Dahlander states his case

Jeff Dahlander is the Democratic candidate in the 111th State House District taking on longtime incumbent Sandra Major. Major has not had a serious challenge in the last few elections. She has comfortable fundraising advantage with $34,000 cash on hand to Dahlander's $1700 according to the last CFR. It's an uphill battle but that is why we have elections.

From Jeff:

“Vote for someone who shares your values”—this is the counsel that Representative Sandra Major offers to her constituents in her stump speech. And her advice must have worked in the past, because Major has been our representative for the past 18 years. Of course, many times, her name was also the only option on the ballot, so it would seem that the odds were ever in her favor.

However, in the upcoming election, Representative Major will face a formidable opponent—one who is heavily invested in his community and the lives of his constituents.  We know almost nothing about Major as a person; we only see the façade that she presents during photo ops and public events. She has morphed from a representative into an institution; and like many institutions, she has become disconnected from the actual people who she is supposed to serve. The truth is that she no longer embodies the values that the citizens have in the 111th district.

Our communities are essentially three-legged stools.  We have our family and neighbors, our places of worship or faith, and our public schools.  How often do we refer to ourselves by our relations, our church affiliation, or our alma maters?  Representative Major is lauded as a proud graduate of Mountain View, but with the continual cuts that she has made to education over her tenure, we have to wonder just how dedicated she is to her community.  A stool cannot stand without the support of its three legs.  Representative Major’s voting record indicates that she is not interested in the stability of our communities or our future.

The challenge for voters now is to evaluate our representative and her challenger.  Who will listen to and act upon our concerns?  Who will diverge from party lines and fund our public schools?  Who will fight for us and defy our Governor’s corporate interests?

Sandra Major either needs to reassess her representation of her community or yield to a challenger who is willing to work harder for his constituents.