Elena and I have been friends with David Canepa and his wife Ana since 2007. We have watched his political career grow from a start on the Daly City City Council. He advanced to the mayor of Daly City. Then he beat big odds to get elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Earlier this year, he did something very brave. He decided to run for congress. His opponent came from a powerful political family with the full backing of the local Democratic party. Last night, we got the election results. The favored candidate got roughly 35% of the vote. David got close to 30%. He can win in November!
My mind went back to 1966 when I was a high
school student in Houston. I was a member of the Harris County Teen Democrats.
I was politically active. In those days, the Democratic party dominated Texas.
A very courageous man named George Herbert
Walker Bush decided to run for congress as a Republican in West Houston. His
opponent was Frank Briscoe. Frank was the District Attorney of Harris County.
He had great name recognition. He had a big campaign budget.
Bush had made a run for Senator in 1964 as a
Republican. He had been soundly defeated. He got up and tried again to beat
impossible odds.
George Bush ran a most unconventional
campaign. Every day of the week, he started at 7:00 AM and worked until after
7:00 PM. He walked every neighborhood in the district. He would knock on a
door. When the homeowner or apartment dweller came to the door, he would
politely introduce himself as a candidate for congress. He would ask to come
in. He would sit down and talk to the voter. He would be a great listener. He
wanted to hear what people were concerned about. He wanted to hear what they
wanted to change. He would take notes. After the visit, each voter would get a
nice letter from George Bush recapping their visit.
When the election results came back, Bush
had soundly defeated Briscoe by 57% to 42% of the vote. The rest is history. A
political dynasty was born!!
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