"There is nothing wrong with American that cannot be cured by what is right with America."
Bill Clinton

This Sherry, Tony's wife, and that is one of my favorite quotes about our country. Yes, there is plenty wrong in our country as a whole right now, from the huge issues at the top of the political scale on down to the smaller issues at our local government level. But there are also so many things that are right at all levels, and some that could be made much better. Things only get better when individual's take action to make them better. How many people complain about politics all the time but never even cast their vote, let alone take further action to make things better?

That is how Tony decided to run for P.U.D. Commissioner-to make things better. He was complaining about the things that were lost when the P.U.D. took over from Puget Sound Energy. Then he looked at me and said, "Well I guess I can keep complaining or I can try to do something to make it better." At that point he had no idea what the pay was, if any, or any other benefits of being a P.U.D. Commissioner. He felt in his heart that he could make a difference in our local P.U.D. and I believe he can.

I have seen first hand the amount of work and thought he puts in as a hospital Commissioner and I have seen him put in many, many hours already researching our local P.U.D. and what can be done to make it better for everybody. For the current Commissioners, for the employees,and for the public. The voter's who approved the P.U.D. takeover, and the Commissioner's had a vision at the time. They surely didn't plan on taking over and then shutting off the power for hundred's of people who couldn't pay their bills. They may have bit off more than they could chew but surely their intentions were good at the time.

So here comes the hard part. Many of you have expressed the feeling that Tony is the man who can get in there and make a difference at the P.U.D. First he has to get elected. We are being told from all the "experts" and those who have a lot of experience in politics that we must raise money. So far we have been paying for everything out of our own pocket and it's been difficult. I take care of my elderly Mom, and her roommate who is also 80 and has no family to help her out. I work from home some but taking care of them keeps me from getting a regular decent paying job. This is a sacrifice Tony and I have made to keep Mom and her friend of 35 years in their own rental home with their pets for as long as possible.

When Tony first decided to run for election we opened an account at Kitsap Credit Union so we could fund the campaign and keep track of everything. Tony didn't want to ask for money because he didn't want people to "invest" in him until he made it through the primary election. So now he has made it and he still doesn't want to ask for money. :) It is not an easy thing to do for either of us but I'm going to give it a try.

We can use any size of donation. Any size is wonderful. Five bucks is great! There have been many times in life where I wanted to donate to something but thought the small amount I could donate ($5.00 or $10.00) dollars wouldn't be of any help at all.  Then I heard on the news about the million's of dollars that were raised for victim's of the Oso mud slide and they said most of that came in the form of donations of $25.00 or less. So it all adds up. I am not by any means comparing a tragedy like the Oso land slide to a political campaign but am saying any amount a person can give, for any cause, is worthwhile. It also lets Tony know that somebody out there wants to be a member of what I  call "Team Tony".

Checks can be made out to DeLeo for P.U.D. and mailed to:

Tony or Sherry De Leo
P.O. Box 1534
Port Hadlock, WA  98339

Let's show some support for Tony! Of course-the most important support you can offer is your vote so please make sure to cast your ballet when the time comes. Thank you for reading my long post.