Dist 8 (s/e AZ) Progressive Dem challanges Kolbe - introducing Jeff Latas

[housewolf]

PLEASE READ THIS AND GO TO HIS WEB PAGE
Joanne Ivanchich & Dave Kaler
AzPC (Arizona Progressive Council) Az. State Co-Directors
[e-mail] - Tucson
[e-mail] - Phoenix

In honor of my fellow veterans, I have chosen Veteran's Day to declare
my candidacy for U.S. Congress in Arizona District 8.

Sadly, though, part of my family cannot be with me on this day, so I
decided to announce my candidacy via e-mail instead. Three weeks ago,
my son, Jesse, was medically evacuated out of Iraq and is now at Walter Reed Army Medical Center , along with many, many other sick and injured American soldiers. My wife, Salette, is there with him, as are many other family members of these brave men and women. (See
http://www.dailykos.com/user/Jeff%20Latas)

Salette and I have traveled Arizona' s 8 th Congressional District over the past few months talking to people and listening to their concerns and advice. The encouragement to run for the 2006 Democratic nomination to challenge 11-term Republican incumbent Jim Kolbe was overwhelming.

People tell me that they're tired of the government squandering their
tax money. They want a government that serves families and small
businesses. They're fed up with war, rising debt, corruption,
skyrocketing healthcare and fuel costs, corporate subsidies, and
elected officials who primarily serve special interests. They want real
change.

Middle-class families are in trouble. We are being strangled by rising
debt, stagnant wages, high fuel costs, and unaffordable health care. We are losing wealth to globalization, because the government isn't
investing in our own people. The Republicans in Congress are not only
failing to address these issues, but they are making them worse. They
are forcing taxpayers to subsidize oil companies when oil profits are
at an all-time high, and they think it's okay to outsource American
jobs to countries with lower healthcare costs. Even worse, they believe it's okay to borrow money from China and Saudi Arabia to finance tax cuts for their wealthiest contributors. We can and must do better.

The Republicans have taken out a second mortgage on our country that
puts the economic security of every American at risk, and jeopardizes
our ability to adequately fund health care and education. Many people
in our district live without any health coverage whatsoever, and the
rest of us face an increasing burden of health care costs. We can
change this.

My campaign for Congress will focus on increasing security, improving
the economy, and protecting the environment by promoting independence
from not only foreign oil, but from all fossil fuels. Arizona is in a
unique position to benefit from alternative energy and related jobs, to produce the engineers and scientists who can solve energy problems, and to protect the Sonora desert for future generations.

We can strengthen America by investing in our energy infrastructure and by developing new energy systems so that we are no longer forced to pay outrageous prices for gas and oil to foreign countries, some of which are controlled by dictators and tyrants, and some of which pass our money on to terrorists. By making such investments in our energy
infrastructure, we will create jobs right here that can not be
exported, we will improve our national security, and we will protect
our environment.

It's time for the Iraqis to take control of their new government and
secure their own country. We should focus on the real terrorism that
threatens our world and our standard of living. Those who supported the 9/11 hijackers, including Saudi national Osama bin Laden, have not been brought to justice.

We have the finest military in the world. I know, because I served, my
wife served, my father and father-in-law served, and my son is now in
uniform. Our service men and women deserve leadership, not empty
slogans and misled adventures that have no real objectives. We should
never enter military operations with out planning for a fully funded
Veterans Administration and adequate medical facilities. If we plan on
using reserve forces for primary missions and frontline duty, they must have military healthcare prior to their being federalized.

I want to ensure that every person in southeastern Arizona has the
opportunity for a good job and a fully funded public education. As the
parent of a son with a life-threatening illness, I will work with
anyone in the Congress, and I will not rest until our country provides
affordable health care to all Americans, starting with our youngest
children.

There are politicians today who will tell you that Americans like you
and me have lost our values. These politicians think it's the
government's job to tell us how we should live our lives, how we should educate our children, and how we should believe.

Our families came to this country seeking freedom, and they fought to
leave these freedoms to their children and grandchildren. They came
here to be independent of government telling them how to think, how to
live, and even how to die.

This is what motivates me to take up this fight. I didn't spend over 20 years fighting to free other countries only to come home and be told by my government that I couldn't have my own freedoms because the world is too dangerous.

I have been fortunate to have had a career that is the stuff of dreams.
I am not running for Congress to add to my resume, but to continue a
tradition of service to this great country. That tradition of service
has run through my family since my ancestor, William Spencer, arrived
from England at Jamestown in 1608 and went on to serve in the first
Virginia house of Burgesses. That tradition of service continued with
my ancestor John Simler, the child of Swiss immigrants, who was the
first person born in Harrison County ,Indiana , to serve in the state
assembly. And the tradition of service continued with my grandfather,
Joe Hurley, the descendant of Irish immigrants, who served as Justice
of the Peace in Altus ,Oklahoma .

