While I joined Sister District and subsequently the David Reid campaign to help, it is really you all that ended up helping me. Working with you restored my faith in our party and the notion that citizens matter. I had never worked in this electoral space before and understood little of its importance. As I began working on Reid’s campaign, I came to realize how critical down ballot work is. The issues that I care most about — health care for the poor, gun safety, education — will now happen at the state level as our national leaders are unable to take us over the finish line. We need smart people in our states.

We need smart people in our states.

Through my work with you and the Reid campaign, I gained my political sea legs and confidence to carry on in this electoral space. I am serving as a campaign chair for a MD delegate candidate, I will help lead the effort to take down Governor Hogan, and I have become a special election junkie. I now find myself weighing in across our country — GA, AL and PA to help my Sister District comrades Get Out The Vote. I’m all in.

On election night about 6:00pm a call came into the Reid campaign from an elderly couple who had no ride to the polls but who were committed to voting for David Reid. As there was no one else to pick them up, I headed over to their apartment hoping not to get lost. I arrived to find an elderly gentleman who moved slowly with a cane and his wife who had 5 fractures in her back and could barely walk. I shuffled them into my car through the horizontal rain and we made it to the polling station. When it became obvious they would be unable to make it the entire way across the gym floor to vote at the kiosks, I signed the papers allowing me to assist them with their ballots. They successfully voted for David Reid with only moments to spare. I left them back at their apartment thinking we might be in good shape on election night if their citizen furor and commitment was any indicator. I felt honored to be a member of Sister District’s team and proud of their ground game.

I came to you all out of fear and desperation and because you and the Reid campaign were so welcoming, so smart and so good at what you do, I leave ready to lead in 2018 and 2020. It was a gift to work with you all.