I remember the first time I met Chris Owens. It was the first time I voted when I moved to Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, NY. He seemed like a nice guy then, but that's not the way I would describe him now.
About three years ago, I realized that the massive, undemocratic, nontransparent planning disaster known as the Atlantic Yards was threatening my neighborhood. I realized that nobody was going to stand up for my neighborhood except for me and my neighbors. I felt a sense of personal responsibility. Some people would call me a NIMBY, but the more I fight the developer who wants to snag the valuable property near my house without political oversight, the more I realize that this is about taking back control of the country.
I am constantly reminded that the conservative movement started by getting their candidates elected to school boards, building their movement from the bottom up. The conservative movement was "thinking globally and acting locally." I think it's time progressives start using that strategy. Instead of just sitting around and wasting air by complaining about Bush, my neighbors and I were taking on a winnable fight against a developer who wanted to take public land and subsidies for private profit. Up until now, I had been looking for an effective way to fight against the crony capitalism that has been corrupting the democratic process in this country. And now that I found my solution to this dilemma, the more I got involved in the so-called local issues, the more I ran into Chris.
But my involvement increased dramatically when, through the recommendations of Chris Owens and Bill Batson, I was hired to work on the Norman Siegel campaign for the office of Public Advocate of New York City in 2005. This great civil rights lawyer was not endorsed by any elected officials- not a single elected representative had the courage to endorse Norman Siegel except Chris's father, Major Owens. Supporting Norman Siegel was the right thing to do, but few were willing to do it, except for people like Chris Owens and Bill Batson. Chris and Bill were the ones who saw my potential to be an energetic force in the political arena, and I thank them for pulling me into the political sphere.
And when Chris and Bill supported Norman Siegel, they didn't just show up on election day, or join him on the City Hall steps for a press conference. Both Chris Owens and Bill Batson worked, and busted their butts like I had never seen before.
There are times when you may get weary of a candidate. But Chris is always real, always willing to listen, always open to exchanging ideas... except when necessity requires that he make fundraising call.
(I must also mention that Chris has a great singing voice and fine musical sensitivities. As a musician, I have strong opinions about these things, but a lot of people are not aware of Chris's musical talents.)
The worst thing about Chris is that his father is my current representative. This is my subjective opinion and not the position of any campaign. I support Chris because he's Chris, irrespective of his father. I do NOT like political dynasties, but if a candidate is good, I will not hold their parentage against them.
So how would I describe Chris now? I don't think calling him a "nice guy" covers it. He is passionate, driven, extremely smart, very connected to all sorts of people, extremely articulate, but most importantly his heart is in the right place- without that everything else would be worthless (as in the case of David Yassky). I used to think I was unique in my observations until I went to some political clubs where I heard person after person describe in glowing terms their own connection to him. And then I think of all of his national endorsements, and I realize that not only has he made these connections in Prospect Heights, but in Washington as well.
I think Chris will make an outstanding Congressman. I think he has a chance to be a national leader of the new democratic movement that we have been creating. I can't wait to see him in office.