The founding fathers envisioned this noble tradition of the citizen
legislator, but it has been lost along the way to career politicians.
We need to bring it back.

Our nation is now in desperate need of strong and honest leadership
that has a positive plan for our future. I make this commitment out of
the sincere desire to help my nation, which I see in jeopardy. I didn't
take a poll or run a focus group. I made a decision with my family,
based on my gut feeling of what is morally right.

My country needed me in Oman ,Saudi Arabia ,Kuwait , and Turkey. America needs me now to take that same fighting spirit to Washington.
I am running because I believe that southeastern Arizona deserves a
representative who reflects our values and our priorities, and who will remain committed to those values and priorities even in the face of political pressure. Voters are looking for a leader with vision who is not afraid to stand up to special interests. I am that leader.

Jim Kolbe is an incumbent who is entrenched, out of touch, and more
committed to holding his seat in Congress than working to solve your
problems. I am tired of seeing him vote to further the interests of his
campaign contributors rather than to promote the common good.

Recent events illustrate that Kolbe's votes in the Congress benefit his cronies, and are badly out of touch with the people of southeastern
Arizona . He voted to gut the Endangered Species Act, while ignoring
the spirit of conservation of the people in his district. The new Act
will force the government to pay landowners, like Kolbe and his
cronies, the speculative value of property inhabited by endangered
species. Any landowner lucky enough to have an endangered plant on his
or her land will be able to claim from our tax dollars any profits
their land could produce now or in future years, virtually holding it
hostage until a ransom is paid. Kolbe and his contributors stand to
benefit from this bill. This is just another attempt by the right wing
to rob tax dollars from working people to profit their wealthy
contributors.

Kolbe is part of a pervasive culture of corruption within the
Republican Party, and this corruption is hurting us and the nation by
financing a massive giveaway to oil companies, pharmaceutical
companies, and other corporations on the backs of our children and our
grandchildren.

I am running to correct this. I believe that we need to invest
responsibly in America , as our parents and grandparents did, so that
we can pass on to our children and grandchildren a strong, prosperous
nation.

I'm asking all the voters of southeastern Arizona to join me in the
fight to take back our government from the career politicians and the
special interests that have hijacked it. You have a choice. You can
choose the corruption, cronyism, and mismanagement of career
politicians, or you can choose to believe in the future of an America
with limitless possibilities.

My experience is unmatched in this race. I am the only candidate with
combat experience in the Middle East , where I served five tours of
duty flying the F-15E "Strike Eagle" and earned the Distinguished
Flying Cross for heroism. I have over 20 years experience working for
the federal government, including 4 years at the Pentagon, where I
advocated for cutting-edge solutions to complex problems. I am
currently a captain for JetBlue Airways. In my career in public service
and the private sector, I have taken on tough challenges. I have not
been afraid to speak up. And I have gotten things done.

I have a B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Arizona,
and an M.A. with honors in Public Administration. I have been married
for 26 years, in addition to our son in the Army Reserve, my wife and I have a daughter, Virginia, who is a veterinary assistant. My sister,
Dr. Pat Latas, is a veterinarian in Tucson .

Arizona' s 8th Congressional District stretches from SaddleBrooke in
southern Pinal County through Oro Valley and Marana, the northern and
eastern parts of Tucson , south through Green Valley to Tubac, then
east through Sierra Vista , to the Mexican border in the south and the
New Mexican border in the east. It contains the ranchlands of Cochise
County , as well as a large part of metropolitan Tucson and the eastern
part of Santa Cruz County .

For more information, please see my campaign Web site:
http://www.jefflatas.com/. Among other features, the site offers more
information about my positions, and information on how to get involved,
and an opportunity to subscribe to my e-mail list.

Success in this endeavor will require a very strong and dedicated grass
roots organization. I believe that the voters of this district will
step forward with my family and supporters in a united volunteer
effort. Many dedicated volunteers are already hard at work designing
graphics, building winning strategies, and recruiting support.

We need to hire staff, rent office space, print and mail hundreds of
thousands of letters, order bumper stickers and yard signs, and
purchase advertising. Our goal is to raise $100,000 by December 31,
2005, so that we can be in a position to bring in up to $1 million to
fund the entire campaign. I humbly ask for your support in helping us
rise to this great challenge.

Your early contribution will give our race a tremendous boost right out
of the starting block. We must start now. I hope I can count on your
support. I ask you to go to my Web site
http://www.jefflatas.com/contribute.htm to make a donation to this
cause.

Thanks in advance for you encouragement, generous support, and prayers.

Sincerely,
Jeff Latas
www.jefflatas.com