A note from Dana
"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao Tzu
When I started this journey to run for office, I often said it would be like running a marathon. Well, I finished the marathon but we didn't get the results with the first race. We ran an incredible campaign with limited resources. We put everything on the table and held nothing back. We ran an honest and ethical campaign. We launched a grassroots campaign with invaluable volunteers. Our volunteers were the heart and soul of the campaign and I was indeed blessed to have such dedicated and passionate volunteers stand with me on this journey.
I also want to thank the 12,598 supporters who voted for me, who put their trust and faith in my ideas, vision and leadership abilities to, hopefully, change the direction of the Phoenix City Council. My work is not yet done and I intend to remain on the front lines, advocating and fighting for the future of our city.
To all my amazing volunteers: you were my rock and my strength day in and day out. I am so grateful to all of you; to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into my campaign. I am grateful to those who knocked on doors in 112 degree weather, for those of you who made countless phone calls, for those of you who scrimped and saved to donate to my campaign, to those who hosted neighborhood events, fundraisers, sent emails, wrote letters, and delivered and installed signs. I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thank you to my staunch supporters who were there for me through all the ups as well as the downs. I am so grateful for all of your support. I was so very blessed to have you all by my side. Thank you to my Mom, for believing in me, for supporting me, and being by my side. I am so very blessed to have such a loving and generous Mom.
It's been a long and rewarding journey. Together, we did something amazing over these past five months. There were those who really didn't think I would get into a run off since I was running against a well-funded and established incumbent. Well, we did it - we forced a run off! We garnered the support of 12,598 votes or 44% to 55%. We were outspent by $288,000 to my $60,000 not to mention the Independent Expenditures from the Home Builders and Neighborhoods First. We did ourselves proud! We had everything working against us and we gave him a good run for his money. This was a great team effort! I want to thank everyone, from the bottom of my heart, for standing so strong with me. To those of you on the front lines to those who worked so hard behind-the-scenes, I thank you; a million times over - THANK YOU!
I say to those of you who are disappointed that we didn't win, (particularly the young volunteers who put so much into this campaign), it would break my heart if by not achieving my goal means that you will not pursue yours. If we do not try to challenge the status quo, we will never change the status quo. By challenging the special interests in politics, we shine a bright light on what is wrong with our political system. We must aim high, we must work hard and we must care deeply about what we believe in. We must not let fear hold us back from pursuing our dreams. We must dream but more importantly we must take action. By standing with me, we stood up and fought for change. Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. I will go back to training women to run and win elections. We may not always win the first time we run, but it doesn't stop us from planning for the next race! I will be back and I will keep fighting. Thank you for all that you do!
