Behind my great woman
As some of you are no doubt aware, I am quite a political guy: often known to break into a diatribe against the Wal-Marts of this world and injustice in general. It's odd because I despised politics as a teenager and young adult. Many events and activities in my life contributed to my relatively recent transformation into a political (I hate to use the term) "activist," but I will save that discussion for another time. Right now I want to talk about Kelly, my wife.
Kelly is an amazing woman and her influence has, quite literally, made me a better person. She is kind, compassionate, and giving while at the same time never afraid to tell you exactly what she's thinking. She can cut through the bullshit and get right to the point without being abrassive and also has the ability to look at both sides of an argument and suss out some common ground. These are some of the many reasons I love her and they are also the reasons I think her recent interest in helping steer our town is a good thing.
That's right, Kelly is running for office – our town's legislative council to be exact. The thing I find most impressive is that so many of the people in our neighborhood—no matter what their political affiliation—have come out in support of her. They obviously see in her all of the great characteristics I do.
Our town is deeply divided right now—as many Connecticut towns are—because there is not a balance of power. The Democrats have a supermajority in elected offices—though less than half of our towns voters are registered as such—and little competition from the Republicans. Any of you who live in one party towns probably know the story: the major party has no competition, so it breeds its own internally. The Dems are constantly infighting, with one faction undermining the other on a nearly perpetual basis, which does little to improve the state of our town or the use of our tax dollars. I bring this up because Kelly is running on the Green Party ticket. I think this is a good thing because third parties provide a much-needed balance to the political process, acting as both watchdogs and luminaries by keeping the two major parties on task and bringing to light issues and ideas often overlooked or simply unknown to them.
I am really hopeful for Kel's campaign and I think she has a really good shot. The seat she is going for—in the town's 5th District—has no incumbant and neither major party candidate is as in tune with what is going on in the neighborhood as she is. The more people she meets, the more she attracts to her cause… it's really impressive to see grassroots politics in action. I think the main attraction is that she genuinely listens to their concerns and wants to truly represent them on the council, not just act on their behalf.
At this point in my life, I have no interest in political office. I am content to be the man behind the woman, making her a kick-ass website.