Your email inbox is probably full of candidates asking you for money. That’s because the fundraising deadline for the next public report is tomorrow; the end of the quarter, they call it. 

I couldn’t care less about a fundraising quarter right now. I don’t hold it against folks who do; we’ve been trained to think that these quarterly reports are important. And one of the best ways for us to fix this mess we’re living in is to have good elected officials we can trust, especially an Attorney General.

That’s why I’m not sending you a fundraising email.

My friend died yesterday from COVID-19. His name was Al. A veteran, a former candidate for state representative, and a persistent goofball, Al was a great guy. He was initially misdiagnosed with just having pneumonia, and, by the time the Coronavirus became a household name, the virus seized his lungs and it was too late. Our state wasn’t ready to help Al.

I have many friends who lost work hours and jobs. I’ve been on the phone with several of our recurring donors who can no longer give $5 or $10 per month. Servers, baristas, nonprofit employees. Lost income has hit my family too. Our state wasn’t ready to help our families.

I have many friends who work in health care. They are getting dressed in their cars, isolating themselves from their families, bracing themselves for a storm that is coming up hard. Our state wasn’t ready to support our first responders.

Missouri’s in bad shape, and not overnight. Our rural hospitals are either closed or on the brink of closing, hundreds of thousands of Missourians are without health care coverage, and we’re looking at the prospect of record unemployment and underemployment without much of a safety net. All of this is a result of years and years of neglecting our public institutions, our rural communities, and the many Missourians with few resources.

Missouri is suffering from something that makes a bad virus even worse: Bad leadership. In Missouri, our leaders care more about money than they do about us. That’s the bottom line.

I’m not about to be a candidate who does the same.

So we diverted our efforts to public service. Here’s what we’ve done:

This is the kind of leadership we need in Missouri, one that doesn’t ignore folks because their bank accounts are low, one that is prepared, one that pledges allegiance to the country instead of allegiance to a party, one that cares about us.

You’re getting this email because, somewhere down the road, you believed enough in this campaign to take a chance on getting spammed. We haven’t bought any lists. We haven’t sent any emails saying great disaster will befall us if you don’t donate $5 before midnight.

Our shared challenge is here, right now. And whether you donate or not, whether you have money or not, whether you even agree with me or not, I will always be there for you.

This campaign has always and will always be for you. No matter what.

Please let me know if there’s anything you need.


Yours always,
Elad
314-753-9033

Volunteer Opportunity

Want to help?

We are calling and texting folks in Missouri to see how they're doing, connect them to resources, and hear their ideas for Missouri.

We are also helping people throughout the state respond to the pandemic. If you can help, please let us know. Email me at [email protected] or Daniel, our volunteer manager, at [email protected].

If you want to get involved in any other way, you can on our website at EladGross.org/get-involved.

How are you doing? What do you need? Let me know just by replying to this email.