With less than 3 weeks in the election, the Charlie Brown for Congress campaign continues to dominate in voter contact in the 4th Congressional District. As dozens of dedicated canvassers, hundreds of volunteers, and the candidate himself hit the pavement to spread Charlie’s positive message of patriotism before partisanship, its becoming increasingly clear who has the advantage in this race.
As with every Saturday for the last month, Charlie held another Brown BBQ Town Hall meeting, this time at the Orangevale Community Center in Sacramento County. Orangevale, a quiet suburb of Sacramento, is not accustomed to much political attention from campaigns. Folks came from all over the area to hear Charlie and ask him the questions that matter to them.
Introducing Charlie was the Vice-Mayor of Citrus Heights, James Shelby. Mr. Shelby is also the President of the Greater Sacramento Urban League. He has been a tireless advocate for Sacramento, and his support for Charlie runs strong.
After Vice-Mayor Shelby’s gracious remarks, Charlie introduced himself to the gathered crowd. He told them about courage, sacrifice, and a willingness to put political ideology aside in the interest of the greater good.
The first question came from a young and recently homeless man who was riding his bike and saw our gathering. While pre-conceived notions were definitely in play, the young man asked Charlie a very poignant question: what would he do on the rehabilitative-side of homeless prevention beyond simply saying that more shelters should be built?
To many in the audience, it was a somewhat banal question, but Charlie hit the nail on the head: its going to take a public/private solution to help give a hand up—not a hand-out to those who have found themselves homeless. Most people don't know this, but Charlie has been advocating for the homeless for years. One in every 3 homeless men are veterans, and that number skyrockets to 40% in the 4th District. As foreclosure rates steadily increase, jobs become tougher to find and the current conflict bringing an influx of returning soldiers with psychological traumas, the homeless population is going to see an increase. Rather than simply housing them and keeping them homeless, Charlie said he would like to ask Congress to look into finding rehabilitative measures that can make these men & women productive members of society again.
Another question came from a woman worried about Wall Street. Like so many Americans right now, she’s worried about the recent crash in the stock market. She wanted to know whether Charlie had a plan for our crippled economy and relieve middle-class Americans from burdensome taxes, and what his first economic priority would be in Congress.
Charlie’s answer was simple: balance the budget. One of the toughest jobs up ahead for the 112th Congress is finding a way to fix some of the many financial errors we’ve seen exposed these last few months. Charlie knows that we need to erase the massive debt our country owes to foreign governments like Saudi Arabia and China. In addition to the elimination of taxes like the Alternative Minimum Tax and the Widow’s Tax for military families, Charlie also wants to fight for additional tax relief for small business innovators.
As the wind blew hard and surprisingly cold, Charlie and those gathered enjoyed each other’s company and walked away hopeful for Orangevale’s future.
This weekend, Charlie will be hosting another Brown BBQ Town Hall up in Quincy. Please check out our website at www.charliebrownforcongress.org for more details. If you can make it up, we would be glad to share a burger or hot dog with you!