Constitution Party - California

Return to my campaign home page http://constitutionpartyca.org/node/503

What shall I put into my political biography? I would expect most people list their place and date of birth, education, military service, political activities, offices held, etc. -- e.g. their successes. I think a person is as much defined by their failures, what they learned from those failures, and how it changed them.

When I turned 18, I registered to vote as Undeclared (now Decline To State). Like most people who lived through the Vietnam and Watergate eras, I was cynical about government and politics. I didn't participate in the process other than voting in major elections.

Around 1991, I heard about Ross Perot and joined United We Stand America. I waited for somebody to contact me. Other than receiving a membership card in the mail, nothing happened.

Around 1995, I joined the Reform Party, waited, and nothing happened.

In 2000, I was an embedded systems software engineer riding the dot-com bubble in Silicon Valley. In 2001, my career bubble burst. Over the next year, I took a 28% cut in pay and worked 9 weeks. Over the next year, I took an additional 50% cut in pay and worked 6 weeks. Over the third year, I consulted on odd technical projects.

By 2004, my career and finances were in shambles. More importantly, I realized that the vocation that I had spent the last 21+ years of my life pursuing would no longer provide the quality of life I wanted for myself and my family. This was due to "Free Trade" agreements, non-immigrant worker visas, and other treaties and laws passed by the United States Congress. The lesson was painfully simple:

In a Republic, ignorance is not bliss and non-participation is suicide.

Fortunately, the solution is also simple (variously expressed):

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
-- Thomas Jefferson [1]

Be the change that you want to see in the world.
-- Mohandas Gandhi [2]

So, I found a new vocation (union electrician) and got involved in politics -- reading, attending meetings, volunteering, circulating petitions, etc.. To my surprise, I was welcomed and my efforts were appreciated. The reality is that, outside of the major parties and their multi-billion dollar politics industry, there are but a scarce few Americans who get involved. Those who do find the companionship of dedicated patriots and a limitless amount of work that needs to be done.

By 2006, the Reform Party had lost so many members that they were no longer a ballot-qualified political party in California. Because I had supported an independent candidate for Congress in 2004, I knew that it is practically impossible for candidates outside of the ballot-qualified parties to get on the ballot. So, I reviewed the platforms of the four remaining minor parties (American Independent, Green, Libertarian, and Peace and Freedom), contacted their leaders, and joined the AIP. I continued reading, volunteering, attending meetings and conventions, supporting candidates, and otherwise learning about government and politics.

In 2008, I ran for U.S. Representative in Congress, District 11. I was unprepared to meet the signature (40-60 AIP voters only) and filing fee ($1,654.00) requirements for the June Primary Election. By February, I was out of the race. But in the Fall, I learned that I could run as a write-in candidate in the November General Election. Most importantly, signature requirements were much easier (40-60 all voters) and there was no filing fee. I pulled papers, asked a dozen friends to help circulate, and asked all my neighbors to sign. Working together, I qualified and received 12 votes [3].

In 2010, I was better prepared to run for U.S. Representative in Congress, District 11. I pulled a Petition In-Lieu of Filing Fee in all four district counties (San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Clara), gave copies to and asked for help from the AIP county central committee chairpersons in the other three counties, pulled petitions for the eight state-wide AIP candidates, and spent the better part of my January and February weekends, plus some weekdays and evenings, knocking on doors, talking to AIP voters, and gathering signatures. Working together, myself and the other AIP candidates will appear on the June and/or November 2010 ballots!

[1] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasjeff135368.html

[2] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/mohandasga131253.html

[3] http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/election_2008/certified_list_of_candidat...