You may have been redirected to this blog by visiting www.votegilman.com. Please read the following to have a better understanding why I ended my campaign to represent Florida’s 3rd US Congressional District. I thank all my supporters and hope each of you will continue to follow this blog.
I suspect you may be wondering where I have been for the past three months. Well, I encountered several challenges that essentially culminated in late December 2009/early January 2010. As a result, I thought it would be prudent and financially sound for me to focus on my business, which I had neglected because I thought it could run on autopilot.
To best understand the challenges, I need to be more forthcoming on whom I am and what I originally sought to accomplish with this blog.
Who is James?
First, I am married to a beautiful bride and have 2 wonderful and adoring children. Professionally, I am a financial analyst, but have had held other varied positions in my 20 year career. I have always had a sense of civic pride and most everything I have done has been to build skill-sets with which to one day seek public office; however, I did little in those 20 years to be politically active, which in hindsight was a mistake that will be shown painfully clear below.
Why Blog?
In October 2008 at the height of the last election cycle, I decided I would seek federal office because I was and still am concerned about the direction our government and nation is heading (a post for another day). I started this blog in August 2009 as a way to document what I was learning about the citizens and issues of District 3. I thought the blog could be one way to gain people’s trust and confidence that I am qualified to represent the District in Washington. It had always been my intention to have a formal campaign website, but until it was built, I decided to use this blog as a surrogate.
Was There a Plan?
When I made the decision in late 2008 to run, I built a plan with the help of trusted advisers to accomplish my goal. One thing the plan required was for me to become self-employed so I would have greater control over my schedule. After landing one contract and working on landing another, I became self-employed in January 2009. Concurrently, I attempted to build-out a campaign organization. I knew I did not know much about running a campaign. I thought 2 years would be enough time to learn and recover from the mistakes I may make; however, I now know differently.
Money, Stupid!
A campaign is like a start-up. No!; a campaign is a start-up and here I was attempting to get 2 start-ups off the ground during one of the worst economic downturns we have experienced in several decades. While starting a new venture and building a campaign organization during an economic downturn may not be the wisest move, I was and continue to be a firm believer that anyone with a positive mental attitude can accomplish almost anything in reason.
However, in my case, my optimistic assumptions were tested and some if not most were proven wrong:
1. My business started slow and some contracts never materialized;
2. Donations for the campaign were extremely hard to come by;
3. I attracted few volunteers and some that I attracted would never start or would quit a day later;
4. The economy failed to take off; and
5. The list goes on.
The painful reality of my challenges hit in late 2009. I had collected little in donations to pay the approximate $11,000 fee to get on the ballot, so I started in earnest early December collecting signed petitions. I woefully underestimated the challenge and the costs involved (I would have known if I had participated in other campaigns previously). I quickly calibrated my plan, but I would have to invest most of my time in the field, which meant neglecting my business. I was not too worried; I still had one contract that would come through soon and as a result everything would be okay.
Murphy’s Law Still Applies
Well, Murphy of Murphy’s Law paid a visit. I received new information on MLK day that the above mentioned contract would not materialize anytime soon if it would materialize at all. While my family had been very supportive over the past year and I am sure they would have continued to be, I personally came to the conclusion that my family needed me to focus on my business. I just could not campaign about financial stability when my family was not financially stable. I had put us at risk; I had loaned money that we really did not have to the campaign and there was no guarantee I would get on the ballot. I had to stop the bleeding so I could fight another day. As such, I stopped actively seeking petitions and stopped actively fundraising. Now that the qualifying period is coming to an end, I can say with certainty that I will not be on the ballot.
Life Is Not Worth Living If You Do Nothing With It
Looking back on the last several months, I fell into a serious funk after I made the decision to stop actively campaigning. The past year has been fun; there is nothing more exhilarating than pursuing one’s dreams and aspirations. I encourage all people to chase theirs.
I will most likely run for office again, but priorities require me to focus on providing for my family, which I truly look forward to doing. In the meantime, I will continue to post to this blog because I have learned a lot. You would be the judge, but I believe this knowledge and insight could help District 3, Florida and our nation. So, stay tuned.
