In a previous column, “What can we do as a country to work together again?” I talked about the need to get outside of your comfort zone and listen to people who disagree with you.
Let’s say you did that — made your mind uncomfortable, exposed yourself to thoughts you disagree with — yet you remain convinced that your original point of view is correct.
Politics affects everything around us, and police officers often find themselves on the front-line of political decisions. However, there is no reason for law enforcement officers to remain on the sidelines of democracy, or to be lulled into thinking running for office is only something they can do after retirement.
In the beginning of September, I launched a journey to interview an underdog elected official in each of the 50 states. Concurrently, the country has been filled with divisiveness about President Trump, about kneeling during the National Anthem, and now we are facing the aftermath of Las Vegas, Nevada.
In other words, things are going to get more bitter before they get better.
James Spadola may have lost his bid last year for the state Senate, but he gained an appreciation for the political underdogs, especially the ones who manage to get elected.
In September, the former City of Newark police officer launched Elected Officials of America, a series of Q&A podcasts that capture the story of at least one elected official from every state. Delaware, of course, is first.
James Spadola is an Iraq war veteran, a former Newark police officer, a Delaware state senate candidate and a guitar player in not one, but two bands. We reported in February that he had made his first foray into the local tech scene, working as a business development staffer at Zip Code Wilmington.
It’s fair to say he’s heard a lot of stories; and now he has left Zip Code to tell some.