Eric Cesnik For City Council

Today I went to my first DFNYC Mixer. It is like this social event. MeetUps are to get the work done. And then you have this Mixer once a month. It is supposed to be more like a party. But I also saw a lot of work done.

There was this great vibe. Lots of introductions.

I met Eric.

Eric is one cool dude.

He was a top notch student at Dartmouth and at Harvard Law School. He was at some midtown law firm. And then he showed up for a MeetUp. This was one of the earliest ones. One where Howard Dean discovered Howard Dean. Next thing you know he moved to Vermont to become a full timer with the Dean campaign. He is one of those inspired people I read about when Dean was glowing hot, like people who biked across the country for Dean.

He is from Madison, Wisnconsin, a sister town to Bloomington, Indiana. A progressive island. I have been to Madison a few times. There's this really cool Nepali restaurant close to downtown.

And now he is running for City Council.

We talked about Dean. I said he might end up the Barry Goldwater for "our" side. Ronald Reagan claimed to have been inspired by Goldwater. Dean's impact might last a generation.

I am a I-don't-have-a-job-I-don't-want-a-job kind of aspiring entrepreneur. A rocket burns a lot of fuel during take off. But I hope to make some time to volunteer for Eric's campaign. There is a convergence between the fun of meeting people, and volunteering for Eric.

I am getting caught up with this thing. I mean, I consider myself to be a political person, and Dean is great, but I feel more comfortable with global and national politics. DFNYC has been a culture shock to me. I meet foreign names at every meet I show up for. And these are supposed to be major names. The office of a Public Advocate: I had never heard of such a thing. And the office is supposed to be second only to that of Mayor. Talk about Mayor, even the Bloomberg name feels provincial to me. Issues? I am like, the subways keep running. What could possibly be wrong?

But I will learn. These people will make sure. DFNYC has become sort of a homebase for me in the city. It sure is drawing me in.