Adam McLaneKonto zweryfikowane

I'm an independent voter. I care less about the party you belong to than I do my first question: "Can you do the job you are running for?" I believe, without a doubt, Goldbeck has proven that she's up to the task. Military veteran, educated, strong, passionate. Yup, qualified.

The second question I ask of anyone running for office is, "Will they represent all of us? Will they fight for their whole district, not just their personal agenda?" Janessa's military career answers this question for you without asking. Yes, even when she disagreed she served.

Likewise, I like that she isn't running around securing all sorts of endorsements. An endorsement comes with a promise to deliver on the agenda of the person endorsing. It's "quid pro quo". We don't need that.

But this part is crucial: We, the people of the CA-53, need a representative. We need to know that if we call her office we're going to get someone who will listen to us, who will take action, who prioritizes the needs of her district over the needs of her donors.

Do I agree with her on every single issue? Nope. Issues aren't that important to me when I vote. What matters are those two questions, "Are they qualified? And will they represent all of us?"

Since it's related and I'm sure surprising to some... Let me also speak to specifically why I am not supporting @SDGeorgette campaign for the same office. There are two specific reasons:

First, her endorsement of @BarriosForD9, a deeply flawed candidate who has committed the same ethics violation as Duncan Hunter on three separate campaigns, shows me a lack of judgement. I cannot vote for someone who endorses a corrupt candidate.

This speaks to my first question, "Are they qualified?" In this case, because of a lack of judgement in this endorsement I don't think Gomez is qualified to serve in Congress.

Second, and I was clear about this when she announced, she has virtually stopped serving her city council district since announcing her candidacy. I was blunt that I would judge her candidacy on what she did from that point forward, and she's been nearly invisible. (pt 1)

(pt 2) I'll be the first to say that the first couple of years I was impressed with her work. But as she got more and more involved, first with MTS, then SANDAG, then the CA-53, it became clear her political ambitions were hindered by her ability to get stuff done.

(pt 3) I always assumed that she didn't get a lot done in places like Rolando because she was getting so much done in places like City Heights. So imagine my surprise to learn City Heights residents were frustrated in the same way. That was revealing. And sad.

This speaks to my second question, "Will this candidate represent all of us?" Unfortunately, while Gomez started off the first couple of years in the affirmative on that question, the last year hasn't been consistent. We didn't elect her to serve MTS or SANDAG, we needed a D9 rep

Lastly, @SaraJacobsCA was never really a serious candidate for me for a few reasons. First, she's got very little real world experience. Second, she's district shopped. I think she's got a future in politics. But a first job isn't Congress.

The other candidates in this race are lovely. But, in my judgement, they are unlikely to make it past the primary. Which is, I suppose, a third question: "Are they viable?"

Let me wrap this up by saying that I think @jgoldbeck will make us proud in Washington. I look forward to the rest of the campaign and invite friendly feedback and discussion.