Statement of Candidacy for President

I am honored that the Nominations Committee has confidence in my ability to lead the PDNC at this critical time, and I will do my best to warrant your faith in me.

As one of the founding members of the Progressive Democrats of North Carolina, I have seen the organization grow and mature over the past four years. Our ambition to establish a progressive Democratic voice for North Carolina, to move progressive policies forward, and to help elect progressive Democrats has been tempered by experience and honed by a realistic assessment of the scale of the work that we have undertaken.

If elected to serve as President, I will build on the accomplishments of current President Pete McDowell and past President Mac Whatley and continue their struggle to challenge the North Carolina Democratic Party to live up to its core principles, to create a dynamic platform for grassroots democracy, and to advocate for those who are marginalized by our current policies and institutions.

I want to continue to deepen and broaden the PDNC by focusing our efforts toward movement building and grassroots organizing. As committed partners and allies of civil and human rights organizations and progressive issue groups, we will work together towards a sustainable, mutually supportive, culturally diverse, just and peaceful world. The current crises have created an unprecedented opening for progressive policies at every level. As it becomes increasingly clear that our current way of life is teetering on the brink, we need to articulate and model alternatives that empower people and nurture viable communities. As the progressive movement grows and gains momentum, it will bring about real and lasting change in North Carolina and beyond.

My political activism in this country began in response to the disastrous 2000 elections and intensified as the United States marched to war against Afghanistan and then Iraq. My involvement in the peace movement brought me in contact with progressive Democrats, and I joined their efforts to effect change from within the political party system. I currently serve as chair for the Orange County Chapter of the PDNC. Our most recent action was to facilitate Orange County's "Listening to America - Answering Obama’s call to help write the Democratic Platform for Change" discussion, compile the group's recommendations and submit them to the Obama campaign. In addition, I currently serve as Chair for the Orange Grove Precinct in Orange County and I am also an active member of the Orange County Democratic Party’s Policy and Action Committee. In recent years, I have become involved in the immigrant rights movement and have authored several pro-immigrant resolutions that have been adopted by the North Carolina Democratic Party.