yahya4congress

My older son, Yahya has been campaigning and collecting signatures for about three weeks. He is doing very well. His website is almost-ready and running: 

www.yahya4congress.com

He did not like the work of a professional website designer and he let a volunteer do the work. But, when the volunteer got stuck with some technical difficulties, Yahya took the challenge and designed the website, including his logo and brochure, all by himself. I was very impressed by his sense of esthetics, technical skills, and the speed he managed to solve the issue. He has already posted the headlines of his position on various issues and he will soon post the detailed solutions based on facts and progressive values for each. 

· Smarter education to prepare and retrain people for the jobs of tomorrow

· Stronger gun safety laws 

· Mandate single payer universal health care

· Disinfect America of dark money and partisan gerrymandering 

· Expose and address the student debt racket

· Stop tax loop holes and bad subsidies, while addressing our economic needs. 

· Stop legalized robbery by banks

· Fiscal responsibility and accountability

· Sober foreign policy based on Gold-plated Brazen Rule

· Smarter defense spending 

· Counter the negative effects of technological innovation on our workforce

· Border security & immigration reform

· Better care for veterans and their families

· Lift income tax cap on Social Security and expand Medicaid 

· Generational duty to combat climate change

· Equal pay for women and address gender inequality worldwide

· Empower domestic cohesion and social diversity in our local communities

· Reduce the prison population through necessary criminal law reform and preventative measures

· Create a voter holiday for the general election day

As of March 24, Yahya has a team of about a dozen young volunteers, and a few older ones like me. Currently he is working on an almost-zero budget. He is currently using about 50 sq-ft section of a small office room in the center of the district. 

Yahya is taking the campaign very seriously. He is participating in workshops and conferences. He is reading books and articles on the issues. He is meeting and listening to the people in his district, including educators, veterans, student representatives in local colleges, construction workers, homeless people, lawyers, judges, doctors, professors, small business owners, and members of various ethnic groups, among others.

Yahya, God willing, will be visiting religious congregations, hospitals, correctional facilities, unions, mines and factories within his district in coming days and weeks. 

Today, Yahya grabbed his megafon and joined the March for Our Lives in downtown Tucson. It reminded me the days of his activities ten years ago when he was the co-founder of TeenDemocrats. I just learned that during the event, the volunteers collected a few hundred signatures for his petition to be on the ballot, as all other candidates are currently doing.

Yahya's main opponent is supported by the party’s establishment and some other deep-pocket organizations. He is the youngest candidate among seven, and he is the most educated together with another candidate who is a medical doctor. He is the only one with international experience, and he is one of two born-and-bred in the very district he is campaigning in. I have listened to the other candidates in a debate, and I know that Yahya has more energy, passion, and a command of the progressive policies than any of them. Of course, like all of us, he has weaknesses, but he is always improving upon himself.

Yes, I am Yahya's father, but my support for Yahya's political campaign and potential career is not unconditional. I will support him as long as he works for the people who elected him without contradicting universal principles and as long as he keeps his promise to never be lured by money and greedy special interest.

Your support for Yahya's campaign is very important, not just for his campaign but for our future leadership in Washington and the world. I hope that you and Yahya will have an opportunity to speak over the phone or meet in person. I’m sure he would welcome those with kind hearts and strong minds to join his campaign here in Arizona’s 2nd congressional district. 

Peace,

Edip Yuksel