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 Thanks to all who gave so much to help make a difference in the direction that our party takes moving forward. For those who attended the state convention this weekend, you may have stopped by my hospitality room on Friday night and enjoyed the great live music. If you didn’t notice, the room we were in is called The  Clarity Room. And under the circumstances, it couldn’t have been more  appropriate as delegates needed to make sense of the campaign leading up to the selection of new leadership.

  So let’s clear the air of some things about the last 4 days. There really was not a strategy by anyone that lead to my decision. I can go back to a meeting I had with 20 loyal and active supporters on Tuesday night. We met to lay out convention plans and help them with talking points and how I wanted them to help me make my case with undecided delegates on Friday. However, I also explained to them that I believed that my campaign was running neck and neck in 2nd/3rd place with Martha. I explained that, without a run-off election, it may be necessary to make a decision by Saturday to ensure that our party did not continue down the same path we have been on. It was on Wednesday night, after many emails and other contacts asking that something be done, when I met with friends near 10PM over a couple of beers and came to the conclusion that I needed to rise above any personal ambition and take the dramatic action that I did.

  Now, something very important in all this is why I would throw my support toward Martha Laning. Throughout this campaign all the candidates would have to confess that we all heard at forums and meetings comments asking that we all work together and that we combine our strengths and talents to lead this party together. Then, along with those general pleas, I received many contacts from members asking that Martha and I work together. I am certain that Martha received the same messages. It is important, if we are truly going to unify this party that we listen to those suggestions. All the while, Martha showed to me that she was also listening and was willing to listen to me as well. We reached out to each other in conversations over the final weeks of this campaign to trade ideas and consider how we might build this party when this ended. No other candidate talked with me this way.  Finally, though, after Stephanie and I had planned to have a pre-convention rally we called a Unification Rally and Martha asked if she and David Bowen could attend, I knew that they really were on the same page with us. Above all else, working together and unifying our progressive members to win back our state comes before any personal differences or philosophies. So my reply to Martha was, it is time to talk about winning as a team. Let’s make Thursday night a REAL unification rally and start the healing of our party.

  No, there was no plan. Just as in life, when our most enjoyable days happen spontaneously while the best planned days might fall apart, the chance to bring our party together under one progressive ideal happened through a series of unexpected events and political instincts.

 

 

 

 Now, I would like to re-visit this campaign by the numbers; my own numbers:

 

  • Zero chance that the party would allow a run-off election. The choice I made would not have been needed, nor sensible, if a run-off election was imminent.

 

  • Hundreds of new friends I made across the state (I only hope they feel they are my friends because I sure do) that are now going to rise up and make our state great once again.

 

 

  • 22,000 miles on my car. Choosing to get my daughter another car and use the Honda Hybrid for this purpose proved to be a very wise choice as I got 48 miles a gallon while I trekked across the state day after day.

 

  • 3 women. I have put my family through the most tortuous emotional roller coaster as they have supported my political career but nothing like what we endured the last week of this campaign. They came to my rescue when I needed it the most.  I love my wife Sue and daughters Emily and Sarah with all my heart.

 

 

  • Dozens of friends that have never left my side no matter what. They have trusted me and my decisions including this one. The hardest part was not whether it was the right thing to do for our party, it was whether I was letting down those enormously wonderful friends who have done so much to make it possible for me to keep spreading our message. They stood by me as I called many of them before I made public my choice to send my support to Martha. I love all of you.

 

  • One! There is only one Stephanie Findley. A most special human being. Thank you, Stephanie, for helping me see things in a different way. I feel so connected to another culture and to our most vital city in this state all because I found Stephanie Findley who also placed her trust in me and never wavered. I love you Stephanie!

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