A Hat Tip to Hard Work

There is a stronger than normal force pulling me incessantly back to Elm Street these days. The photos of my two kids and my wife that sit on my desk in Washington, the photos Kim texts me of the kids being silly throughout the day that appear regularly on my phone. For the five years we've lived on the Eastern Shore, I generally get home around 7, leave the house around 6. It's a long day, and a long commute, but I love what I get to do for a living, and I love getting to call the Eastern Shore home, so it is all part of the bargain. But having a new family has made my desire to be home much more pressing and profound.

Perhaps it makes sense then, that as I thought about running for the Board of Education I thought of the time a proper campaign would inevitably consume, the time away from Kim, Alex, and Emily. Stepping in to the race would mean missing putting the kids to bed some nights, and weekend afternoons spent out on the campaign trail and not with the family. I am not unique, every candidate who enters any race understands the sacrifices that are necessary to run a credible campaign.

But where I do believe I am unique, is the level of effort I have put into this campaign. I have attended every candidate forum, sign waved across the county, knocked on doors, and attended far more Board of Education meetings than any other candidate. I have talked to county commissioners about education, I have talked to commissioner candidates about their views on education. And after the public aspect of the campaign ends for the day, I have spent countless hours researching the county's education budget, Common Core standards, and a whole bevy of other education issues.

The only promise my campaign has made is one that I know I can keep: no other candidate for the Board of Education will work harder on behalf of our county's students and taxpayers than I will.

I believe strongly that those who seek to hold public office must work hard to earn the trust of those they hope to represent. They owe the voters, in short, a glimpse of the kind of elected official they will be. Candidates who pledge hard work and effort, but don't illustrate that pledge with vigor on the campaign trail, are unlikely to keep their promises if they are trusted with elected office. Work ethic isn't a light switch.

It has been tough to leave the family, but I know that if by my effort, I can improve the education available to my children, and moreover to all the children of Queen Anne's County, both today and in the future, then that time away from home will not have been spent in vain. As your member of the Board of Education, I will bring the same commitment to the Board as I have brought to the campaign.  I would be honored by your confidence on Election Day.