Posted on 04/12/2011 6:38:17 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis plans to "run all the way to Trenton," he said Monday as he jumped into a new career as a Democratic candidate for New Jersey Senate.
At a well-attended news conference, Lewis said he decided to run because his charity work, which includes coaching the Willingboro High School track team, wasn't enough to solve the complex problems of the state.
"You get to the point where you feel like you've kind of reached an end of what you can do," he said outside the historic courthouse in Mount Holly.
Lewis, who won 10 Olympic medals in all, said he was interested in working on educational issues and helping the state become more affordable. He declined to discuss specifics, saying he had pulled his campaign together quickly and would announce his platform as soon as possible.
He did take care of one important detail: Monday morning, he registered to vote in Burlington County. Lewis, 50, lives in Medford. He said he had been registered to vote in California.
Lewis is one of scores of candidates who filed by Monday's deadline to run for the Legislature, as all 40 Senate and 80 Assembly seats are up this year. Elsewhere in the state, tough races seem to be shaping up in Atlantic and Bergen Counties.
Lewis' candidacy raised the spirits of Burlington County Democrats, who have been on a losing streak. Earlier this year, the county surrogate and clerk, who had won their posts as Democrats, switched to the Republican Party.
Wearing the smile of a man who had just let a very big cat out of a bag, Burlington County's Democratic Chairman Joe Andl said, "This will engage our troops. It will bring a breath of fresh air to the party."
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
My thinking is that he should attempt to be the first man to long jump the Grand Canyon!
He’s interested in education and making the state more affordable to live in,and he’s running as a Democrat.He’s just fooling himself.
You can be the biggest dumbass in the world but if you’re a celebrity, you get elected. The dumbass “voters” in this country love celebrities.
And running and thinking as a democRAT is going to change things in NJ? He’s just a continuation of the problem....
He’s been pursuing men’s seats his whole life.
He is so “light in the loafers” he could jump the Grand Canyon without a running start.
Gee, I wonder if anyone who votes against him will be called a racist? Hmmm...I wonder?!?!?
JoMa
The one celebrity I regret did not run was Iron Mike Ditka who had been considering running for the Senate against Obama when Obama first ran. Ditka would have wiped the floor with him in Illinois but he decided not to run.Had Obama lost, he would not have had the springboard platform to his current job of disassembling the country.
Can’t blame him. That’s where the money is.
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