Life is about taking risks and embracing new adventures. It’s about finding your way out of your comfort zone and discovering your strength. I have had a number of opportunities to meet people who have taken risks and have left their comfort zones for the purpose of making life better for other people. Because they didn’t give in to fear, which is always a factor for people when they jump out of their comfort zone, they were able to make enormous differences in their world.
One of these people is Grand Island Town Supervisor Nathan McMurray. I can say that with confidence because, in the past year, I have had much opportunity to observe the inner workings of town government. I’m a member of a town advisory board, and I’ve attended town board meetings, as both a private citizen and as a reporter.
Today, Nate took a big step. He announced that he is running as a Democrat for Congress in New York State’s 27th district. This is a district that was designed (gerrymandered) to be strongly Republican. Some people might say that Nate is tilting at windmills by running for Congress in this district. Maybe he is. Nate’s former assistant Cyndy Montana said that Nate is a “doer and a dreamer,” who is “not afraid to take a chance.”
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| Town Board member Beverly Kinney spoke about Nathan McMurray’s energy, work ethic, and ability to get things done. |
And, sometimes, when doers and dreamers who are not afraid to take chances, tilt at windmills, they knock those windmills down. By doing that, they remind us that hope is not lost. It is possible to create change, no matter the odds.
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| Nathan McMurray and Paul Leuchner, a retired biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who has worked tirelessly to conserve Grand Island’s natural environment. |
So, today, I went with my friend Bekki to the Brickyard Brewing Company for Nate’s Special Announcement.
Congressman Chris Collins is currently representing New York’s 27th district (or, maybe, just his campaign contributors). He is also the former Erie County Executive. A reading teacher said that, as county executive, “Chris Collins waged a war on public libraries.”
“Nate is everything that Chris Collins is not,” the reading teacher said. “Nate is relentless. He has passion and drive, and he will win the 27th district.”
“Nate is a hard worker and charming. He gets stuff done,” Cyndy said.
“I am running for Congress against Chris Collins in the 27th district,” Nate announced. He said that Chris Collins “does not represent you. This man has abused his position. He’s rich, powerful, and has connections.”
“We need to find a way to pull together. Our country needs it,” Nate said. Nate, who speaks Chinese and Korean, as well as Korean, said that the Chinese word for America could be translated as “beautiful country.”
Our beautiful country, however, has lost its way. “Our country is in a cold civil war,” Nate said. “Our country needs to invest in our people. It’s about priorities. We need to get rid of student loan debt. We need people who can build our infrastructure. I will be relentless.”
“We have degraded bridges and roads. Internet comes in a trickle,” Nate said. The future of internet is in 5G internet, which is four dimensional. The fourth dimension is a tesseract, but I am not sure what that means in the context of the internet.
“Congress is not a country club,” Nate said. “We can change that. Chris Collins is not doing a good job. He is not representing you. This is a guy that needs to get beat.”
For more information about Nate’s campaign or to volunteer, check out Vote Nate McMurray website.
