Win, lose or draw

Early voting has already begun. It is a week until the general election on November 2nd. And then the signs will come down and the robocalls and mailings will stop for another two years.

This will be my last posting until after the election so I wanted to share a few thoughts from my win, lose or draw speech.

First, thank you to everyone who voted for me in the primary and made me your nominee. I hope that I have run a campaign worthy of the honor. Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the general election. I hope that I have earned it. Thank you to my outstanding volunteers and long-suffering family who have gone that extra mile for me. Thank you to my wife and daughters who have hardly seen me since July.

I don’t think I’ve met any candidates who are running for the wrong reason. They all have the purest of intentions. I disagree with some of their philosophies and policies. It is interesting just how much we all have in common. We all want a better future for our
children. We all want a cleaner environment. We all want to feel safe.

I’ve met a lot of people and learned about a lot of interesting groups while on the campaign trail. I hope that those relationships will continue in the future. There are a lot of civic-minded people out there doing great things for their communities.

Has the campaign changed me as a person? Yes and no. I’m still the book-worm with all sorts of ideas for new laws and repealing old laws. But I’ve increasingly come to realize that the government is not going to solve all the problems facing us. You are.

My faith in the American people has grown. The people are angry but they don’t know what they are angry at. The people have lost faith in themselves. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we’ve had the answers all along. The people will create the jobs and get the economy moving again through small businesses. The people will clean the environment through their individual actions. The people will make themselves safer by locking their doors, reporting crimes and not being afraid of their own neighborhoods anymore. Government has a role to play, but it’s a supporting role to the people.

Win, lose or draw, I am excited about the future and plan to do my part to protect it.

Keep an eye on the papers and the internet to find out the results and DON’T FORGET TO VOTE CHIAPPELLI!