Yesterday, I learned through media reports that the Democratic leaders in the Virginia House are calling on me to abandon my campaign.
As many of you know, I have not led a perfect life and my social media history reflects that imperfection. I have apologized for the crude and insensitive posts I made in the past, and I sincerely apologize again to all who are seeing these for the first time. Since formally joining the Democratic Party I have not made any comments that can reasonably be called offensive in a deliberate attempt to communicate in a civil and measured way.
I have blogged here before about how my involvement with the Democratic Party, progressive causes, and the Bernie Sanders campaign helped me become the person I am today. Working hand in hand with people of all ages, races, religions, and genders solidified my commitment to fighting for equality. It also opened my eyes to the small ways that so many of us - myself included - perpetuate norms and stereotypes that hurt our neighbors.
When I made a conscious decision to step up and lead, it transformed my entire way of thinking. A leader must be inclusive and communicate respectfully. I know that I am still not perfect, but I make an effort each and every day to grow into my role. Since 2014 I have consciously avoided making identity based comments under any circumstances. This choice was made when I had a realization that I had been an unwitting participant in propagating racial disparity through inaction or privilege. I refuse to be a part of the racial divide problem and I challenge anyone to find an example after august of 2014 of me not being true to that value.
My campaign for the House of Delegates has been focused on the issue of equality from Day One. I am running because I know we need a brick wall against proposals like Bathroom Bills, forced tranvaginal ultrasounds, and a “Day of Tears.” I know we need to break the school-to-prison pipeline. I know we need to reevaluate the way cities award contracts that never seem to go to minority owned businesses. I know we need to stop turning a blind eye to the fact that minority neighborhoods are often the last to be cleaned up after storms come through.
Some of those are local issues that don’t impact people outside of southeastern Virginia. Many are issues that don’t disrupt my daily life. These issues are still important and and demand attention.
People who know me know that these social media posts do not reflect the man I am today or the campaign I am conducting. It is deeply and personally hurtful that anonymous political opponents have chosen to attempt to paint me as someone who would still make such comments. I can only assume that they are terrified of what I might accomplish in the House of Delegates, and that they feel they can’t win on the issues alone.
My campaign has been clean from beginning to end. My focus has been on the issues and on creating better outcomes for the citizens of my district. Clearly there are political operatives who have the time and resources to dig deeply into not just my social media history, but the social media history of members of my family. Whoever those entities are it is clear that they orchestrated this character assassination with malice. Dripping two comments in March, two more in May, and finally two more yesterday. I cannot say with certainty who has done this, but I have my suspicions.
I owe it to the people who have supported me to continue on. I will not allow these attempts at character assassination to stop me from fighting for what I know is right. While it may all be in vain, no one will be able to say I didn’t leave everything out on the field. In the immortal words of Saturday Night Live’s “Sean Spicer”, I will not be “deterred.”
Tom Brock
Candidate for VA HD-21
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