Jerame, Paige and I are going together as a family today to do something we've never done before... No, we're not going skeet shooting. Nope - no cow tipping either.

We're going door knocking for Russell Brown's campaign for State Senate.

As you know, we just bought a house close to Irvington. The Republican senator for our district is a nobody. None of our neighbors even know who he is. (He hasn't had an opponent in a while so he's not been out pressing flesh and introducing himself to constituents. And he's not made a name for himself representing our interests either so it's not surprising no one realizes who he is!) Russell stands a darn good chance of winning the district - in fact, the opponent recently gave up his candidacy to succeed defeated Senator Bob Garton as Senate President Pro Tempore in order to concentrate on the campaign. Apparently it's hard to say you should be the leader of the Senate when you're opponent is out-campaigning you on the streets.

Russell is a down-to-earth, concerned and intelligent candidate. He's served in state government as an aide to Governor O'Bannon as well as a member of the management team of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. He has been endorsed by United Auto Workers Region 3, United Steelworkers of America Local 1999, and Teamsters Local 135. And, more importantly to bilerico readers, he's endorsed by Bil, Jerame and Paige. :)

To this end, we're going to spend our Sunday afternoon going around neighborhoods in the district. We'll be introducing ourselves to voters and telling them about Russell and his campaign for the State Senate. We'll offer them a chance to talk to Russell so they can see that he cares about the same concerns they do: education, jobs, equality and health care.

So I'd like to put a challenge out to bilerico.com readers... Jerame, Paige and I are willing to give our time and energy to ensuring that Russell wins this district. We want to make our new home the best place it can be - and that includes helping Russell win office. But we'd like for you to also help us improve the neighborhood. You don't have to go out door-knocking. You don't have to hand out literature, register anyone to vote, or talk to a soul. All you have to do is click on the PayPal donation button on the left side of the page and give a donation to bilerico.com. All money raised on PayPal between now and Labor Day (Monday, Sept 4) will be given to Russell's Campaign for State Senate. Let's see if we can raise a few bucks for someone that wants to help our family - and yours...

Thanks for your participation and support for an important candidate. We'll be out hitting the pavement so you don't have to. Won't you help out too?