Local Politician Gets National Coverage

(Please recommend if you think this deserves attention.  Thanks!)

All You Magazine, a Time, Inc. publication has done a feature article on Kelley Wenzlaff (nominee for State Representative, Delaware County, Ohio) and her MOM for The House campaign.  The interview was conducted last summer, with Time’s staff photographer arriving over 4th of July weekend.  He followed Kelley, chronicling her participation in Delaware County, Ohio’s Independence Day Parade.  MOM for The House has gone national!

I’m so fired up I could dance on the ceiling!  I don't know how many of you know this - but I've been serving as Kelley's chief strategist and Media Director (full time).  Volunteer, of course.  That's why I don't diary or comment as much as I used to.  I'm hoping this kind of national exposure will really make a difference.  All this came about thanks to blogging, by the way.  The article’s writer, feminist author Jennifer Baumgardner (Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen), read some of the campaign essays Kelly and I had posted, and was intrigued.  She rang Kelley up and asked if Kelley would be interested in a profile.  Well of course Kelley said yes!  How may local politicians get personal profiles in national magazines?  We see this as a real turning point in Kelley’s campaign.    

Jennifer has turned out to be a fabulous mentor as well, advising us regarding the publication of our first book, MOM for The House: Your Essential Guide to Housekeeping and Politics.  The power of the feminine, my friends – nothing can withstand it!  Women (and men) supporting one another, lending a hand.  I call it ‘The Collective’ - an association of like minds and talent.  We do not prosper alone, you know.  Each and every achievement results from the application of many hands – hands that lift and support, hands that praise and create.  But there’s an inherent responsibility.  You’ve got to pay it forward – to give something back.  Kelley wants to give something back to Ohio, to ensure a bright future for her family and her neighbors.  She and I both want to change our world – in any way we can.

Life is funny, you know.  Of all the things I thought I would be doing with my life, politics wasn’t even on the ‘B’ list!  But how can it not be these days?  How can anyone not look around and want to pitch in?  Kelley testified before the Ohio Legislature because she saw women’s rights being threatened.  Watching a family member go untreated in an emergency room impressed upon her the real-time need for better health care.  Listening to other moms discuss flex-time and job sharing showed her the importance of this issue for working families.  Something had to be done.  Ohio’s legislature only seemed interested in furthering hot-button national agendas led by out of state agitators who could care less about Ohio families and what was best for them.  Someone had to stand up and take the lead.  One thing led to another, and MOM for The House was born.

These same issues have touched my life as well – just as I know they touch yours or members of your family.  It’s why I got involved.  I got tired of just talking about all this.  I wanted to actually DO something.  We are all in the same boat, my friends – Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, California – doesn’t matter where you live.  America’s government (as interpreted by George Bush through the lens of his skewed perspective) has, for all intents and purposes, abandoned its people.  In fact, I would say that we no longer HAVE a functioning federal government; at least not one that concerns itself with basic domestic needs.  How many times do we need to be told "sorry, chum – you’re on your own" before it really sinks in?  

So - who cares about a state race when all the focus is on the next president?  Why give your hard-earned money to help elect a progressive politician from a county that hasn’t seen a Democrat since Truman was in the White House?  Try this one on for size: states are where the real battle for the future of America will be fought.  So much has to be fixed.  Single party rule has all but broken our country.  Fixing it will likely be up to each individual states legislature.  I rather doubt the federal government will see fit to pull its collective head out of its ass in time to save women’s rights, or insure that every child starts their day with a hot breakfast.  Bullets always seem to win out over butter – no matter which party claims titular majority.  Providing a comprehensive domestic agenda - that’s gonna have to come from the states – from progressive politicians dedicated to protecting and furthering what’s good for the people.  John Adams once said, "By god I have had this Congress!"  Well I’ve had them too – we all have.  I cannot see that magically disappearing come 2008.  No – the burden will be on individual states to clean up the mess.  So - who do you want in charge?  It’s time to support Kelley, and those like her.

Anyone interested in reading about Kelley can obtain a copy of All You Magazine at their local Wal-Mart up near the check-out stand.  Sorry to say, the article on Kelley isn’t available for viewing online.  It only costs $1.77, though.  Not too bad considering the price of almost everything these days.  Please buy lots of copies and send them to all your friends; or better yet, buy up a few copies and mail them to Kelley, so she can donate them to Doctors offices and eateries in her community!  Kelley needs our help (volunteers, donations, moral support.)  Operating on a wing and a prayer might get you by, but it won’t get you elected!  Exposure like this could be a godsend, if people notice and take time out to listen.  The more people who read about Kelley and what she’s trying to achieve – the more help (of all kinds) we are likely to get.  This is real grass-roots, my friends.  Every dollar makes a difference, and every volunteer gets us one step closer to the State House.

Want to help?  Click on over to Kelley’s
‘donate’ page, or write your check today:
The Committee to Elect Kelley Wenzlaff
44 Ravine Road, Powell, Ohio 43065

This article has been cross-posted.  Please feel free to copy the information and post it anywhere I've missed!