May 3, 2010

Race to unseat out of touch Congressman begins Thursday


Kande Ngalamulume, a Democrat from East Lansing, officially kicks off his campaign for U.S. Congress in the 8th Congressional District at 11 a.m. Thursday on the lawn of the historic Livingston County Historic Courthouse in downtown Howell.

The incumbent, Republican Mike Rogers, has become even farther out of touch with voters in the 8th District that includes the counties of Livingston, Clinton, Ingham and parts of Oakland and Shiwiawasse counties. Rogers voted against health insurance reform, for more jobs in the district, a clean environment and reforms in college loans.

Kande will make the announcement in all five counties in the district on Thursday. He will make the announcement in Ingham County at 4:50 p.m. on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing at the "Sparty" statute at Kalamazoo and Red Cedar. Events for the three other counties are pending.

Kande was just 10-years-old when his family migrated to the United States from Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He grew up in Athens, Ohio where his father taught and completed his Master’s degree from Ohio University and East Lansing where his father earned a PhD from Michigan State University. Kande graduated from East Lansing High School and from MSU in 2002. Following graduation he worked mainly in the financial services sector, with the exception of the last four years where he worked in the health care industry for Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia as a senior business analyst.

Kande also worked with The Lost Boys of Sudan, an orphanage group of Sudanese children misplaced by war in their homeland. He also volunteered as a tutor through the Michigan State University Literacy Program, assisting students of Glencairn Elementary School in the areas of reading and writing. In the past two years he assisted middle and high school students of the Chester School District in reading, science and math through a program called Youth for Christ (YFC).

For information call the Kande campaign at (517) 999-3300 or email it via erin.fox@kandeforcongress.com to let the campaign know you're coming.

2 comments:

Eclectablog said...

Do you think Kande stands a chance? Honestly, I work in Howell and the people there just laugh and laugh and laugh when his name is mentioned. Running against a five-term incumbent is hard enough but I think Kande is going to get creamed. I only wish it weren't so. I hope I'm proven very, very wrong.

Communications guru said...

It’s hard to imagine anyone can unseat Rogers with the way the district was gerrymandered in 2002, so I don’t think Rogers will lose this time either. I thought our best chance was in 2006 with Jim Marcinkowski, but it was not to be.

But to say he does not stand a chance or that Kande is a joke is just wrong. Elections keep politicians honest, at least in theory, so a decent candidate will at least make Rogers come back to the district once in a while instead of out raising corporate cash non-stop for other Republicans.