Choosing to Be Inspired in Red Orange County--A Candidate's Wife and a Grassroots Campaign

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Heather Pritchard

Pictured right is the candidate, Gary Pritchard, and his daughter Charlotte

That's right, I'm a candidate's wife, it happened rather quickly too. Well, I've been married to the guy for almost ten years, but the candidate part has unfolded in just a few days.

Now, why am I not the candidate? Oh, it's a long story and I've not been as good of a Democrat as my husband has been, really. I am still registered as Decline to State. Yes, how is that for a confession? But Gary, my husband, has been registered as a Democrat for many years and he unabashedly calls himself a party loyalist.

So how did this come about? Let me tell you...

We live in Orange County, Ca. It is a red County to many but emerging to be more purple than anything else. I started my political blogging last year when I decided to get involved in the Presidential Primaries. I chose my candidate and I was off and running. I found my voice during this time and was and still am a proud contributor to EENR. It made me sane.

I also decided to get involved in local politics because in order to make real change we need to be aware of the political atmosphere closest to home. It's the sort of change we can have more influence over and it also can lead to a more involved community and electorate. And, it was time to let Orange County know that there were many more proud Democrats than ever thought of before.

Gary and I live in the California State Senate district number 33. When a call to run was sent out last week I thought, well why not? Oh, that's right I was ineligible. But to think that no one was going to run as a Democrat seemed unimaginable to me. If a Democrat doesn't run then how can a Democrat win?

That's when I asked my husband if he had any interest in running. Yes, that was it. He said he'd think about it and I got him to talk to my contact in the Orange County Democratic Party Friday morning. The next thing I know, he's putting on a suit jacket and filing paperwork at the County's registrar office! (How is this for a moment, Gary wanted to purchase some information from the Registrar but he didn't have fifty cents in change on him. He went to his car and a Republican running for another position in the County said he would have given him the money! Gary got the change from his car and purchased the information on his own though.)

Okay, some of you know me, but who is this Gary guy? What makes him think he can run for office? Why not I say? Gary has a Ph.d (UCI in Ethnomusicology) a Masters (Claremont College in Conducting) and a Bachelors (Chapman College in Conducting also) and is a tenured Professor at Cerritos College. He's great with people and one of the smartest people I know. It's a little annoying at times but he's also smart enough to know not to make others feel dumb. I'm hoping I can get him to come by and tell you more about himself, but for now, that's just a little bit.

Most importantly, I'm really proud of him for taking this leap. It's a leap in my in my mind because it's intimidating, especially when the last Republican took this district by almost 22%! It also doesn't help that there are 20% more registered Republicans than Democrats, but who lets things like pesky numbers stop them? If a Democrat doesn't run then how can a Democrat win?