Primary Election Date: 06/10/2008
General Election Date: 11/04/2008

Who Am I?

I grew up in a blue-collar military family, spending most of my childhood in small-town Nebraska. My father was career Air Force, my husband served in the Army and my brother is an Iraq veteran.

After finishing high school, I earned scholarships to attend Harvard, where I studied computer science and economics. I then launched my technology career, working as a programmer and manager, most recently at Microsoft.

In 2006 I ran for Congress in Washington’s 8th District against an established incumbent and lost in one of the closest Congressional races in the country.

My husband, Michael, my 4-year-old son Henry and I live just outside of Carnation, Washington. I am involved in local community and education issues, am a Co-chair of the Committee for a Two-Newspaper Town, and am doing work on behalf of homeless veterans.

Why Am I Running?

I am running to finish the job we started last year. The ’06 race was one of the closest Congressional races in the country. Sometimes it takes two shots! I am confident that we will win in ’08 and I can join the new majority in Congress to help extricate us from the awful war, enact a national health care plan, made energy independence a reality and put America on the right course for the future.

Hold Me Accountable!

Our first priority must be to end this war in Iraq and bring our troops home safely and with honor. America will never be able to be a leader in the new global world until we are out. It is a preamble to everything we need to do to prepare ourselves for the future.

I am also committed to helping families who work hard and play by the rules get ahead through investments in education, healthcare, and training our workers for new jobs with good wages.

Finally, our economic well-being, environmental future, and national security require that we achieve real energy independence and break our addiction to oil.

My DFA values:

As a businesswoman, I know how to deliver projects on time and under budget. I will work hard to make sure that government is both efficient and effective.

We have to be responsible with the taxpayers’ money. This means we should be we rewarding work, not wealth. And we should be making smart investments that nurture and grow the middle class.

Government plays an important role in ensuring equality under the law, holding people and corporations accountable and making sure that people that work hard and play by the rules get the opportunities they deserve.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

Our 2006 race was the most grassroots-oriented Congressional campaign in Washington’s history ��" truly a people-powered effort. We had over 2,000 volunteers and 16,000 donors. The netroots and local and national grassroots all played a fantastic role in building our campaign. I expect to exceed these totals in 2008.