Hey Viewers, Today I am doing something different. In the last couple of weeks I sent email invitations to both Rep. Ken Calvert and Tim Sheridan, who are both running for the Congressional Seat of the 42nd district. I haven't heard back from Mr. Calvert, but Mr Sheridan agreed to talk with me.
I would like to thank Mr. Sheridan a lot. He took time from his schedule, even making himself late to a fundraiser, to schedule an interview with me. Then, when he got there, the place where we were going to talk wasn't ready and we had to wait for 35 minutes. He was super nice about it. As if that were not enough, we had all kinds of camera issues and he just rolled with it. It was a great interview and I appreciate that he answered my questions without talking down to me. He even invited me to come to his election headquarters.
That was the good news. The bad news is that not only did we have issues with all of the cameras not recording right, but also the software we use to make videos glitched out and has to be replaced, so I don't have a usable recording of this awesome interview. I really enjoyed talking to Mr. Sheridan. My parents will vote based on what they think about the issues, but if I had to choose, I would be likely to choose someone who could make a few minutes that turned into over an hour to talk to a kid.
Below is a transcript (Mom apologizes for any typos, mistakes in the transcript are all her fault)
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Hey Viewers, Welcome to my blog. Today I am talking to Tim Sheridan. He is the Democratic candidate for the 42nd Congressional seat, coming up for election in November.
Lian Nathaniel (LN)- Welcome, and thank you for squeezing me into your busy schedule today.
Tim Sheridan (TS)- Lian thank you for inviting me. I am really excited about the opportunity to talk with you.
LN- Thank you. So, to start with can you tell me a bit about who you are?
TS- Sure. I live in lake Elsinore with my wife Debbie and she and I have lived in Southern California since we got married. I first came to California in 1996 and I am originally from Syracuse New York.
LN- Thanks. So why did you choose to run for this position?
TS- Well, that is a good question. I don’t think that the Congress works very well and I think that it time that we make a change with some of the Representatives that are in Congress including the individual that I am running against. I think he has been there for too long, he has been there for over twenty years. I think every now and then in institutions like Congress we need to make a change and I think this is the year to make a change.
LN- Interesting.
Mr. Sheridan, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing our district in the next two years and what is your plan for addressing it?
TS- I think that the biggest challenge facing any candidate in any position is to create jobs. Ultimately good jobs are what helps our country move forward. Any person running for office, their first focus should be on creating good jobs for the citizens they represent. One of the things I will do when elected to Congress is to work on creating good paying jobs here in the 42nd District and Riverside County as a whole and I am going to do whatever I can to make that happen. I think that is the most important thing. When someone has a good job they feel better about themselves and they are able to go out and be a productive member of society and that’s important.
LN- Great!
What advice do you have for young people who are interested in public service?
TS- Well, Public service is just that, it’s service and I think for a young person to want to get involved in politics, one of the first things you can do is volunteer for local organizations, like this library here. Thinking about going into the armed services and serving your country is a good thing if you ultimately want to get involved in public service. I think it is one of those things that you should start early and focus as much as you can on helping other people, that’s what important about public service. That is one of the reasons I am running for Congress, I want to help other people.
LN- Great advice!
TS- Thank you.
LN- Finally, what is the one thing you would like all of your potential constituents to know about you?
TS- I think the most important thing that people should know about me is that I am a hard worker and I am committed to what I am doing. When I am elected to Congress, I am going to sure to be in the district as often as possible and willing to talk to constituents, like you, when I get a phone call or email from them. I think that it one of the most important things that any member of Congress or any public servant can do, is to get out among the people, talk to them about the issues that are important to them and take that knowledge back to the elected office they hold.
LN- Terrific.
Thank you so much for stopping by to speak with me.
TS- I really enjoyed this. Thank you very much too. We’ll see you again.
Update Oct 4, 2014: Rep Calvert's office finally sent a response to my invitation saying I could interview him by email and I have sent my questions (same as above) and am waiting for a response.
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