Progressive Rhode Island State Rep. David Segal, a champion for workers and increasingly a netroots hero, just announced his candidacy for Patrick Kennedy's open seat.
And he did it in an inspiring way. From today's Providence Journal:
A Democrat from Providence, Segal, 30, made the announcement outside the Taunton Avenue branch of Bank of America as a "sober reminder that too many working families have been let down in recent years by powerful institutions that they once trusted … Even as taxpayers bailed out Wall Street banks, like Bank of America, credit-card rates went through the roof and homes that families lived in for a lifetime were foreclosed upon."
"I have stood up to the big banks. I have fought for working families. I have achieved concrete victories in these areas — cracking down on foreclosures, cracking down on predatory lending and more," he told a crowd of about three-dozen supporters.
Segal is not the typical candidate for Congress.
Inspired yet? If you think this is the type of person we need in Congress, consider donating $5 to his campaign.
There's more...
Segal is also a founding partner and frequent contributor to the liberal blog known as the Providence Daily Dose.
He doesn’t own a home or a car. He shares an apartment in a Fox Point triple-decker with a changing cast of roommates that currently includes a lobbyist for Ocean State Action, lives "on twenty-grand a year like so many people in Providence do," and told his supporters, "I don’t think you should need to be a rich person to run for Congress."
He also stands to the left of many of his fellow State House Democrats, as the sponsor of bills to legalize marriage and divorce by same-sex couples, require employers to provide their employees with bilingual notices, prohibit police inquiries into immigration status and remove Rhode Island troops from Iraq.
He is, however, viewed as a rising star in the liberal wing of the state Democratic Party that calls itself the Progressive Caucus. His supporters even launched a Facebook campaign to persuade him to run.
Like what you're reading? Consider donating $10 to his campaign.
A shrewd political observer, state AFL-CIO President George Nee said..."David Segal has been a very strong voice for labor issues and for progressive issues, and has stood up, taken a lot of tough votes, championed a lot of controversial causes, hasn’t run away from a fight, and I think a lot of people respect that," Nee said. "But you know, he’s also newer on the political scene and, unfortunately, it still comes down to an ability to raise money to get a message out ..."
Want your money to make a difference for someone who doesn't run away fom a fight? Consider donating $10 to David's campaign.
In recent weeks, a delegation from the Washington-based Progressive Change Campaign Committee came to Rhode Island to court him, and local supporters mounted a campaign on Facebook to persuade him to run, citing the need for "a progressive voice in Washington … that will stand on the right side of issues ranging from foreign relations to marriage equality."
A people-powered progressive who fights boldly (and wins) on progressive causes. Sound good to you? Consider digging deep and donating $15 to David's campaign.