One campaign ends, the campaign for justice continues

Written by: Mark Greenfogel on Jun 5, 2008 9:24 AM EDT

From Richard Holober emaill on June 4, 2008.

Greetings!

We are waiting to learn how many absentee ballots were turned in at polling places on Election Day. County elections officials will count these late absentee votes over the next couple of days. They will likely reflect the same candidate preferences as Election Day voters, who gave Jerry Hill a narrow edge over me. It is certain that these uncounted late absent votes will not erase the 2400 vote gap that separated me from my opponents among early absentee votes.

Last night I called Jerry Hill to congratulate him on his apparent win, and to pledge my commitment to work constructively with him on the tough issues that our community faces.
 
We knew from the beginning that my major challenge was to introduce myself to voters and to tell them my story. We accomplished that by Election Day, but not in time to compete successfully for the vote by mail ballots that were cast as we were just starting to get our message out.

Friends are asking me what I would do next. My answer is simple: I'll keep on fighting for justice.  My life has been a series of campaigns, on occasion for candidates, but mostly for the same issues that were my focus in this race - building a society that honors and rewards hard working people, that educates our children, that supports the disadvantaged, that decides once and for all that health care is a human right, that protects our civil liberties, and that provides wise stewardship over the planet.
 
I am very proud of the campaign that we ran. We kept our message positive.  We went toe-to-toe with two well known and better funded candidates. We proved that progressive politics is alive and well on the Peninsula.

 
My hope is that we will continue to build on the spirit of this campaign - and create a strong and independent progressive presence on the Peninsula - one that is not based on any candidate, but on the issues. I welcome your ideas on how to move forward. 
 
During the campaign we had tremendous support from hundreds of volunteers, donors and individual and organizational endorsers. My supporters are too numerous to name. These include many in the labor movement, environmental leaders, teachers, nurses, school employees, union members in many trades, educators, consumer attorneys, parents, students, community leaders and Democratic and progressive activists.  In the days ahead, I will try my best to thank each of you personally.

 
I am blessed to have a wonderful family. Nadia, Reuben and Evan stood by me and encouraged me during many many grueling months.  My sister Peggy, and Nadia's parents Laura and Tony were tremendously supportive.
 
Dominic Chan, our campaign manager, Rob Dickinson, our field director, and my son Reuben who took off from college to volunteer full time on everything, were a fabulous campaign team, performing superbly with an amazing work ethic and highly professional skills.

 
My consultant Steve Barkan, of SG&A Campaigns, created the best campaign mail to tell my story to the voters, and he provided rapid responses to attacks pieces against me that were funded by Philip Morris, Chevron and Blue Cross, among others.

 
This summer and fall, we have big tasks ahead of us - electing Barack Obama, defeating a ballot measure that would deprive gay and lesbian Californians of equal rights, protecting the Coastal Act, and insisting that Sacramento provide the funding we need for our schools and health and human services. I will continue to focus on my duties as your elected Trustee and President of the San Mateo County Community College District, which is a gem in our public higher education system.

 
Thank you to all of you who participated in this campaign. I am fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and allies.

Sincerely,

Richard Holober

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