Meet Don Barber (SD-51)
Okay, I'm excited: the netroots buzz around Don Barber, a Democrat running in the 51st SD, has been building for a while. Last night, some of we bloggers decided to take a look at the man himself at an event.
Wait, this is him.
Very impressive, for several reasons. First of all, he's a nice guy, who I'm pretty confident isn't going to turn into an aloof elected aristocrat like some of the GOP senators one might care to mention.
Then, there's his platform: Don is running on a really simple idea that's gotten short shrift in New York for a while: that we're all in this together, that jobs matter, that the yawning gap between rich and poor in this state is scandalous, that we need to take better care of each other and the world we live in. As he says, he grew up on a farm, and it shows: the man is steeped in the values of a small, close-knit community that exercises stewardship of the land. Yes, that matters.
Here's what's really compelling: Don isn't the kind of person that's supposed to be running. He's doing this in a district that is tailored to make running more difficult; it stretches from roughly the geographic center of the state north to Saint Lawrence, west to Tompkins, and south to Dutchess. He also started out with no money, and has filled his coffers with a grassroots surge.
In every cycle, there's a competition between candidates for the affections of the netroots and grassroots at a given level of government. In 2006, Brian Keeler held that pole position for State Senate candidates (and rightly so, because Brian is awesome). This time around, if I had to take a guess at this point, I'd say Don Barber is going to be the marquee grassroots Senate candidate.
On the web: Don Barber for State Senate
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2008 Elections | Don Barber
Heh.
Submitted by Bouldin on 25 June 2008 - 3:39pm.
Yes, I'm glad as well. I see a real chance that this could turn into the most exciting campaign this year for the Senate; and like Phil just pointed out to me (working from my place today), because the district is so weirdly shaped, no mater where you are in the state, you're not that far away. I can see some City people going up to help out, and I may do so myself.
Name that district
Submitted by Dan Jacoby on 25 June 2008 - 4:33pm.
You can see a district map here, as well as the name given it by the LWV.
No, I won't spoil the surprise; you'll have to look it up yourself.
Thanks for post!
I'm not in Barber's district, either, although I am from the one next door in Tompkins County, so I know him and his leadership as an elected official. Completely agree with you, except for one small point: there are 7 counties in the district, but, your St. Lawrence County reference is way farther North than the district goes (check web site... and I think it is Greene County, not Dutchess, on the East, too... Hudson River, anyway).
Oh, and he is better-looking than the pix might lead you to believe.
But, otherwise, yeah, Don is the real (Democratic upstate) McCoy. So glad you went to meet him.