The Odd Man Taking an Odd Break

As of writing of this Very Special edition of The Odd Man Out something very Special has happened for me and my family. It isn’t a bad thing, quite the opposite, its quite good and fills me with hope! That doesn’t make it any less scary, disruptive, and life changing though.

I am officially running for local office.

You can find out the details on the campaign website over at jasonbenell.com.

I’m running because I think changing things from the bottom up is the way things will get better for all of us, not just here in Iowa, but everywhere. It takes people willing to put themselves out there and take that leap into public service to make things in our lives and in our government change for good.

Aren’t you tired of always hearing about what some random politician did and bracing yourself for the inevitable bad news? Isn’t it getting old that we just assume that our leaders don’t reflect us or our values, even if they may be in the same political party? Can we not be proud and excited when we look at our leaders and expect them to make good choices on the merits of argument and evidence with the focus of the public the aim instead of the next donation for the next election cycle?

I know I am. I want a government that lives and looks like the people it represents. A government that is more transparent and reflects the values of the people. A government that recognizes that they aren’t just there to maintain some passive status quo, but to actively make the lives of its constituents better. A government that really does mean we prize our liberties and we WILL maintain them.

Rather than just write about it and think about it and pontificate, I want to get involved and do something about it.

So I’m running.

I’m running for Dallas County Supervisor to represent District 1, which is the portions of West Des Moines in Dallas county. I’m running to make the fastest growing county in the midwest a place that is known for strong infrastructure, inclusive governance, and sustainable growth. We are at a turning point for the state of Iowa and these local elections are key to turning the state around where it matters most.

Since I’m running for office, this space will become a little less populated with a lot less updates. If I do this campaign right and share my message of hope, progress, reason, empathy, and action, I’ll be a lot less Odd Man Out and a lot more Right Man for the Job.

I really appreciate you reading and I’ll be seeing you out there on the campaign trail!

If paying for the substack wasn’t your speed (mainly because I never took money for it in the first place), you can head over to www.jasonbenell.com if you want to help me out!

You can donate to me through the ActBlue link and know your donation is going to a local candidate who is running for all the right reasons.

Until next time, see you out there!