In 2016 I worked for the Bernie Sanders campaign and to this day it remains the one thing I am most proud of. Fighting against the corporate capture of politics, for universal healthcare, free community college, renewable energy – basically a mission to reintroduce hope to a hopeless world. I haven't forgotten my progressive values, but I have witnessed “my side” devolve into tribalism that prefers to signal virtue rather than put forth good public policy. It’s ironic that the party of inclusion readily demonizes the “other side” for simply having a difference of opinion, when we could be uniting over issues where we share common ground. From my experience as a field organizer for Bernie Sanders, working from New Hampshire to California, I learned that republicans have more in common with their progressive counterparts than they do with their elected leaders. Our obsession with moral posturing only creates enemies out of potential allies and prevents us from putting forth sensible, effective, achievable public policy.
For example, one of our current City Council members has called for a ban on gas powered leaf blowers as a way to combat climate change…If gas powered leaf blowers register as a priority for you, then I am not the one you should vote for.If you are concerned with unaffordable housing, updating our approach to mental illness, or bearing witness to the decay of our beautiful city, then I ask for your support. As your elected leader I vow to uphold the progressive values that resonate with all of us, pursue public policy based on logic and empathy, and steer away from identity politics responsible for hijacking the progressive voice.