The last few weeks have been full of activity for me and the awesome volunteers helping me with my campaign. We got a late start to the process of getting on the ballot, mostly because my decision to run was delayed until after my wedding, which was this past May. (It's been a busy and exciting spring!)
We started collecting signatures and filing paperwork in early June. Many hands make for light work and I'm so grateful for the friends who believed in my campaign enough to spend their time helping me collect the signatures I needed: Chris Hessler, Mike Cantwell, George Snider, Chris DeRosa, Ken Collins, and James "Vell" Rives.
On Monday June 17, one day before the deadline, I got confirmation from the Arlington County Dept. of Elections team that I had fulfilled all the requirements to be on the ballot! Success!
In the time since, I've been hard at work building this website and social media pages for my campaign. I've also been enjoying meeting with friends and mentors to shape my campaign strategy. (When I took the CliftonStrengths Assessment years ago, the test identified Strategic as one of my top 5 strengths, alongside Activator, Learner, Communication, and Individualization.)
This has been an exciting journey so far. It's my first time running for elected public office and everything is a new learning experience. If I'm being honest, there have been moments when it has felt intimidating, but in those moments I've reminded myself that it's fun to be the underdog. I remember times in my running career when I was the underdog and no one going into the race knew my name. There was no pressure (unlike later in my career!), so it was all upside and it gave me extra fire to make sure that people would know my name after the race.
Plus, I've been so grateful for and energized by the countless awesome conversations I've already had with Arlington residents about what they care about in this community, where the County Board is doing well, and where it could improve to serve them better. Most people don't talk politics with strangers these days (or if they do it's often not a pleasant interaction) and I am truly motivated to change that dynamic and lead the way in having positive, productive conversations about politics in this community.
Cheers to an exciting road ahead!
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