2018

Political Note #163 Fred Hubbel IA Governor

In another country, he would be Sir Fred. He might be the Earl of Terrace Hill. Terrace Hill is the Iowa Governor's Mansion. Formerly a Hubbell home, it was donated (not by Fred) to the state of Iowa to become a museum and the home for the Governor. Fred Hubbell has been a central civic figure in Des Moines and philathropist. As Acting Director of Iowa's Department of Economic Development, he identified $160 million of ineffective tax credits and incentives and targeted them for elimination. He served as Board Chair of the Iowa Power Fund which was authorized to invest $100 million in wind and solar energy. In this land of ethanol production, wind now provides nearly 40% of Iowa's electricity generation. Coal's share has dropped from about 75% to 45%.

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Political Note #162 Tony Evers WI Governor

Tony Evers has had a string of victories. A former teacher, principal, and school superintedent, he has a more than respectable record of getting elected and of accomplishments. Since 2009, Evers has been elected and reelected three times, the same number of times as Walker, and by larger margins than Walker's margins. Evers education focus has been on children's safety and achievement.

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Political Note #161 Richard Ojeda WV CD 03

Richard Ojeda is unusual. He is a Democrat who has a pretty good chance of getting elected in West Virginia. Analysts rate the district Lean Republican. His grandfather was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. His father was born in the US, a US citizen, and a nurse. He was tough in Iraq. He earned a clutch of medals -- among them two bronze stars and two medals for meritorious service. As a state senator, Richard Ojeda was a terror. He kicked the energy companies lobbyist out of his office. Not for show. He led a fight to legalize medical marijuana, declaring victory against big pharma.

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Political Note #160 Joe Radinovich MN CD 08

Joe Radinovich has been a state legislator, campaign manager, labor advocate. He is running for an open seat in the US Congress in a district that ranges from the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities to the iron range.

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Political Note #159 Kim Schrier WA CD 08

Kim Schrier has a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. In astrophysics. Phi Beta Kappa. Her medical degree was from the University of California, Davis. She showed few hints of political interest, let alone ambition. Her interest in health care extended beyond the individual children and families she worked with. The proposals to abolish the Affordable Care Act got her attention. She prepared diligently to meet with her Congressman. She explained what was wrong, even dangerous about the Republican proposals. Her Congressman voted for Trumpcare in committee. Not long afterwards, he announced his retirement. Not long after that, Kim Schrier decided on her own candidacy.

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Political Note #158 Sharice Davids KS CD 03

Sharice Davids in a Native American whose start was not easy. She worked low wage jobs. When she developed a focus, she attended and graduated from University of Missouri -- Kansas City. From there she went to Cornell Law School. Then mergers and acquisitions for Dentons, an enormous law school. She decided she preferred her hobby, mixed martial arts. She decided she would rather help fellow Native Americans become entrepreneurs. From that work, she has moved on to politics.

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Political Note #157 Cynthia Axne IA CD 03

Cynthia Axne Cynthia Axne was a back of the house person for several agencies in Iowa. She focused on budgets, personnel management, technology -- unglamorous work. “I made sure state agencies had proper processes and strategies in place to implement their services in a tighter fashion — making sure they used taxpayer dollars wisely.”"It's not policy, it's problem solving." Not always. She was fired by a Republican governor. Her views about health care and gun safety are very different from the views of the incumbent she is running against.

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Political Note #156 Lupe Valdez TX Governor

is the four times elected Dallas County Sheriff of Dallas, a former US Army Captain and former federal investigator. She is also the Lesbian grandchild of Mexican immigrants, a candidate who owed $12,000 in real estate taxes when she began her campaign.

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Political Note #154 Ben McAdams UT CD 04

Ben Adams is a Utahan. He is a graduate of the University of Utah where he began as an electrical engineer major and ended as a political science major. As a senior, he married his high school girlfriend. After his mission to Brazil, they left together for Columbia Law School. He worked as an attorney for a Wall Street firm, earned enough to make a dent in his loans, and returned to Utah for his life and career.

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Political Note #153 Xochitl Torres Small NM CD 02

Xochitl Torres Small is a Las Cruces attorney for Kemp, Smith an El Paso Texas-based law firm, a former clerk for a federal judge, and former head of US Senator Tom Udall's regional office. She is an ideal Democratic candidate to run for Congress. She knows the district and this is the year for Democratic women to run for Congress. She went away to college -- to Georgetown, but came home for law school -- the University of New Mexico. She stayed home for her clerkship, for her legal work and for her family.

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