My friend Leonard

A little over 8 years ago during our first campaign, I met my friend Leonard. He responded to a campaign letter that we sent out and he offered to volunteer. At first I was skeptical because he promised to do quite a bit of work but he is mildly retarded and I doubted he would follow through. Boy was I surprised. Leonard has turned out to be my most loyal and hardworking volunteer. In fact, I would guess he works harder than some of the paid campaign staff. Over the past 8 years he has placed upwards of ten thousand yards signs and walked in over a 100 parades. While that sounds like an exaggeration he would probably argue correctly that the numbers are too conservative.

Leonard knows our district better than anybody else I know. Last week as he and I were driving in the most rural part of our district placing signs, I began laughing because he knows all the roads, the address numbers and the townships boundaries. Even people living in those boondocks don't know the area as well as Leonard. When we first started campaigning many years ago I would try to map out our routes but now I just get in the car, hand Leonard our sign list and he tells me where to turn. I think he likes this because we get to spend time together and he is empowered to tell me what to do.

Leonard stands for everything that is right in politics. Because of his service, our campaign and my boss has personally embraced him with open arms. He has become part of the Van Woerkom family and he has ownership of the campaign. He has also experienced plenty of perks including attending fancy fundraisers and meeting Governors, Senators and even Presidents. I am still jealous because my boss gave his extra ticket to Ford's birthday party to Leonard instead of me but at least he is deserving of it. Leonard demonstrates that you don't have to be rich or successful to contribute in politics. He has proven that hard work and loyalty trump all else and I find that refreshing.

Two weeks ago I began to get sad as this will most likely be our last and final campaign together. He and I have been through four tough elections and have grown quite close. He has become more than just a volunteer but a good friend. My goal over the next two crazy weeks is to not get lost in the flurry of activity but to simply enjoy Leonard's friendship along the campaign trail.