I am voting for Patsy

I live in the newly carved 10th Congressional District, and I volunteered for Patsy Keever, drawn to her integrity, her vision of a kinder, better-intentioned and well-educated North Carolina, even before I moved to Asheville, when she opposed Charles Taylor in 2004.

Patsy believes that a smart, healthy populace makes better citizens at home and better individuals. She stands in favor of funding for education and as an advocate for health care. She realizes that many women need access to resources that could determine the trajectory of the rest of their lives.

Having no option as a Democrat, I voted for Heath Shuler, who is anti-choice, when this district was the 11th. I’m grateful I have the chance to vote now for Patsy, a pro-choice candidate, who believes that women have the same right to make decisions about their body and souls as men do. Her opponent in the 10th does not agree.

My mother was a schoolteacher and a visionary. She imagined the youth she taught making a difference and she knew how to help them by giving them the tools to achieve their dreams. I feel Patsy is made of the same stuff. She has watched (and spoken out against) our N.C. Legislature’s gutting of funding for education and women’s health concerns ignored or belittled. We must give Patsy a chance to work for us on a larger scale. We cannot allow the men who dominate N.C. politics — who did this redistricting and began the ugly “war on women” — push women aside.

Never have I seen Patsy mean-spirited or afraid to stand up for what is fair, in the best interests of the people who elected her; she has always put people first. I am voting for Patsy. Anyone who wants honesty, courage and vision in the political arena should do the same.

— Aile Shebar
Asheville