Friends,
I am thrilled to announce that, with your help and the help of over a thousand volunteers and contributors, I won a seat in the Washington State House of Representatives this week!
I can never adequately express my profound gratitude for your role in making this happen: your faith in me, your words and deeds of encouragement and support, your thoughts and prayers, your hard work, your generosity of spirit. You helped us knock on 25,000 doors in the district, you raised a third of a million dollars to fund our voter contact plan, you placed tens of thousands of phone calls to persuade undecided voters and get out the vote,you welcomed me into your homes to meet your family, friends and neighbors. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Special thanks to Mallory Gitt, Crystal Anguay, Dylan Kahn, Katherine Bobman, Erin Schultz, Christian Sinderman, Jason Bennett, Beth Shugert, Amber Rose Jimenez, and the many interns who worked on my campaign team. You kept the trains, and even me, running on time.
And of course, a lifetime's worth of gratitude to my parents, who taught me how to dream big and instilled in me the courage to pursue those dreams, whose parental vocabulary never included the word, "disabled," who inspire me in all that I do.
Finally, to Councilman Hank Myers, thank you for your leadership and public service, for running a vigorous but respectful campaign on the issues, and for your gracious words of congratulations yesterday. I look forward to working with you to move our region forward on transportation and other shared priorities in the coming years.
I first decided to run for office out of love for Washington State and because I know that, at its best, government embodies our collective commitment to an essential set of values, and I have experienced in my own life the tremendous and transformative potential of that commitment. Having lost my eyesight to childhood cancer, and having grown up as the child of new Americans, I know that opportunity plus hard work equals achievement. I look forward to spending the next two years expanding opportunities for children, small businesses, and working families in Washington State. Thank you for making that possible.
Yours in gratitude,
Cyrus
