Jim's first run for the Indiana State House came right out of college.  He was concerned about a proposed dam that would endanger the wildlife of the area.  He thought the best way to bring attention to this was by running for office.  He used his run to educate the people of the area about the project and the impact that it would have not just on wildlife habitat but also on the local farming community.  He ran to stop the dam but did not expect to win because he was an unabashed liberal in a very conservative area.  He won that election by 2 votes.

  After serving in the Indiana State government for 10 years he ran for Congress.  Even though his district was still heavily Republican he continued to run and to serve with his liberal views as a guide.  He was a stanch fighter for the environment and for labor.

 He served for three terms but always had a fight because of well financed opposition from the Republican side. He never felt he should run to the middle and even in his loss his approval rating with his constituents was high.

   When he lost his seat in Congress he continued to work for several liberal causes and also served as President of Americans for Democratic Action for a while.  It is through ADA that I met Jim.  The Chicago chapter of ADA were strong supporters of mine and Jim sought me out at one of his visits to Chicago.

  It was clear that we shared common goals and Jim worked really hard to help me in my second run for Congress.  He spent a lot time talking up my candidacy to labor and others in an effort to help me get through the primary.  He even came out and did GOTV door to door for me on Election Day.

   Jim was working on the program for ADA called Working Families Win. Jim called and asked me to be his field director and general IT guru after I lost the primary.  How could I refuse?  

 The program targeted 11 Congressional Districts in 7 states that were held by Republicans that he felt could be turned.  In some like NC-08 and PA-04 he was there before anyone else realized those seats would be in play.  While we were officially non-partisan the three issues that we worked on were raising the minimum wage, implementing fair trade, and pushing for universal health care.  With 36 organizers on the ground we organized around the issues and targeted swing voters in the electoral phase.  Of the 11 districts 7 of them flipped and 2 were so very close that they were heart breakers.  

   The organizers and I always laughed and sometimes cried about Jim's lack of technical savvy.   Though we were only a few months apart in age we were miles apart in our use of technology.  He even refused to carry a cell phone and opted to look for pay phones where ever he went to make his calls.   His computer never had a wireless connection.  

  I think we made a good team.  He had the connections and organizing skills and I had the ability to bring the project up to speed using the technology of the day.  I really enjoyed my work with him and all the team members.  Working Families Win is organizing for 2008 and if you are interested you can find them on the web at http://www.wfwin.org or ADA at http://www.adaction.org.  

  Consider giving a donation  or joining a great organization in its 60th year of fighting for causes we all hold dear.  We need to keep up this important work.  Losing Jim is an end of an era but the work that he so tirelessly gave his life to needs to continue.