and I rise to the challenge when I’m told I cannot do something. I love to destroy that narrative when I am presented with it.
Perhaps that’s why when I decided to run for office, few of my friends and family were surprised. They encourage me to follow this calling. I cannot guarantee that I will succeed in this endeavor, but I can only truly fail if I don’t try.
My first success on this journey is launching my official Substack! Many of you have been pushing me to do this, and I’m listening. This is what a good representative does...
So, I am officially running for the position of state representative. I am for change. I am passionate about equitable, data driven, sustainable policy. I believe that we all get ahead when we serve each other. I’m also youthful enough to still dare to dream that we can make this a reality!
But rather than immediately getting into all my goals and policy plans, here’s how it all started:
The Book
Timothy Snyder, author of “On Tyranny”, has created a stir in political circles. His book is a field guide on how to survive and thrive during a time when our Democracy is rapidly eroding. It was recommended to me, not by a political wonk, but by my (now retired) Lutheran Pastor Erik Weiberg. That’s right, a pastor encouraged me to read a political book! When your faith in democracy and humanity itself is shaken, it is wise to listen to someone that knows where to find hope, clarity, and inspiration. This book has given me all three, and more.
Without spoiling it, it’s an excellent quick read. It reminds us that, while we are struggling with an epic level of government corruption and despotism, this has happened MANY times before. There are obvious examples in Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and communist Russia. There is a lesser known historical example that is pertinent to why I’m running, and is part of my own heritage.
I’m a Chilean American, and I walk this green Earth as an American because of the tyrannical rule of Agusto Pinochet. He was the dictator who ruled Chile from the 1970s to the 1990s, and he was responsible for the disappearance and murder of countless Chileans and Argentinians who resisted his rule.
Tragically, my late grandmother was one of these people. My mother was very lucky to make it out of the country alive. She moved to Nebraska to live with her older sister and brother-in-law, and she was able to make a new life. She found love, became a U.S. citizen, had two children and became a social worker. My mother survived through tragedy, and ultimately thrived in a wonderful Democracy. That paved the way for her children to become college educated and begin their own American success stories.
It’s this book, combined with my family’s own story, that gave me the push to run for public office.
We all have agency, my friends. Agency to be a better parent, a more patient friend, an inspiring teammate, and a more empathetic family member. We also have agency to use our voices, to speak out against injustice, to vote like our lives depend on it.
Don’t take our beloved Democracy for granted. If you feel as I do, that this is a pivotal moment in the great American experiment, then speak out! We need to be a community with each other, to seek truth and not tribalism, and to KEEP RUNNING.
As I start on my own new path, I’ll do my best to be honest, open and real about what this journey is like, and how you can join me as a running buddy. We all need each other now more than ever, and navigating this political marathon will take friends.
Be well, stay strong, and run to Powell’s Books to get a copy of ‘On Tyranny’ (Long live the Frog Resistance, Portland!)