Thursday, October 8, 2009

Why I support James Perry for Mayor of New Orleans

Dear Friends & Family,

I am forwarding an invitation to an event for this Saturday evening October 10th, 2009 with Melissa Harris-Lacewell (who you all know I ADORE) and James Perry. I wanted to write to you briefly about why I support James Perry’s candidacy for Mayor of New Orleans. Although I live in Boston and as many of you know, am extremely critical and cynical of our government and political leaders, I believe in James.

He has worked in community service for nearly a decade and completed his law degree in 2004. Currently, James serves as the Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center that promotes equal housing opportunity. He believes that “Open government must be more than a campaign slogan. It must be a governing philosophy, an ongoing commitment to communicate with citizens.” That is a quote from an interview with the Louisiana Weekly, which can be found at http://www.jamesperry2010.com/, along with other articles about James.

I am not writing to you to ask you to monetarily support James’ campaign as mayoral candidate. Although financial support is appreciated and essential I am asking of you to please learn more about James’ candidacy. Why? As a youth worker and pro-active citizen I am genuinely concerned, but yet optimistic, about the potential of our country and our cities. We deserve accountable leadership. The most effective leaders are those that understand social issues within the community and address challenges with solutions that benefit those that are directly affected. James exhibits the resiliency, perseverance and honesty necessary to serve the people of New Orleans. If James wins I believe that his candidacy will symbolize a new standard of leadership in this country. With appropriate leadership and community engagement it is possible for us as a national community to fight poverty, racism, and violence, to name a few, and progress in areas of economic development and education so that all people prosper, not just a selected few.

James Perry is not another politician. His advocacy work is evident. In August he sued current Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, and the city for violating the city’s Home Rule Charter by hiring Washington law firms.

To alter the system we need to elect leaders who demonstrate the courage to initiate change from within and recognize that flawed policy and corrupt leaders contribute(d) to the cycle, hindering our communities and promoting stagnancy. We cannot underestimate the power of local leadership. Please check out James’ efforts and if you’re in Boston on Saturday stop by. The recommended donation is $250 to attend, but I know that even if you could only offer $1, it would be appreciated and valued. No one will be turned away if they cannot donate. It is time we collectively joined together to demand leadership that represents and benefits we, the people.


Please feel free to forward this on! Accountability, responsibility, and authenticity in political leadership is a movement, not simply an election.

Sincerely,

Leora


This is an e-mail I sent to my friends and family. The details of the event are as followed: Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Reception: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Courtyard by Marriott Boston-Cambridge 777 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02139
Suggested contribution: $250