Ed Ridpath's blog

On MyDD, desmoinesdem posted this entry

Short synopsis:

Five reasons to get involved in state legislative races:

1. The 2010 census looms.
2. Many policy matters are determined at the state level.
3. Getting progressive Democrats elected to state legislatures will build our bench for future House, Senate or gubernatorial races.
4. You probably can find a competitive statehouse race near you, no matter where you live.
5. Your individual actions are more likely to make a difference in a statehouse race.

It's great reading and a good pitch on why state house and senate races are so important.

It is always interesting to review your opponent's campaign finance filing. As expected, my opponent, NC House Republican minority leader Paul "Skip" Stam, finally out fund raised my campaign.

Just switched over all the technology of the website under a program of the DLCC. Nice thing is, although ActBlue does not normally support NC House candidates, they can through the DLCC.

So, if you have an ActBlue fundraising page (you do, right???) please add the Ed Ridpath campaign to it.

http://actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/14608

In my “day job”, I am a professional working at the business and technical interface of a large company. I see the business needs to balance investments in equipment with investments in people. However, our current laws too often value capital over labor. To maintain our shared prosperity and the basics of the American dream, we must restore the balance of valuing hard work over wealth.

I grew up in a small lake front home in the suburbs of Minneapolis, where I could enjoy swimming, boating, and fishing. I would visit my grandparents who lived in a rural farming community, and was introduced to farm life. I spent many summers in my youth camping in the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area of northern Minnesota. As a young Cub Scout, I went on hikes in nearby parks and natural areas. I developed a deep appreciation of nature, agriculture, and the real value a variety of local open spaces can give a community.

This appreciation of natural areas, parks, farmland, and rural living attracted me to Southern Wake County and my home in Fuquay-Varina. We have many working farms, large stretches of still natural land, and several parks that add greatly to our quality of life. But as all of North Carolina grows, these sources of critical open space we all enjoy are under great pressure.

Today, the Raleigh News and Observer started a series on the sad state of Mental Health “reform” in North Carolina. The 2001 plan was to move care out of central State Hospitals into local communities and have private providers deliver much of the care. This reform was poorly planned, poorly executed, and most telling, went forward with too little oversight.

Last Summer, I wrote a short series of posts on

Why we need to have Democrats run in every race,

What it takes to be a candidate,

and Obstacles to succeeding as a candidate.

I will be filing myself tomorrow for NC House 37, but I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to seriously consider running and to think about it now before filing ends on Feb 29th.

You may be the candidate you've been waiting for!

Bumped, fp'd by Betsy. This is a perfect open thread to keep track of folks filing in your area.

Many politicians take the easy way out to claim they are “tough on crime.” They think that simply jacking up the penalties for crimes is enough. It’s not.

 "Give me your tired, your poor,
  Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
  The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
  I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"



This is what greeted my 10 year-old great-grandfather when he and his family sailed into New York Harbor in 1893. They stepped onto Ellis Island without documents. They were quarantined, processed, and then sent on their way to build our country. After a few years, they filed naturalization papers and became citizens. My ancestors were looking for a sanctuary country and they found it in the United States of America.

Today, we kicked off our door knocking campaign, and I could not be happier. I personally rang the doorbells to over 100 voters today. I talked to many folks who were home or working in the yard, and left my calling card if they were out.

The connection that is made when you approach a voter at their doorstep and submit to a “job interview” is priceless. I learn so much from each encounter, and that knowledge makes me better prepared to serve each voter as their Representative.

I have called door knocking the “heart and soul” of the campaign – it is both a winning strategy and the best way to serve these people I care about, because I know them and now they know me.