Dear Friends:

My good friend Bob Roggio and I are chairing a fundraising event in Malvern Tuesday evening June 5th in support of Chrissy Houlahan, our outstanding Democratic nominee for the 6th Congressional District in the critical midterm election this November.

Both Bob and I are former candidates for this 6th CD seat that’s been so frustratingly elusive. I ran in 2002 when the newly created seat emerged from the murky and cynical 2001 redistricting process driven by GOP leadership in Harrisburg. Ten years later, the congressional maps got even worse, leading to this year’s PA Supreme Court ruling ordering fairer maps. My campaign gave Jim Gerlach a run for his money, but the deck had been stacked. Six years later, in 2008, Bob stepped up in a big way and with less financial support and still came equally close to winning. All this is to say that Bob and I share a deep personal investment in seeing Chrissy finally bring this seat into the Democratic fold.

Why her election is so important: Winning back the House of Representatives is the imperative goal of the upcoming Mid-Terms. Democratic control of the House – is arguably the only safeguard the country has to check the unprecedented rise to power of a true demagogue whose recklessness and destructive nature is tearing apart the civic fabric of our nation and undermining years of progress made on many fronts. I suspect I am preaching to the choir but putting party and policy issues aside, electing Chrissy Houlahan simply put is critical to protecting our Democracy. Fortunately, Chrissy is the kind a candidate I’d be excited about supporting under any circumstances.

We couldn’t ask for a stronger candidate. Chrissy is a highly educated (Stanford, MIT), former US Naval Officer, successful business entrepreneur and executive, former teacher and education non-profit director – and the mother of two grown daughters. She and her husband Bart have lived in Devon for over twenty years. While idealistic in her aspirations for our country and ready to fight for policies that will support the working and middle class families that continue to struggle in this economy, she is a pragmatic problem solver who will work well with the other side to find meaningful consensus (if and when Republicans are ready to act in good faith — and some do want to). Having served in the Air Force, she has credibility on military issues and cares deeply about the many veterans from our post 9-11 wars that’ve carried such burdens and suffered lasting injuries in service of our country.

As the former Chief Operating Officer of AND1 (a major sports apparel and footwear company based in Paoli, PA), she knows how to create jobs and understands the needs of the business community. Having risen to leadership positions in the both military and the corporate sector, Chrissy has also overcome real obstacles herself and appreciates the challenges so many women face in the work world. Most recently, she spent two years (after AND1 was sold in 2005) as a chemistry teacher in Philadelphia School District through Teach For America – and then pivoted to run a non-profit focused on improving early childhood literacy in underserved and underprivileged communities. So she understands the importance of investing in our schools and doing so strategically.

Chrissy has been giving back over many years, but had never thought about running for office. That all changed, as it did for many, after November 2016. So she’s a fresh, new face. At a time when voters want authentic new voices that aren’t political insiders, she fits that bill to tee. The point is – she’s not only highly qualified – she’s highly electable if we do our part in supporting her financially and in other ways. I believe that Chrissy can be a change agent in Washington – an advocate for needed political reform (repeal of Citizens United, among other reforms), human and civil rights abroad and at home, social justice for all, and importantly economic fairness and job creation for Americans whether in rural or urban areas who have been left behind.

We hope you can join us on the evening of Tuesday June 5th. If you can, please contact Charles at 215-259-8253 or charles@chrissyhoulahanforcongress.com.

If you can’t make it, please consider donating to the campaign. For those with the financial means to do so, please consider giving the maximum possible ($2700 per person). That’s a lot and more than most folks can give. But whatever you can give, whether $1000, $500, $250, $100 or less, please do what you can to support Chrissy. Also feel free to share this invitation with any friends who might want to help.

Thanks so much for indulging this solicitation. Hope to see you Tuesday evening!

Best,

Dan Wofford

PS Co-hosts Sarah Peck, Jeannie Roggio, Susanna & Ray Creely, Stephen Cottone, Liz & Dax Roggio, Skip Carroll, Liz Tankel, Dariel & John Jamieson, and Michael Churchill & Tasha Stonorov

Featuring Special Guest Speaker – Admiral Joe Sestak

For more information on Chrissy go here.

Key facts about Chrissy Houlahan:

Daughter of a Holocaust survivor and career naval officer
Earned her engineering degree from Stanford with an ROTC scholarship and received her M.S. in Technology and Policy from MIT
Captain in the USAFR; 3 years Active and 13 years Inactive Reserve
Served as COO of AND1 Basketball, helping transform the company from a startup to a major apparel and footwear brand
Founding COO of B-Lab – a nonprofit that promotes B Corporations and good business practices
Worked as a chemistry teacher in North Philadelphia and was a Teach for America Corps member
Served as President and COO/CFO for Springboard Collaborative, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on improving early childhood literacy in underserved communities country-wide
Mother of Molly and Carly, 24 and 22, and lives with her husband, Bart, in Devon