The number one question I get when I tell voters about Joe is: Do you really think he can win?  Can Joe Bologna, who is not part of the Escondido political machine, beat the establishment candidates and fix what's really wrong with our city government?  And such questions make a legitimate point.  Joe is the underdog in this race for mayor.  He doesn't have lots of money from special interests and out-of-town developers.  He doesn't have the support of the downtown business establishment.  And yet I remind these voters that it is not the downtown business establishment that has the final say in who becomes Escondido's next mayor.  It's not the political machine that ultimately picks from among the various candidates.  It's YOU.  You, the voter, are the one who chooses who will be on our city council, and you, the hard-working Escondido resident , can choose someone other that the machine's choice.  It's up to you.  So when people ask me if Joe can win I say, Yes, if we have your help.

We need to get the word out (and we are).  We need volunteers to go door-to-door (and people are already stepping up). We need donations to be able to afford supplies (and we realize times are tough).  This is how we will really make a difference here.

And when the election is over, and the ballots are counted, what we are doing here will not end.  We are working as hard as we are in order to revitalize Escondido.  We want our city to be restored to its former place of preeminence in the region.  The city council over the past decade has done a great job of incredibly mismanaging our city.  But we can bring Escondido back to where it was before, and not only to where it was before; we'll make Escondido better and stronger than we were going into this crisis.  We can do it, with your help.