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Advancing the vote for candidate Keever
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Democrat and 11th District U.S. Congressional candidate Patsy Keever, fifth from left, was joined in Sylva by a crowd of supporters July 8 for a march from Main Street up the old Courthouse steps to the Board of Elections. Welcomed by Jackson County Commissioner Brian McMahan, who hand-lettered several of the signs the group waved at passers-by, Keever led marchers up the hill to cast votes in the July 20 primary. “We’re here to say we’re tired of business as usual,” said Keever, who will face incumbent Republican Rep. Charles Taylor in November if she prevails in Tuesday’s primary. Sharing her top concerns for Western North Carolina – jobs, education, air quality, health care and the burden of the national debt – Keever said she’ll bring 12 years of experience as a Buncombe County commissioner and 25 years as a schoolteacher to Washington, D.C. “A teacher has the best beat on what’s going on in a community – an understanding of what’s going on in families of different backgrounds and socioeconomic levels,” Keever said. “We see what happens when a family loses its job. We’re there when a child doesn’t get enough to eat in the morning.” Keever recently retired from teaching to take care of her husband, John, who died of cancer last year. “I realized then that it was time for me to step up, because I feel so strongly that we need change,” Keever said. Several of the candidate’s students have worked on her campaign, which has attracted more than 500 volunteers and received endorsements from the N.C. Association of Educators, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Union of Police Associations and the AFL-CIO. Keever was also joined at the Courthouse by Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver, County Commissioner Roberta Crawford, former Forest Hills Mayor Irene Hooper and Canary Coalition director Avram Friedman. – Herald photo by Carey King |
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