Confession: Why I’m Working to Help Elect Autumn Burke

CALIF PRIMARY-Fair warning here, I work on Autumn Burke’s campaign for the 62^nd Assembly District, but everything I am about to expose to you now represents my thoughts and opinions of this person. Nothing in the following has been sanctioned by the campaign and the candidate was not permitted to read this before its submission. 

In other words, this is what I think. 

Autumn Burke is tenacious. When she initially entered the race for Assembly District 62, she did so on the heels of the juggernaut candidacy of Ms. Betsy Butler – former assemblyperson who in just 2 years had 14 bills signed by the governor. Beneath this seemingly insurmountable opponent, Ms. Burke faced instant dismissal from people who felt that the daughter of former Congresswoman and County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke was just a legacy kid who was most likely just going to just wave some silver spoon at the cameras and try to coast into elected office because, well, maybe politics would be fun. 

In other words, no one really gave her a chance. 

And in the face of that, for the last 18 months, Autumn Burke has doggedly pursued this office at a tireless clip that would astound you. This is not hyperbole. She embraced the dismissals and cheerfully carried them forward through countless coffee meet and greets, farmers’ markets, and community meetings. She has walked into room after room that held no love for her and she walked away with their support. She is a woman whose tenacity is unparalleled, a fierce competitor whose grace complements her pursuit in a manner that attracts people – even the ones biased against her – to join her cause. This is the quality; that of a person who could respectfully debate with those who don’t always respectfully disagree, was what first piqued my curiosity. When she kept coming back for more, I knew she was a force. 

Her strength to persuade rests in her intelligence and sincerity. Her focus on issues is not to find what is politically astute, but to gather information from as wide a swath of people and sources as possible in order to determine what is best; best for people, communities, and our state. That relentless quest to understand people’s needs and perspectives captivates you and I think it’s because it’s immediately clear that Autumn Burke is smart enough to know that she may be wrong at times and in that acceptance, she will collect; collect information from people and sources in the old fashioned sense that her final decision is one that leverages all of the resources at her disposal. 

That isn’t to say that she is hyper-flexible in her viewpoints. She operates from a fundamental belief system rooted in our commonly held Democratic beliefs: that policy must embolden people to pursue the American Dream, that our environment is a precious resource, and that people should feel secure in the expression of their unique perspectives. She just doesn’t carry the baggage of ego that so frequently capsizes those who believe their ideas are THE ideas and their incarnation of those principles is the ONLY way. That respect for other points of view and experiences is an incredible asset that she compliments with her own, constantly growing, knowledge of issues and people. It’s what I admire.  

Yet, for all her flexibility of ideas, she is by no means moral tofu. By that, I say that she is a person of character and integrity. She bucks the tradition of being a politician who seemingly cannot be pinned down or who will speak out of both sides of his mouth. Having come to know her on the campaign trail, I have seen her consistency in her core belief system. I have seen her state her opinion to a voter who feels differently and she has done so with great respect. Again, should someone produce evidence or ideas triumphing her own, she will change course. The important aspect of this trait is that she will not change course simply for politics. Ideas trump all in the world of Autumn Burke. 

I have chosen to work for Autumn Burke because these are the traits I seek out in leadership. More than that, I am the father of three young girls who will most certainly benefit from the election of a strong, intelligent, savvy woman like Autumn Burke. I know that she will be an excellent role model for my kids and the choices she will make, if elected, will be for the better of the community in which I’m raising my children.

 

(Odysseus Bostick is a Los Angeles teacher and former candidate for the Los Angeles City Council. He writes The Bostick Report for CityWatch.)

-cw

 

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 45

Pub: June 3, 2014