The pace of the campaign is picking up fast. Tomorrow, Thursday October 25th, I will attend three events: The Human Rights Awards Breakfast, the Bicyclist of Iowa City (BIC) Lunch, and the League of Women Voters Forum in the evening. If I’m not at meeting a or talking to supporters I’m calling voters, planning neighborhood canvassing, and watching the days fly by. And sometimes sleeping.

I am very proud to say that I have won the endorsement of Local 1260 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the Iowa City Federation of Labor, and the Iowa City Sierra Club. In practical terms, endorsements can mean additional donations and volunteers to help on the campaign. They mean a lot to me personally as well.

In political terms, endorsements are shorthand for where a candidate stands. Iowa City labor is a natural ally in my goals of improving public safety, expanding support for affordable housing, and promoting historic preservation. The Sierra Club and I agree completely on the importance of improving Iowa City's green efforts.

Most importantly these groups, like me, are here for the long haul. If I am lucky enough to be elected I will look to them, and many other community members for ideas, debate, and assistance. I have learned so much over the last several months, crisscrossing Iowa City, meeting people I might never have encountered otherwise, and discovering how passionately we all are about this town. It’s an impressive place.

I want to thank the Carpenters, the Iowa City Federation of Labor, and the Sierra Club, for their votes of confidence, and to acknowledge the other groups that spoke with me as a council candidate, tested my mettle, and proved to be terrific sounding-boards.

Now it’s time to back to the phone; my dialing finger isn't numb any more.

Friday marked the end of the annual Iowa Library Association conference, held at the Coralville Convention Center. As a member of the ILA Board of Directors, I was hopping from the opening on Weds. to the final bell on Friday afternoon. The conference this year had a focus on intellectual freedom that I found incredibly satisfying. Intellectual freedom, based on the First Amendment to the Constitution, refers to freedom of inquiry, thought, and certainly the freedom to read. Our keynote speaker was young adult author, and frequent victim of would-be censors, Chris Crutcher. He has power tales to tell and is an incredible champion of intellectual freedom. Later in the conference I presented a session for librarians on dealing with attempts at censorship: how to deflect them, and what to do when the censor comes knocking. It was a standing room only crowd and we had a great time while working with a serious message: there's always somebody out there who's more than willing to tell you what you can read, watch, or, ultimately, think. This is an issue I'm passionate about, and I believe we have to fight censorship tooth and nail. I hope I inspired a few people likewise.

On the Campaign Trail:

This afternoon a group of volunteers and I set forth on the Charge of the Wright Brigade. We fanned out over the neighborhoods along and south of Kirkwood Ave. By 5 PM we'd visited nearly 500 homes! Our reception was very positive, and I was even stopped on the street to discuss the election. I was elated! This type of one-on-one interaction is fun for me, and valuable too: I always learn a lot about what's on people's minds. It also turned into a beautiful afternoon to be out walking around.

I am so pleased that I came in second in the Iowa City Council primary yesterday. Pleased and honored. I really appreciate all the support I've gotten thus far, certainly in terms of votes, but also in terms of support, advice, assistance, and of course, cash. And it's all added up to a pretty respectable finish in the primary. Thanks again!

I'm probably dating myself, but do you remember the old ads the for Avis rental car agency? "When you're number two, you try harder" was the slogan as I recall. Well, it's true.

The next month is going to be hectic: forums, meetings, door-to-door, you name it. But I'm going to finish second (or maybe even first, but I won't be greedy -- second would work just fine) again in November and that's going to be a lot of work. Fortunately, it's fun!

Saturday was the big Johnson County Democrats Barbecue, and it was also a politician's dream. A couple of thousand or more people in one place, to socialize and have dinner, sure, but mainly to hear what politicians had to say. OK, so the main attraction wasn't the slate of Iowa City Council candidates, and yes, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, et al., do have a bit more star power that I do. It was still fun.

I spent an hour+ spooning cole slaw onto people's plates, then beat a retreat down the line to slap together my own sandwich, doused in Ralph Neuzil's amazing BBQ sauce. Then I made the mad dash to the Iowa City Council candidate's table, where I joined Regenia Bailey, Matt Hayek and Brandon Ross, and met with an amazing number of IC residents who wanted to talk issues. And talk we did. I folded up my shop about 7:45; my voice was shot (I'd been campaigning for 12 hours at that point) but I talked to a lot of people and I learned a lot that day. It was local politics at its finest. I was happy to have been part of it.

I've written before about my Mom the Detroit cop and one of the first members of the Detroit Police Officer's Association in 1944, and how so many people from Michigan understand that it was the labor movement that helped regular working people earn decent wages and send their kids to college.

Simply put, unions help make life better and more fair.

In the course of my campaign I've made a serious effort to meet with many groups and individuals, including the local labor movement. I visited the Iowa City Federation of Labor, the group that unites many local unions. I also visted AFSCME Local 12, which represents UI merit staff, and let me tell you, these folks were fun. I felt right at home.

I have talked informally with AFSCME Local 183 members who work for Iowa City and hope to meet with leaders of the Iowa City Professional Fire Fighters Local 610 and from the Iowa City Police Labor Relations Organization. Most recently I had a terrific lunch with leaders of the SEIU (Service Workers International Union).

I've met with local labor to discuss the hopes and concerns of the people who make Iowa City work--union members drive us to work on the bus, check out books to us at the public library, teach our children, and care for us when we are sick. As I've known all my life, the labor movement is the backbone of the progressive coalition locally, statewide, and across the country and I'm proud to count many of these people as friends and supporters.

I know I'll be a friendly face to labor if elected to the City Council. While local unionists and I will not agree on every issue I will continue to seek their advice and assistance. I know that will help me be a better city councilor.

I'm in seemingly perennial trouble with my campaign manager.

I don't blog as often as he thinks I should. And I apologize both to him and to the, what, tens? of readers of this blog. : ) There's a lot going on.

Running for city council is intense. Add to that a full-time+ job, a relationship, and trying to do a tiny little bit to stay sane (for me, a really tiny bit!) chairing the neighborhood association, time runs short. So I tend to not blog. Tonight I had all good intentions, then it all went to pieces. The damned tornado sirens went off, my dog, Tank got very nervous and tried to sit in my lap (he's almost 90 lbs) and the evening just sort of evaporated.

Today was the Press-Citizen interviews for endorsement: tomorrow we find out who gets the nod. It was a good forum. I know for myself and suspect for the others that we as candidates find these as useful as any member of the public. You can tell who's doing their homework, who's found out something new (no offense to anybody, but the questions tend to be the same from one forum to the next -- there are only so many issues!) what new question brought everybody up short -- you get the picture. And each one is a chance to listen and learn.

So OK. I blogged! And I'm going to go to bed relatively early. I get up every morning at 5:22 to go running with The Tank. And I just remembered that our 16 year-old station-wagon* (the official campaign-mobile) has to go to the shop tonight... the tailgate no longer closes. Bed? Not so fast!

Good night. Almost.

*And it's not a record-breaker. I retired my 1968 Volkswagen in 1999 with an impressive 399,000 miles on the odometer. I paid $1000 for the thing, used. Drove it for many, many years, and sold it for parts for $400. That's economy! The old station-wagon has a mere 196,000 miles.