Candidate Pact

Fellow candidate running for California District 01, Richard Minner and I have made a pact. To try and improve the odds that a non-partisan candidate can emerge in the general election.

Richard and I are both observers who care a great deal about our nation and think we could do better than the log jam the two party system currently has our government in. We think the nature of how this district was drawn following prop 50 effectively ensures that a republican nominee will not be the ultimate representative.

In spite of that, it is clear that a large plurality of the district is dissatisfied with the Democratic Party. Since the district will obviously not ultimately select a Republican, anyone who is dissatisfied with the Democratic party platform would be best served by voting for an independent. If the results of the primary: the top two voter earners are a Democrat and an Independent, the general election will actually be an interesting contest of ideas rather than a foregone conclusion.

Richard and I also share an appreciation of the power of math and we realize that this only works if the vote actually consolidates around a particular independent candidate and for that reason we are making a pact to have numerous conversations of ideas and interactions with the voters over the month of April and early May and then have one of us step back and support the other in mid-May. We hope all interested voters will join us in this conversation.

As an Engineer and a long time Science Educator, we know that actually solving problems depends on a fearless willingness to do the calculations and look at the actual data. The path that the two party deadlock has America on does not bode well for any of us. This is true in terms of an economic perspective, educational outcomes, climate sustainability perspective or numerous public safety nets like Social Security or criminal justice that are strained to the breaking point and on unsustainable trajectories.

None of this should be the case. In a world with improving technology and communication, there is no reason that a majority of citizens shouldn’t enjoy rapidly improving quality of life. The question of how to give people greater economic opportunities, a clean environment and a real chance for their children to prosper is not an impossible problem; it can be solved through basic math and real cooperation of communities. If both the Republican and Democratic parties seem dysfunctional and at war with themselves maybe America as a whole can send a message that we can look beyond party. The last independent candidate was elected to Congress in 1990. 

California’s new District 1 can be a pathfinder to all Americans dissatisfied with the two party gridlock. Vote Independent in the primary so that the General Election is not a foregone conclusion.