Candidate, San Diego County Democratic Central Committee

By Lawrence D. Sweet

My primary goal is to creatively contribute to our Central Committee so that the San Diego County Democratic Party will continue to evolve into a powerful force that Republicans will find unexpectedly difficult to overcome. I ask for your vote so that, as Democrats, we may accomplish this important goal together.

I continued my professional training after moving to San Diego, and have had the opportunity to work at some of the best hospitals in this city caring for babies who suffer from illnesses that befall them through no fault of their own.

This work is both rewarding and humbling, and it is only through the dedication of many other skilled and caring professionals (including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other gifted people that are too numerous to name) who I work with on a daily basis that the most innocent members of our society are able to survive and be healed in ways that were not possible even a decade ago.

My interest in politics was encouraged by a politically aware family who felt strongly that all individuals should participate in our representative form of government to the best of their interest and ability, even if this involved nothing more than casting a vote for the candidate of their choice.

Although I have been a lifelong Democrat, my personal involvement in our Party escalated significantly after the Bush/Gore election in 2000 convinced me of the value and importance of activism in communicating a coherent message to the voting public--and how elections are won as a result of these efforts.

I have been most strongly involved within the Party within the 77th Assembly District Committee as both a delegate for four years and an officer for two, and I wish to continue to serve our party and represent you at the County level in an even broader and more effective manner.

Although there is much to be done to enhance the visibility of Democrats within our county, I believe the key to victory at the polls increasingly depends upon our ability to reach independent voters that are uncertain what the central goals and ideas of the Democratic Party are, and how they apply to their daily lives.

In a state in which the largest gains of voter registration since the 1990's have been among those who "decline to state", we as Democrats must develop creative approaches and cooperation among ourselves to bring independent voters into our broad tent of tolerance, strength, and boldness of vision--and do our best to convince them to remain there as the political party that best represents their interests as people.

I ask for your vote to allow me to constructively contribute to a body of cooperative leadership within our party that I genuinely believe can accomplish this goal. I will do my best to help the Democratic Party in San Diego County to become stronger and more broadly accepted by voters in any way that is possible.

Thank you not only for reading my statement, but also for your vote on June 6th.