Resuming the Campaign

posted on Mar 14th, 2019

Content warning: pregnancy loss, still brith.

I spent the last few weeks grieving and processing with Teal after we lost our baby to a still birth at almost 5 months. I wouldn’t say I’m fully recovered. Everyone I’ve spoken to who’s been through this has said that you never really heal from something like this. But I’m ready to re-enter the world and try to find a new normal.

I’ve been trying to decide whether I could carry on the campaign. I’ve talked it over a lot with Teal and we agreed that it’s really worth doing, if I can handle it. The next window to run is 4 years from now, and climate change doesn’t wait. We have to have this conversation now, and we have to act now.

I’m not the only one running who recognizes the threat it represents, nor the only one running willing to grapple with the challenges it presents. But the more of us running, the higher our chances of getting a council with the political will to take action on the scale required. And no one else in District 2 seems to be taking it seriously enough.

I hadn’t done any canvassing before our loss. We got access to the voter database the very day Teal and I were in the hospital. Last night, as a way of testing the waters, I made my first few canvassing calls. I wanted to see how it felt, before I made a decision to definitely carry on.

It went really well! Several messages and conversations later, I’d earned some new votes. That was the part of campaigning I was most worried about, and I walked away from it energized and eager for more.

So I’ve decided to carry on.

I’m going to give it all I’ve got. It might be less than what I had to give before, but I know I will regret it if I don’t try. I’m definitely going to need help. We were just starting to figure out what a canvassing infrastructure could look like before, which already put us several steps behind some of the more experienced candidates. Now we have that much more catching up to do.

We’re actively looking for people to host house parties (especially in District 2) and for people to write letters to the editor of the HT. If you’re willing to do either, please send an email to danielbinghamforbloomington@gmail.com or send a facebook message to either me or the campaign page.

Thanks for all the support so far, and to everyone who sent us condolences and well wishes. I’m looking forward to continuing the conversations!