You won’t be forgotten
One of the first lessons I learned during my nearly five years of active duty in the U.S. military is that we don’t leave anyone on the battlefield. Many things that I was taught during officer training and flight school may get a little rusty or forgotten, but the ethos of taking care of our own, always showing up and always having each other’s back, will stick with me for life. This is how I will represent Inyo County in Congress – never forgetting its needs and fighting for those needs in Washington, D.C.
I was privileged to visit
Inyo County last weekend. It was my fifth visit to the area, including the three times I summitted Mt. Whitney. And while I know there is more to see and learn about the
10,192 square miles of this beautiful county, I was left with one indelible impression: Inyo County is worth protecting, and it has some of the most dedicated, hardworking people of anywhere I have ever been. Its outdoor enthusiasts, teachers, the indigenous communities, ranchers, business and community leaders – despite their differences – work hard to pull in the direction of their common good.
But what the remote and vast Inyo County has in natural beauty and sense of community, it has lacked in committed representation in Congress. I am running for Congress in California’s Third Congressional District, which encompasses Inyo, to be a representative for all the people of Inyo County, which would be a true honor, if its residents give me that privilege.
We have problems that are much bigger than party and aren’t helped by politics. We need to move beyond the partisan fighting that many of our politicians do just to stay in office – partisanship that has left us with no action on some of the worst fires and drought our state and country has ever seen. I am not a politician. I am a doctor who is proud to help my community heal, and I want to take the leadership skills I learned in the Navy to serve again in Congress. I don’t let politics get in the way of helping people in medicine and nor would I let it get in the way of my helping people as a member of Congress. In my first term in office, I will work to address Inyo County’s issues with broadband access and health care. I will work with local leaders on our housing crisis and make the federal government take more responsibility over federal lands or lease them to the state.
If elected, I vow to provide real representation for Inyo County. I will visit the county frequently while in office and focus on its unique needs, and always make sure I fight for the people of California’s
Third Congressional District.
(Dr. Kermit Jones is a doctor and former US Navy flight surgeon who is running for California’s Third Congressional District.)