The Audacity of Hope and a Restored Faith in Democracy

November 8th 2025

Over the past year I have thought a lot about my military service. I spent six years in the United States Army, including two overseas, under the belief that I was “protecting the constitution.” Democracy to me was simple. It meant the will of the people. It meant that if the voters chose their leader, then democracy had spoken.

But when the country chose this president, it did not feel like the democracy I fought to protect. That feeling sat in my mind every single day. I did not want to believe that this was the promise of America. I did not want to believe that the idea I served for had shrunk down to something that small, something that cynical.

I watched my country devolve into a place where Veterans’ services were cut to save a quick buck. A place where children come home and find out their parents were sent to Guatemala. It devolved into a place where the safety nets in society like SNAP were used as bargaining chips in order to take away healthcare. American has become a place I did not recognize. I’d go to No Kings rallies, I’d show up to packed community meetings, but it really felt like the people who generally wanted good for their fellow humans were treated like the bad guys.

On Tuesday, something changed. My belief in the promise of democracy was restored. 

Locally, we had significant victories. We flipped the Onondaga County Legislature for the first time in over 4 decades. We won in the city of Syracuse, but we also won in Salina, Dewitt, Manlius, Geddes, and Skaneateles among other places. Across the country we saw it as well. Virginia, New Jersey, New York City to name a few. Across the country voters chose leaders like Mayor-elect Mamdani, a fellow democratic socialist who has the courage to believe that government can serve the people. Here in Syracuse Mayor-elect Sharon Owens’ victory showed me there’s a community here that still has the audacity to hope. 

Across the country, American voters rejected the message of hate and division that has hovered over our politics for the past year. Even local Republicans blamed Trump for their losses, though they have done nothing to stand up to him. Voters across the country chose something different. They chose participation. They chose hope.

Here in Onondaga County, we now have a real chance to build a government that is fair, representative, and rooted in justice. We have an opportunity for progressives, conservatives, Democrats, and Republicans to work together and shape a community that listens to people who have often been ignored. 

My faith in democracy is temporarily restored, and I am looking forward to doing the work with my colleagues and with the communities we represent. I know national politics will take time to heal, but locally we can begin repairing what has been broken. We can amplify voices that have been pushed to the margins. We can make government something people can believe in again.

This moment brings me back to my time in the service. I originally came to Syracuse because I felt ashamed of being a soldier without a college degree. I did not want to be seen as the stereotype of the “dumb soldier who knows how to use a gun but not how to use a pen.” Ten years and two degrees later, I am still trying to shed that label. There are people who still see me only as someone who can fight, not someone who can lead, think, build or imagine.

I have always been more than that. I have always carried a belief in what Onondaga county can be, even when that belief was shaken. I have always carried a belief in what this country can be.

I titled this post after President Obama’s book because I never fully let go of that audacity of hope. Even when the world made it hard, I refused to accept that this was the democracy I fought to protect. I recall being pressured to cave in and work with Republicans to get scraps for our districts with full knowledge that this community needs full meals.

I remember long talks with people like Mary Kuhn and Dustin Czarny about what Onondaga County could be. We talked about fairness, justice, representation, and the kind of government that actually listens to its residents. For the first time in a long time, it feels possible.

“The audacity of hope” has returned. In the past week I’ve gotten calls from Senator May, Congressman Mannion, and Mayor-elect Owens all excited to have a county government where we all get fair representation. All excited about the radical idea that we can care about one another, that we can build something real together, that we are stronger when we rise as a community.

So I write this post to say “thank you for giving me hope.” Sharon Owens has given me hope, Nicole Watts has given me hope, Jeremiah Thompson, Ellen Block, Greg Ericksen, and Elaine Denton have given me hope. Terry Cuddy and Rob Santucci have given me hope, the Central NY community has given me hope. This country has given me hope. We’re a ways away from true justice, but the hope of that day is more present than it’s ever been. That flame is burning as bright right now as it ever has.