It’s only 6am here on the West Coast, but back in Watauga County in northwestern North Carolina it’s 9 and Billy Kennedy is officially kicking off his uphill election campaign to replace one of Congress’ most clueless members, mean-spirited reactionary Virginia Foxx. Right this moment Billy’s at the Watauga County Courthouse Board of Elections in Boone meeting up with supporters who will caravan with him to the Wilkes County Heritage Museum in Wilkesboro, the Forsyth County Democratic Party headquarters in Winston-Salem and ultimately to the North Carolina Board of Elections at 506 North Harrington Street in Raleigh.
I spoke with Billy on the phone at great length this weekend, eager to gage if he could really be as good as everyone I know in North Carolina tells me he is. I walked away a believer and I asked him to write up in his own words what he said to me about not wanting to build himself a political career in Washington but wanting to serve his neighbors and help leave his daughters a better world. I’m sure he’ll be a Blue America candidate soon— board meeting next week— but meanwhile, DownWithTyranny has an ActBlue page and you can contribute directly to Billy’s campaign on it. The first half dozen people who do so today— to the tune of at least $25— will get a great hits CD from either Tanya Tucker, Lynn Anderson or Little Jimmy Dickens. Here’s what Billy sent me yesterday:
I just finished talking to a supporter who picked up on some thoughts of mine during our conversation, and he asked me to write them down and send them to him.My first thought was what did I say? Then I thought when will I find the time in this already busy campaign to do it?
So first I had to go feed my animals. They don’t seem to have any idea that I’m running for Congress. It was snowing, a beautiful white dusk, with all the branches outlined against the sky. The ground was covered and crunchy, all clean with the new snow falling.
I know, I ‘m supposed to be writing about how I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in Washington, but it all is part of who I am. I’ve told a lot of people that it took me two months to convince my wife to agree to this run for office. Not just the campaign, but the prospect of winning and then going to DC to live! My daughter was especially concerned, but I assured her that we were not going to sell our house and farm and move away. This will always be our home and we hope to leave it to our children after we’re gone.
I decided that I wanted to live in Western North Carolina 30 years ago and have mostly managed that, with a few limited stays away from here over the years. When I am away I appreciate it even more, and can’t wait to return, but I also thoroughly enjoy the stimulation and energy of being in new places, urban as well as rural, and meeting and interacting with people.
We all have so much in common, even coming from different places and cultures. So I do not plan on making Washington my home forever. But I am willing to spend a few years working hard to bring some of the values and lessons I’ve learned so far, to a place where so many representatives seem to have gotten lost inside the beltway. I am worried about what motivates some people to want to be elected officials.
I believe in a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” We need to elect people who have life experience and who want to help others, not just themselves. We need to elect people with different skills who can add to the problem solving that our times require. The demands of running for office are daunting, both financially and personally, but if only selfish or misguided people end up doing it, we all lose. I’m not willing to give up and let the wrong people ruin this great country for my kids or yours!
Without saying so directly, my parents instilled in me a sense of responsibility and confidence that I must do my part and can make a difference, for the better, in this life. So I am going to give this race my all and more. When the voters send me to Washington to replace a Representative who doesn’t represent us, I won’t forget who I am or forget the people in the 5th District. I want to come home as often as possible and hear people’s stories and struggles so that I can help them.
When I’m done I hope to return to my great life on the farm, and hopefully, still be able to make some furniture that will outlast me.
This is a challenge which we are ready to take on. We have to! The stakes are too high not to.
I don’t see how anyone can tune into what Billy is saying and not want to help him!
