Back in May when Blue America endorsed Angie Nixon for a Jacksonville-based state legislative seat, much of our decision was based on the wretched incumbent, arguably the worst member of the Florida legislature. Since then, we have gotten to know Angie better. Every discussion with her has confirmed my original impressions:
1- Angie will be an outstanding progressive leader in a legislature that doesn't have many2- Angie would be an incredible candidate even if her opponent was not such a villain3- Angie is going to win this race
The last time we spoke she told me that she hadn't been able to attend to any of her campaign duties because she had spent the whole day at the hospital dealing with her pregnancy. A few days later she told her supporters-- including me-- that she had tested positive for COVID-19. In an e-mail, she wrote that "It has been a very eventful June/July. Heck, all of 2020 has been one for the record books! I intended my latest email to be about how my daughter Natalie just turned 13, how I was organizing against the RNC coming just 4 blocks away from our smoothie/sandwich shop, how I am smashing it in my fundraising goals and have racked up A TON of endorsements for my campaign. Unfortunately, I come bringing pretty crappy news. My opponent just dropped a ton of her own money into the race, (very interesting to say the least)." Then the bombshell:
AND, I recently tested positive for COVID-19.Since the outbreak, I have been wearing and advocating for the mandated use of masks in public spaces. I have traced my exposure back to someone that came within my personal space with no mask and tested positive prior to me.Over the past few months, our state and community’s leadership in the response to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 has been a complete failure to say the absolute least.As many residents in our community, I am a full-time mom, expecting my second child at the end of August. I am a small business owner. I work a second job full-time. And I am running for office to represent our community.We must do better and mandate the use of masks so we can all stay safe and healthy.My frustration is not just for me and my family. My frustration is primarily for those who don’t have access to quality healthcare. Those who can't afford a mask and those who do not have the means to travel to a testing site.My frustration is for those who work at jobs that are not required to provide them PPE or have socially distant standards in place.My frustration is for people who can not take one single day of paid sick leave so they can be healthy for their coworkers and their families. The system is broken. And we must come together to fix it.
Blue America has endorsed 9 candidates for state legislative seats around the country-- out of the 1,972 state senate seats and 5,411 state House seats across the country. Angie is one of them-- and a future leader of Florida and the U.S. Please consider contributing to her campaign by clicking on the 2020 state legislative thermometer on the right.NOTE: Angela is going to be on the radio with Nicole Sandler and I at 5:30 today (2:30 PT). Tune in.