(promoted for the usual reasons – promoted by JDRyan)
Donny Osman has posted some strong work here at GMD recently and also attended the GMD/VDB Hamburger Summit earlier this summer. He is running for Washington County State Senator, so if you live there, look for him on the ballot. We began by talking about the Hamburger Summit, and the experience of running for office. Two things are immediately clear in this clip: he enjoys participating in the blogosphere and is a great storyteller. His recounting of the experience of phoning 3000 voters here is indicative of his ability to communicate and his sense of humor.
Then we moved on to some of the substance in his GMD diaries. Many Children Left Behind is a great argument for universal Pre-K. In Are you a tax-and-spend liberal?, Donny takes on the common stereotype of the liberal throwing money at problems. The combination of compassion, knowledge of the issues and an ability to challenge prevailing assumptions are all evident in this discussion.
Donny is a former State Rep who has served on a number of boards, including Washington County Mental Health, Central Vermont Community Partnership, Head Start Policy Council as well as the boards of Vermont State Colleges, the Vermont Arts Council, Twin Valley Seniors, and the People’s Health and Wellness Clinic. This background gives him both the depth and breadth to understand the issues facing Vermonters.