This is the third in our four part series on women running for the State House of Representatives on Tuesday. I am a big proponent of more women being elected at all levels of government and I hope that this series helps to make that more realistic for these women candidates.
Stacey Dogonski is a firebrand and I mean that in the best possible way. Get her talking on any issue or topic and be prepared to be amazed. Her passion, confidence, and desire to embrace change is evident. It’s not just about politics for her. She loves her job of 15 years with a small zoning and planning company and takes obvious pride when talking about her employer and co-workers. It’s immediately evident that this mother of two teenage children, happily married to her husband David for 17 years (David is the Recording Secretary of UAW Region 1A Veteran’s Committee), has been an activist for many years.
Although Stacey has heard many times that a Democrat cannot win in Livonia (the state’s 19th House District), she doesn’t just dismiss that kind of talk and thinking: she has been running hard for many months now doing what great candidates do. She is knocking doors, setting up small dollar fundraisers, and going wherever she needs to go to reach voters.
Her passion and energy are not taken for granted by those who have endorsed her and the residents of Livonia have not seen a Democratic candidate work as hard as Stacey has for months now, perhaps ever. She knew early on that her race would not attract a lot of the bigger money contributors and she was absolutely fine with that because Stacey Dogonski fully and completely understands the mountain that must be climbed to win this race. That is not as much as an obstacle for her as it is a journey; a journey she firmly believes will end in a victory on November 4, 2014.
On the radio and when invited to speak to groups, I often talk about electing people who look like us. People that work like us. People that love like us. Stacey Dogonski is the poster child for that kind of candidate.
Livonia has always had a reputation of being this sleepy bedroom community, which is true, but our demographics are changing. We do have a massive senior population but we also have a younger group of people who have moved into Livonia in the past ten years who are not properly represented. I am going to change that.
She allowed me to take her away from door knocking for a short while a few days ago where we had a chance to discuss a variety of issues. The following is a small sample of what you will get when electing Stacey Dogonski to the State House next Tuesday.
I began by asking her why she was running and what her game plan was.
Dogonski: First off, I was asked to run. This person said they were looking for a strong Democrat to run against my opponent Laura Cox (a current Wayne County Commissioner and the wife of former Attorney General Mike Cox). Being that she had not done anything of note during her tenure as a County Commissioner there was no way I was going to see the same revolving door of candidates run against her.
Livonia has always had a reputation of being this sleepy bedroom community, which is true, but our demographics are changing. We do have a massive senior population but we also have a younger group of people who have moved into Livonia in the past ten years who are not properly represented. I am going to change that.
Stacey Dogonski is a tenacious and formidable foe as well as a powerful partner. Tell her something can’t be done and immediately she responds as only Stacey can. As an example?
Dogonski: 15 years ago I was out to dinner with my husband David and I told him that I just wasn’t feeling well and that red meat was the reason why. I told him that I was going to quit eating red meat and his immediate reaction was there was no way I could do that. Now, listen, I didn’t do this to spite him, I was truly doing this for my health, but I have not eaten red meat in 15 years. Tell me something can’t be done and I will find a way to get it done.
So with little money (in politics that would be the end for most candidates), an opponent with name recognition, and in a House District that is considered as Red as Red can get, why do this and how do you do it and give yourself a fighting chance?
Dogonski: You talk to people. You show up. Just yesterday I was knocking doors and a man opened the door that had political literature all over the porch untouched. I introduced myself and he told me I was the first and only candidate that had bothered to talk to him. He told me that I had his vote. I think that [knocking doors] has been missing for a while now in Livonia. I understand that you have to have that personal touch and people are very cynical, if not angry, about politicians. I knocked in the Clarenceville School District in northeast Livonia and people there were telling me they hadn’t see a politician at their doors in years. They had their snow plowed twice last winter and they just feel like they are the red-headed stepchild.
I told them that I am here because I want to be your voice and they were sincerely appreciative about it.
My money has come from people. It has come from friends, neighbors, supporters. I know what $25 dollars out of somebody’s monthly budget means to them and for them to give that to me means the world to me because I know what it’s like. I had to wrap my mind around taking money from people. Our campaign is not about money; our campaign is about heart.
Stacey Dogonski recently gave an interview to a local reporter about campaign finance and how the candidate with the most money wins. Confidently, she laid it out this way:
Dogonski: People that believe the candidate with the most money wins are fools because it is not about the money, it’s about the people. This race is not about me but about the people of Livonia. I can tell people all day long what it is I want to do but I tell them that I want to know what you want me to do. They like that.
My money has come from people. It has come from friends, neighbors, supporters. I know what $25 dollars out of somebody’s monthly budget means to them and for them to give that to me means the world to me because I know what it’s like. I had to wrap my mind around taking money from people. Our campaign is not about money; our campaign is about heart.
Like the other candidates in this series, Stacey placed public education as her number one priority.
Dogonski: The first thing we have to do is put a moratorium on for-profit charter schools. It is funneling money out of our public schools and it’s diluting our education system. I think it’s a lie to parents that charter schools are better. My kid has dyslexia and he doesn’t have a choice to go to a for-profit charter school. They wouldn’t take him because he costs too much to educate and I know he would not get what he needs in a for-profit charter school.
One person told me that their kid got kicked out of the charter school because they couldn’t accommodate him, but what people don’t know is that that charter school got to keep the money for that kid and that eventually forced them to change that law.
The issues that Stacey is passionate about are many, but one of those issues is something that caught my attention: veterans.
Dogonski: Ah, my veterans. Almost every man in my life is a Veteran. My Dad is, my Father-in-law, my husband is and has PTSD, uncles, etc. There are still too many veterans that cannot and do not get access to medical and other services and we need to make sure we reverse that. Veterans are important to me. They are like police and firemen They help to protect us and keep us safe. We have to do more to help them.
On issues like roads, taxing pensions and many other issues, Stacy Dogonski is on the correct side of the argument. She fully understands the challenges that face her with a Republican-controlled House and Senate and is hopeful that her seat in the 19th District is one of those seats that the Democrats can take back.
This campaign has not been a burden for Stacey. In fact it has strengthened her resolve to help more people like nothing else could. She does believe she is going to win and, as she has talked to the voters in her district, she believes that she has a much better grasp on who this community is and what they want. Livonia was once a very safe Republican seat, but that was before Stacey Dogonski decided to run for the State House. She is not just ready to continue to work hard up until Tuesday, but she is also prepared to work hard for all of us in Lansing.
With your vote, that won’t just be a dream but a dream realized.
You can find out more about Stacy’s campaign at her website HERE.
Tomorrow I conclude this four part series with Margaret Guerero DeLuca in Lapeer County. She is running against what most people in politics and outside of politics believe is the most dangerous candidate running for the State House, Todd Courser. Stay tuned.
