Candidate for State Representative, HD3: T.R. Reid

To the members of the House District 3 Vacancy Committee:

     I firmly believe that health care should be a right, not a privilege, for every American – and I’m convinced Colorado can lead our country toward that goal.  And so I’m writing to ask that you consider me to fill Anne McGihon’s seat in the state legislature.  If you trust me with the job, I will work day and night to carry forward Anne’s work on health care and other key issues.
      I’ve worked as a Naval officer, a middle school teacher, and as a reporter covering politics and public policy. For years, I was a foreign correspondent --but when our family came home between assignments, we came home to House District 3.  Two of our kids went to school in the district.  I finished my last overseas assignment in 2002, and we’ve lived in the Wellshire neighborhood ever since. I’ve been an usher at Most Precious Blood parish, and I’ve worked with several Denver schools and service groups.
      I’m a member of the board, and chairman of the Program Committee, of The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless – a great organization that helps tens of thousands of our fellow Coloradans every year.  I’m a board member and Executive Vice-President of the Japan-America Society of Colorado. I’m on the advisory board of CU Medical School. I think anybody at those organizations will tell you that I have been a workhorse: I show up, ask a lot of questions, and roll up my sleeves —particularly on fund-raising.
     As a reporter, I wasn’t permitted to participate in or contribute to party politics. So I didn’t register as a Democrat until last year, when I retired from the Washington Post. But I have been active for years on community issues that are traditional Democratic concerns. My spouse, Peggy McMahon, and I have been loyal Democratic voters.
      That’s partly because I’ve been union member for much of my adult life. I spent years on the Grievance Committee of the Washington Post unit of the Newspaper Guild. What I learned in that fairly thankless job is that we must protect workers’ right to organize, to offset the concentrated economic power of owners and management.
     The primary issue, though, that drives me to seek your support is health care.  I’ve recently finished a book and a couple of documentary films on this topic.  I’ve come away disgusted with our country’s costly and unfair system.  I’m not optimistic that Washington is going to fix it any time soon. So I want to push at the state level –and Colorado could very well be a state that gets things started.  With that goal in mind, I respectfully ask for your support when the committee meets.
      I’ve attached a bio. that the Washington Post compiled.  I’d be delighted to talk to you either by phone (303-949-8046) or e-mail. In any case, I thank you for taking the time to read this, and for considering my candidacy for the HD3 seat.

                               Your neighbor,   T. R. Reid

T. R. Reid has become one of the nation’s best-known correspondents through his coverage of global affairs for The Washington Post, his books and documentary films, and his light-hearted commentaries on National Public Radio.

Reid majored in Classics at Princeton University, and served as a naval officer, a Latin teacher, and various other jobs. At the Washington Post, he covered Congress and four presidential campaigns. He served as the paper’s bureau chief in Tokyo and in London.

Reid has written and hosted documentary films for National Geographic TV, for PBS Frontline, and for the A&E network. He is a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s "Morning Edition." He has written six books in English and three in Japanese, and translated one book from the Japanese. His next book, ‘The Healing of America. A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care," will be published in the summer of 2009.

Reid is a member of the board of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the Japan-America Society of Colorado, and a number of community organizations and schools. He has taught at Princeton University, The University of Denver, and Colorado College.

T. R. Reid has been married for 36 years to the attorney Margaret M. McMahon. They have three children.

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