Spock Here

I'm Stevens (mysterymommy's husband) Miller, aka "Mr. Spock" (or just "MS") hereabouts. My wife is donating this space so I can tell you what the heck I'm doing and why the heck I'm doing it.

In 2007, after four years of building towards it, Liz and I managed to mount a successful campaign for local office. We won a seat on our county board of supervisors. Make no mistake about it, either: I may be the only one who took the oath, but this was a family project with Liz at least as much a reason for the win as I was (and probably much more than that).

When we announced the bid, everyone said, "Forget it. You're a Democrat running against a Republican incumbent in a conservative part of northern Virginia. You can't win." But we did. We won by 16%, and that was after our opponent spent over twice as much as we did (he had big money coming in from industry, while we relied mostly on friends, family, and help from a local pro-environmental group).

This time, we're challenging a member of the state legislature. His name is Tom Rust, another Republican incumbent. He's not a bad guy, but he's kind of lost touch with his district and, to be blunt, seems to have given up on getting anything done. For example, with transportation named as the number one problem in our region by every poll I've seen, he told a meeting of local business leaders, "We probably will never have the money to do these major infrastructure [improvements]." (See the March 23rd edition of the Loudoun Times Mirror.) What a defeatist attitude! My wife would never talk like that and she's never let me talk that way either, not as a husband or father, nor as a county supervisor. Liz and I can beat Tom Rust and we can do a better job.

I'm getting close to a deadline, so I'll wind this up and get to the point:
Midnight, Tuesday, March 31 is the end of the first campaign finance reporting period. Everyone's numbers go public after that, and it's important to show a good start and a lot of donors. Notice I said "donors," not "money." The money's important, but I need to show that a lot of people are backing me and Liz in this run. Some folks I've asked for help have said they really can't, because they would only be able to put in fifty, or maybe even only twenty dollars. But those numbers _do_ help! Barack Obama made it to the White House largely with the help of donors giving amounts like that. What's good enough for Barack is good enough for me.

If you can help with a donation like that, I'll be forever grateful. Every time another twenty dollars comes along, and with it, another donor, we move that much closer to winning another seat in the legislature. (If we turn six around this time, my party will be in the majority, with all that that implies.) Please know that Liz and I are exceedingly thankful for the donations that have come in from this site, just as much for the smaller ones as we are for all the rest. The folks who have given twenty-five or thirty dollars are often in a position where that means not having dinner at a restaurant that month, or skipping a trip to the movies. In times like these, those are real sacrifices, and we know it. But those amounts do help, and we hope for more of them as the days unfold.

Please feel free to post questions or ideas here in the comments. I'll get you an answer. Naturally, I'll also say that if you can help add to our March total, please do. It'll mean a lot more that I can say in words. And while I can't promise you that you'll be adding to the chances of making Liz the first lady of the Commonwealth of Virginia someday, I won't tell you it's utterly out of the question, either. ;-)

Best regards,
Stevens