It’s no secret that voters are frustrated with Congress. They feel more disconnected than ever. When Washington politicians take PAC and lobbyist dollars, when they grant special access to their high end donors, when they hold office for decades and have nary a legislative accomplishment to point to, they demonstrate just how out of touch they are.
That’s why it is so refreshing to see a candidate for Congress take a new approach to politics this year. Ro Khanna has made restoring the connection between elected officials in Washington and the people they are meant to represent a priority in his campaign.
We each joined Ro at one of the eight town halls he held throughout the district in the last seven weeks – more than Mike Honda has held in the last 15 years combined. From Sunnyvale to Fremont, Ro talked about his plans to help strengthen schools, make college more affordable, and ensure our economy works for all. From Newark to San Jose, he detailed his plans to secure Medicare, Social Security and the environment for generations to come. And from Milpitas to Santa Clara to Cupertino, Ro laid out a vision for how to reform our broken politics.
Just as importantly, he listened. He listened to the concerns as neighbor after neighbor shared their frustration that Washington wasn’t working and certainly wasn’t working for them. He listened to their anger that they had been shut out of the process while high-end donors and the special interests were given special access by their Congressman. He listened to their hopes that someone would cast aside the petty politics that have beset Washington and get things done for Silicon Valley.
Ro has built a grassroots campaign so that he can not only hear what the concerns of voters are but make sure they are organized to help bring about the change they so desire. In just the first four months of this year, his campaign has made 211,410 calls to voters and knocked on 42,679 doors throughout the district. Ro has personally knocked on 2,023 doors and made 1,247 calls.
Ro understands that in order to change the policies of Washington we need to change its politics too. He has pledged to reject contributions to his campaign from PACs and lobbyists. He has proposed specific reforms to the way Congress works to make it more accountable and results-oriented. Finally, he has built a campaign that will listen and empower voters rather than donors and the special interests.
Ro Khanna is helping to rebuild the connection and trust we sorely need restored between the voters and their Congressman. That is why we are proud to cast our vote for him and ask you consider doing so too.
Sincerely,
Lisa Gillmor, Mayor of Santa Clara
Jose Esteves, Mayor of Milpitas
Lily Mei, Vice Mayor of Fremont
Chuck Reed, former Mayor of San Jose
Bob Livengood, former Mayor of Milpitas
Dave Smith, Mayor Emeritus of Newark
Chappie Jones, San Jose City Councilmember
Manh Nguyen, San Jose City Councilmember
Kathy Watanabe, Santa Clara City Councilmember
Eileen McDonald, Vice President of the Alameda County Board of Education
Nancy Thomas, Newark Unified School District Board Member
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