Vote for Alison Hartson for Senate to fight for the interests of everyday Americans.
Her interview with The Digital Left: It’s time to get corruption out of politics.
Alison Hartson used to think all of our political and social problems could be solved through education. It’s why she pushed herself to be the first in her family to graduate from University. It’s why she taught in a public high school for 10 years. “I understood how education can change the trajectory for a family,” Hartson told The Digital Left’s David Fredrick. “I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted to lead the way. I had a philosophy that education was the root cause of everything else. But I was wrong.”
“I had a philosophy that education was the root cause of everything else. I was wrong.”
Hartson spent a decade of her life teaching in a low-income district in Southern California. She started a program for helping at-risk students graduate, but continued to see the effects of a rigged economy on her community. There wasn’t a way forward for her students, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted to fight and didn’t know where to start. Should she fight against income inequality? For Medicare for all? Should she continue her work to strengthen public education? “I’ve never been able to separate any issue from another, because I’ve always seen them as interconnected,” said Hartson.
“But now I realize that the root cause is deeper. It’s corruption. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now.”
Hartson and Wolf PAC: Ending corruption in politics
Hartson told us that the only way to make real, lasting change is to get money out of politics and end corruption:
“We can’t have honest conversations about Medicare, about immigration, about income and wealth inequality while the media, legislators and lobbyists are in bed together using propaganda to divide and conquer us”.
“I don’t think we are going to get very far on these issues until we do strike at the root together.”
As soon as she realized her new purpose, there was no turning back. She made the difficult decision to leave teaching and take on this issue full time. She became the National Director of a non-partition political organization Wolf PAC whose sole mission is to get big money out of politics by overturning the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United and related cases. “I’ve been working with state legislators in red states, blue states and purple states to get an amendment passed. This will be a lasting solution, and it has to be one that our generation solves.”
How Hartson will change Congress
Hartson claims that action on the urgent issues we are all facing — from homelessness and income inequality through to healthcare — is determined at the highest level. Political corruption at the federal level is bleeding into the state and the city level. Congress is currently filled with wealthy elites. Hartson explains why this is a problem. “It’s not bad to have a lot of money, but it is bad if that money is made off of the backs of everyday working Americans. It’s bad if you are out of touch with the way that the policies are affecting the people you are governing.”
Hartson understands the issues and understands people. Her focus and determination are evident, and she has already done so much to fight corruption in politics. “Every issue that I am fighting for, that we all care about, has affected me personally. This gives me empathy and will keep me grounded,” she told us.
“We need people in office who understand the struggles and the potential of everyday Americans. The only way you can understand this is if you are one.”
Alison Hartson has the conviction, motivation and integrity to keep her honest when she makes decisions on policy. We proudly endorse this candidate for Senate and urge all of you in California to cast your vote for her this Tuesday.
Written and transcribed by
based on an interview between Alison Hartson and David Fredrick on 25 April 2018.
