Candidate for
United States Senate

We all have our dreams for ourselves, and more deeply, for our children. And we have our dreams about the kind of world that we want for our children and our grandchildren. Safe neighborhoods and a safe world, pure nutritious food, free of toxic pesticides and genetic manipulation, a clean environment, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, preventative medicine that keeps us healthy and vibrant, education that empowers the creative genius in every child. To dream these dreams, and many others, is our birthright. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was how the founding fathers said it.

If these are the common dreams, what is in the way of fulfilling them? A major factor is that government is more responsive to special interests than to the common interest. We have a Congress bought and paid for by special interest money. We have a corrupting system where corporate profits have become more important than the safety of our children's food, where who pays for whose disease has become more important than improving health and well being. The list goes on and on.

We must end the corrupting influence of special interest money in politics. When our representatives are freed from that corrupting influence, solutions for the common good will naturally emerge because the attention of Congress will be on what works for us, the people, not on what will satisfy corporate special interests.

Another obstacle to fulfilling our common dreams is our own apathy and cynicism. Our sense that there is nothing we can do that will really make a difference. But there is something every one of us can do, and do right now. We can take back our government from special interests. We can support candidates and political parties that refuse to take special interest money, who stand on the principle that our government belongs to the people, not to those with the largest checkbooks.

Most fundamentally, we must let go of the fears that divide us and stand for what unites us. For the truth is that everything which brings division is based in fear. Conventional politics exploits those fears to keep us divided. I am committed to people working together with respect, compassion and love to create a world that works for everyone.

We are each diminished when life doesn't work for others. If there is one inner-city child who is malnourished, we all fear that we could go hungry if we don't hold on to what we have. When violence erupts in schools, work places, and on the streets, none of us feels secure. When people in other countries are abused, tortured and murdered, we fear the terrorism that will be directed at us. When we take on that life must work for everyone if it is to truly work for ourselves and our loved ones, we can begin to find the solutions to the problems around us. I stand boldly for a world that works for everyone, with no one left out. No kidding!

I am an active Quaker that grew up in a ninth generation Quaker family. >From these deep roots I learned compassion, social activism, personal responsibility, and methods for bringing consensus to deep divisions.

I am an environmental engineer, a practical person, literally bringing nuts and bolts solutions to environmental problems. I have taught graduate students, I have researched new methods of solving problems, and then I have actually implemented those practical solutions in the real world. I am not a lawyer. I am a problem solver and I will bring this quality to Washington.