A real progressive that has a chance of winning
Cheri Honkala, former vice presidential candidate, and national coordinator for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, is running for Pennsylvania State Representative for the 197th district.
In her childhood, she was forced to watch her mother get abused by her father. Eventually, she would end up leaving, spending most of her time in several youth detention facilities. When she was an adolescent, she herself was a mother, who had a son named Mark, named after her mentally-ill brother who committed suicide. She miraculously graduated high school while living in a car, then found an apartment, then was forced to move out and live in a car again, and then her car got destroyed by a drunk driver, making her and her son officially homeless.
After rising out of homelessness, and starting several non-profits dedicated to helping the homeless, Jill Stein chose her as her running mate for their 2012 presidential campaign for the Green Party.
After former Pennsylvania state representative Leslie Acosta resigned because of corruption(http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/12/19/leslie-acosta-resignation/), Cheri decided to run a write-in campaign to fill the empty seat. Her platform includes food, housing, and healthcare for all, a living minimum wage of $15 an hour, more funding of public education, the legalization of marijuana, equal pay, and equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
Bernie Sanders’ Our Revolution endorsed Cheri (https://ourrevolution.com/candidates/cheri-honkala/), despite the organization’s tendency to endorse candidates from the Democratic Party, and many from the progressive YouTube news community have given their support; some examples are below.
The most exiting part is that she has a very good chance of winning. She’s the front runner, and well-known in her district, and her election could set a precedent for a take-over of government by real progressives, whether they’re inside or outside the Democratic Party. You can donate, volunteer, and learn more about her and her campaign at www.cheri197.com.
