Speaking Truth to Power
Our political system has favored the wealthy and well-connected for far too long. At times, it seems that these powerful people live in one reality while the rest of us live in another.
When I ran for Congress, I saw this firsthand. I was asked what Committee I wanted to serve on if I won my election. As a longtime consumer protection attorney, I responded that I’d like to serve on the Financial Services Committee to hold Big Banks accountable to families.
My answer was met with raised eyebrows or skeptical looks. DC-types would then explain to me that this was a “juice” committee, reserved for elected officials who will take hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaigns from Wall Street donors, corporate PACs, and lobbyists for Big Banks.
This is exactly what’s wrong with Congress. There are too many politicians who put corporate donors first.
To fix Congress and reform our broken political system, we need to change who represents us. We need champions of public service, who will fight for people, not special interests. Our Congress should truly reflect the racial, gender, and economic diversity of America, not just its geography.
To fix Congress and reform our broken political system, we need to change who represents us.
The 116th Congress is the most diverse in history, with a record number of women and people of color. But that still leaves us with far to go. Racial and ethnic minorities and women are underrepresented by half their shares of the population. That means that white, wealthy, and well-connected men have their voices doubled, while the rest of us are drowned out or outright silenced.
As the only single mother of young children serving in Congress, I’ve been the only one on 200-person conference calls asking questions about how legislation will apply to single parents. I have spoken out about the challenges I face juggling childcare and my job, even as colleagues or competitors have looked down on what they call my “situation.” My kids and I are a family, and our life experience is way more common than the Peletons and penthouses of so many members of Congress.
To make changes in America, we need to elect people who reflect America. People who have overcome challenges; people who have fought uphill battles; people who know the hardship and heartache that many Americans face. That’s why I launched Truth to Power.
Our organization will help elect candidates who will create a new generation of leaders. These new voices will stand up to powerful special interests and establishment politicians. They will tackle corruption in our political system and will fight for a level playing field in our economy. We will speak truth to power — and even more importantly, force the powerful to admit the truth. That they are using our political system for their own personal gain. Truth to Power PAC will elevate voices that in turn lift up the concerns of the American people.
Last month, all four of the candidates included in Truth to Power’s first round of endorsements prevailed in their contested primaries. These candidates included Jamaal Bowman, a Black public school teacher and principal who defeated an incumbent who has been in Congress for over thirty-years; and Mondaire Jones, who was raised by a single mom and defeated a corporate backed establishment candidate to win his primary. If elected in November Mondaire will become the first openly gay Black American to serve in Congresss.
Now, we’re going to do all we can to help elect Candace Valenzuela, a working mother of two young children, who was the first Latina and Black woman to serve on her city’s school board. Jamaal, Mondaire, and Candace: these are candidates who have overcome the same challenges faced by everyday working people, and that’s why I know they will join me in Congress to fight for an agenda to help people, not special interests.
Our progress in 2018 cannot stop. We saw the victories of dozens of candidates who refused money from corporate PACs and lobbyists, but we need more people power in our Congress. We need those who are tough enough and brave enough to challenge those who enable our broken political system and recycle ideas that are designed to fail.
We’ll get there with grassroots energy and candidates who will call out what is wrong with Washington. And when they get there, have the grit to fight for change.
