Candidate for
United States Representative; District 49; Democratic Party

Although I am running as a Democrat, I see myself as a progressive populist. I am one of the people and I am committed to the people. While we have been carving up our families and communities into red and blue, an elitist, amoral cabal has overtaken our government. We must put aside our differences and unite to regain the dream for ourselves and our families and our future that we all share, for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Together we must end the occupation of Iraq, not only because it was unjustified, but because it is bleeding our country financially, spiritually and diplomatically while it fuels the terrorism it was supposed to be fighting. And we must resolve to never again put our troops in harm's way to serve the interests of greed under the pretense of defending our country. We must bring our troops home and provide them with the respect, and benefits and medical care they deserve.

We must begin, immediately, to clean up from the aftermath of the Hurricane of Greed that has swept over our country, leaving in its wake overwhelming budget and trade deficits to foreign powers, environmental disasters, and the ongoing erosion of our own freedom and democracy.

We must recognize that we can no longer afford to deal with our differences with violence and weapons that now threaten us with total annihilation. Instead, wherever possible, we must resolve to first consider alternative, non-violent solutions to domestic and international problems.

We must get serious about energy. Let's put our money and ingenuity into developing safe, abundant and inexpensive alternative energy solutions and that will free us of the whims of foreign countries, and put the brakes on global warming.

We must demand that our government is responsive to the needs of all people, of every race and skin color, economic status, religious belief, gender and sexual orientation and that our leaders act in the interest of the general welfare of the people, not for personal political or financial gain. I will run this campaign in the manner in which I will serve as your Representative in Congress, in accordance with my personal convictions that peace starts here in each of us and the way we meet life's challenges. This campaign will serve as an example that we can achieve our goals while holding ourselves to a higher standard of integrity and non-violence.

I am not waiting to be elected to serve the people, my campaign itself is a means to work for the general welfare by bringing communities together and speaking out for them. I will continue to reach out to people, to share my vision of hope and my passion for peace, to listen to what the people need and to help them be the government they want.

We may not agree on everything, but you can count on me to speak and act with integrity and a genuine concern for the best interests of all people.

I am running to represent the people of California's 49th District and the people of the United States of America in Congress because I realize that our country needs leaders who care about people and will serve the public with integrity and courage. When I looked into my own heart, I knew that I have the gifts, the experience, the ethics and the guts to be the kind of leader I wish for our country, and I believe that, at this time, the U.S. Congress offers our best hope for putting our country on a new path.

Jeeni Criscenzo