The longer someone has been on the planet, the more difficult it becomes when asked, “Tell me a little bit about yourself.” Well, I haven’t been a snake charmer in India yet. But a friend of mine, who actually was for a short time, once told me, “One never knows what they will end up doing next.”Little did I suspect the path that Donald Trump’s election would lead me down. All all that I knew was that I had to do something – for my children’s, and everyone else’s children’s future. This is the story of how I ended up running for State Central Committeeman in the 14th Congressional District.
I have known for a long time that the working people of Illinois, especially our farmers, have felt ignored by the leaders of the Democratic Party. Many have left the party in frustration. In order to win back the people of the working class, we must have Democratic candidates who stand for our values and fight for our needs. The solution is that we must stop electing political insiders who put their ambitions before the needs of ordinary people.
At the end of his 2016 Presidential Campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders called on his supporters to run for local, state, and national offices, to continue the “process of transforming America”.
“I have no doubt that with the energy and enthusiasm our campaign has shown that we can win significant numbers of local and state elections if people are prepared to become involved. I also hope that people will give serious thought to running for statewide offices and the United States Congress.
We need new blood in the political process, and you are that new blood.”
Inspired by those words, Peter became one of the thousands of ordinary people to run for office for the first time.