My latest book, Daring to Run, a detailed look at my first run for mayor of Elmira, N.Y., is now available for pre-order from SUNY Press.
Just months after a disappointing national election, the end of my brief marriage, and my city’s lack of response to a neighborhood crack house, I decided enough was enough. Over the the next nine months, and against all odds, I mounted an outsider’s campaign for mayor.
Starting with zero name recognition and little understanding of local politics, I took on the local Democratic Party, the political veterans who ran it, a three-term councilman in a primary, and a Republican with great name recognition in the general election. In this personal, honest, and compelling narrative, I describe how a small team and I stuck to our principles and took steps to not just win but win over a city of 30,000. In a city Mark Twain once called home, I changed the political narrative. This is my story.