All of my life, I have been involved in politics. From those days back in the 1980s when I sat in a church basement penning letters to Amnesty International, to this day when I find myself "becoming" a statesman and an activist, I have always had an interest in the principles that guide this country. I was intrigued at the age of 6 with the concept that "anyone can grow up to be President", and while I'm too jaded to believe this to be true anymore, I am nonetheless entranced by the fact that the average citizen can be powerfully influential in our government. I have only been held back in my attempts by a very low level of self confidence.

But something's happening on the way to the statehouse. While I accepted the party's challenge to run for office for the benefit of the party, I did so with low expectations (but with a strong set of ideals). I wanted to be successful, sure, but I was committed to the campaign more as a means to an end than anything else. A lot has changed.

As I have slowly discussed my campaign with others, I have found more people in tune with my ideas than not, and I have slowly "found my wings". This campaign, I believe, is slowly but surely bringing out the best of me, the confident individual that can make a difference, rather than the non-confrontational individual with good ideas who'd rather stay below the radar. This campaign has already challenged me and forced me to define more strongly who I am and what I believe than any other single action in my life, since about a month into the campaign when I decided that I needed to be prepared to win, and to know exactly what I would do if and when I did win.

Sure, I've found my share of detractors, who've found my ideas repugnant. But I often find those detractors are those who rely on selective sound bytes, and who do not take the time to analyze the bigger picture of what I am saying. And I also realize that even if I'm HIGHLY successful in the campaign, I'll still more than likely have 40 + per cent of the voters who disagree with me. Such is the nature of politics. But I believe that strong stands are one of the mopst glaringly missing elements in today's political world, and that the strength of my conviction is in many ways my strongest asset.

It's a long way to November, and there's a whole lot of work from now until then. But I am increasingly sure that regardless of the outcome, the man who will come out of these elections will be a sharper, more clearly defined man than the one who came in.