Live chat NOW with Congressional Candidate Tony Woods at 3 PM Eastern/Noon Pacific

We've finished up the live chat. John and I want to thank Tony. This was great from our perspective. We look forward to having him back when he's Rep. Anthony Woods.

There are a lot of reasons Tony should be in Congress, but he needs help. He's not a life-long pol with a rolodex of lobbyists who will write him checks. That's why he needs our help. This is going to be a low turnout election. Tony can win if he has the resources to get out his vote. You can donate here.
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Tony is here, we're chatting in the comments - please join us - JOHN

UPDATE: Here's the candidate typing away, answering our questions:

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At 3pm Eastern, noon Pacific, we'll be joined by Anthony Woods for a live chat in the comments section of this post. He's a candidate for Congress in California's 10th Congressional District. The Democratic primary in the special election to fill the seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher (who took a job in the State Department) is in just two weeks: September 1st.

I met Tony a couple months ago when he was thinking about getting in this race. He's a very impressive person. He's a graduate of West Point, served two tours in Iraq and got kicked out of the military under Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Tony is not your usual politician and we certainly have enough run-of-the mill pols in this town. I think he could bring an important perspective to Congress representing the district where he grew up.

There's more about Anthony Woods after the break.

He wrote a brief intro for us before we begin the chat, which I posted below. And, you can check out this interview I did with Tony in June.


Think of some questions...Tony was endorsed by the Bay Area Reporter today. And, here's the post from Tony:

It’s great to be back on Americablog today.

As many of you may know, on September 1st, there will be a Special Election in California’s 10th District to replace Ellen Tauscher, who recently resigned to become Undersecretary of State for International Security and Arms Control in the Obama Administration.

Tauscher’s departure has attracted a virtual swarm of career politicians from Sacramento in search of a promotion. I am not a Sacramento politician.

The 10th District is my home. I’m running for Congress because the issues at stake in this election---like the wars we’re fighting abroad, and the battles for universal healthcare and equality here at home, are personal to me. I know what it’s like when politicians fail, and I think to change those outcomes, we need more leaders who understand the challenges we’re facing from first hand experience in Washington.

I’m looking forward to chatting with you all about these and other issues today, but by way of background, here’s a little more about me.

I was born and raised on Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, the son of a single mother who ran a small housekeeping business. For most of my life, I have been one of 47 million Americans without access to affordable health coverage.

I graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and served two tours in Iraq as a platoon leader. I received a Bronze Star for my service but my greatest accomplishment was brining all 81 of my soldiers home.

After my second deployment, I went on to earn a Master’s Degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and while preparing to continue my Army career and teach economics at West Point, I was discharged after challenging the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy.”

Since my discharge from the military, I’ve gone on to work as an Economic Policy analyst in both the public and private sectors.

Our campaign has been going extremely well. We’ve amassed a genuine grassroots army---both online, and on the ground in CA 10. We’ve won the endorsement of VoteVets.org, the Human Rights Campaign, the Victory Fund, the Veterans Press, and today, the Bay Area Reporter.

I’ll leave it there for now, and am looking forward to answering your questions.

You can learn much, much more about our campaign at at www.anthonywoodsforcongress.com, and if you like what you hear today, I hope you’ll consider making a contribution to our campaign.

My name is Anthony Woods, and I am excited to be with you all today.