Marc Friedenberg is not a politician. He is an academic. A particular kind of academic. He is a graduate of Columbia law school and an expert in cyber law and internet privacy. While in practice, he sued big banks for fraud. He saw the banks as centers of greed, corruption, and carelessness.
Jennifer Boysko grew up in Alabama. She went to college in Virginia -- Hollins University. Still a women's school. With a reputation for gentility. And for literacy, for writing. For personal attention. Fewer than eight hundred undergraduates.Her first political job was for an Alabaman. She was an aide to Senator Richard Shelby - when he was a Democrat. She became a policy maven. Federal policy and local policy. She worked for a township supervisor in Virginia. She did particular work with homeowners groups. Governor McAuliffe appointed her as a Citizen Member of the state Real Estate Board. After training from Emerge, she ran for HD 86 for a second time in 2015. The incumbent retired. Maybe he knew she was coming back. Other Democrats knew. No one opposed her in the primary. She won the general election 54 -- 42 despite being outspent. She is now running for the State Senate from a position of strength.
Danny O'Connor's case for election rests on his work as Franklin County Recorder. Not glamorous work. Not work for a member of the elite. The Recorder keeps land records -- deeds, surveys, mortgages, easements, and liens. Danny O'Connor cleaned up an office which was badly run. He is in tune with his electorate.
Mike Espy was the first African-American Congressman from Mississippi since reconstruction. He was Secretary of Agriculture in the Clinton administration. He is practicing law now. In Mississippi. He resembles many of the Democrats running for Congress in Republican districts. He is a moderate Democrat. As a Member of Congress, he got NRA support. As a Member of Congress, he was not controversial. He was on the Agriculture Committee. He was a member of Bill Clinton's moderate Democratic Leadership Council. Mike Espy was successful in attracting a substantial portion of the white vote in his district.
Republicans complain that Shelley Mayer is an insider. Shelley Mayer is an insider. She worked in Robert Abram's Attorney General office, was senior counsel for the National State Attorney General Program at Columbia, was vice president of government and community affairs for Continuum Health Partners, and served as chief counsel to the senate Democrats -- all before being elected to the Assembly. She is a state representative. She promises, in the Senate, a cleaner political atmosphere in Albany, stronger ethics requirements, more effective ways to address sexual harassment.
came to Ohio from India as a three year old. Her parents struggled, then thrived. Her father was an engineer, her mother a social worker. Heral went to medical school. Hiral Tipirneni married to a fellow student. After completing residencies, they chose Phoenix as a place to settle. Her husband joined an orthopedics practice; she worked in ERs. Personal experiences changed Hiral Tipinerni's life. Her mother died of cancer. A nephew died of cancer. Hiral Tipirneni turned to cancer research. Work in cancer research moved her into the public life of the community. She was a leader of research teams, served on boards, was involved in public advocacy, worked to affect the character and quality of life in her community.
Conor Lamb is the Democratic nominee for the special election on March 13. He is local -- University of Pennsylvania (where he was a Howard Dean supporter as an undergraduate) and University of Pennsylvania Law School. He comes from a successful political family. His grandfather was the Democratic Majority Leader in the Pennsylvania state Senate and a Bob Casey cabinet member. His Uncle Michael is the City Controller for Pittsburgh. Conor Lamb was in the military. He was a Captain in the Marines. as a prosecutor in Okinawa, primarily prosecuting cases of sexual assault. He remains a member of the reserves. He is a prosecutor in civilian life, as well.
She is endorsed by the local sheriff. She is a 911 Operator and was an MP in the military. Her husband is a federal law enforcement official. She shut down her small oil and vinegar business to run for office. As close as she is to law enforcement, her focus has been education since her children entered school. President of the City of Auburn Council of PTAs, Michelle Ryland says. “Our schools should not be funded by raffles or carnivals or box tops...."
Annette Taddeo was born on an American military base in Colombia. She is the daughter of an American World War II and Korean War fighter pilot and a Colombian mother. At age seventeen, Annette Taddeo immigrated to the US on her own. She put herself through college on her own. She married psychologist Eric Goldstein, converted to Judaism, and has a family of his two children and one child of theirs. She founded LanguageSpeak, a language services company that offers translations in over 240 languages. Diversity Business describes LanguageSpeak as one of the top 100 small businesses in Florida and one of the top 500 Hispanic owned businesses in the United States. She has been a power in the Democratic Party. Chair of the Miami Democrats, she helped create Hispanic Democratic Clubs and initiated candidate recruitment in south Florida toward the goal of gaining seats in the Florida legislature. In 2013, the Democratic National Committee appointed her to leadership positions.
Jacob Rosencrants has spent his life in Oklahoma. He was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Norman. His is a graduate of Norman High School and the University of Oklahoma in Norman. His children attend Norman Public Schools and he is a middle school and high school history and social studies teacher in the Norman Public Schools. His focus is to restore funds to support public education and to reform the criminal justice system. He particularly targets the privatization of prisons and jailing drug users instead of providing rehabilitation.