Before diving back into posts about travel and camping, here's a quick update to summarize the time I was away.
From mid-April to mid-November of 2024, I served as co-campaign manager for Brienne Brown, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Assembly District 43. I had always admired Brienne as a change-maker in my community and knew she was a fantastic candidate, so I jumped at the chance to help her get elected. My friend Sue Chandler and I split the duties (and shared the burdens) of this challenging job.
Looking back, it seems remarkable that Brienne took a chance on a political neophyte like myself. But I felt confident making the jump from community organizer to campaign manager. Brienne was an amazing candidate - and that made it easy. All we had to do was introduce her to the voters, and they would want her to be their representative. Together, the three of us tackled house parties and press; debates and rallies; forums and farmers markets; canvasses and endorsements. Brienne, of course, had the heaviest lift. She worked her ass off day and night, and personally knocked over 3,000 doors, having impactful conversations across the district.
The happy result for Brienne: Victory November 5th!
I also kept an eye on my good friend Joan Fitzgerald's race over in Wisconsin Assembly District 46. As I wrote about in my previous blog post, The people that move us FORWARD!, Joan and I have been working together since 2018 as volunteer leaders in Moms Demand Action, advocating for public safety measures to protect people from gun violence. During the campaign season I made time for a couple of canvass shifts for Joan, sent voters and volunteers her way every chance I got, and threw a combined house party for Brienne and Joan in May.
Like Brienne, Joan was one of the hardest working candidates in all of Wisconsin - knocking over 3,000 doors and winning over voters from Fort Atkinson to Cottage Grove to Waterloo.
The happy result for Joan: Victory November 5th!
I could go on and on, because I am very proud of Joan and Brienne and the incredible people who worked hard to get them to the Capitol! But because the focus of this blog is meant to be travel/nature/camping, I will keep it short.
Let me end with this: It is a good time to be in community with good-hearted people. As Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has." I've been witness to positive results coming from hard work and grassroots advocacy. I'll be eternally thankful for the people I met on my foray into the world of politics in 2024, and all that they do to make the world a better, safer, kinder place. Congratulations Representative Brown and Representative Fitzgerald! And sojourn on!
Comments