I’ve known Dave Harden my whole life. Our mothers grew up together in Baltimore in the 1950s, attending Howard Park United Methodist Church and the Baltimore public schools, then heading off to college at what was then and for me always will be Western Maryland College. Although his mom settled on a farm outside Westminster and mine returned to the Baltimore suburbs, they remained inseparable. On that farm way out in the country, Dave and his family represented a different world. A world that I didn’t always understand and even sometimes resented.

Let me explain. Dave’s family raised steers on that farm outside Westminster, and my family bought our beef from them. Every year, half a cow would fill up the freezer in our basement, dozens of packages in white paper wrappers. We started with the steaks and ribs, then made our way through the lesser-known cuts. Eventually, as the freezer got thinned out, things like liver and kidney and tongue would start to appear on our plates. As a suburban kid used to food that arrived in pretty plastic-wrapped packages, dinners like that made me sometimes resent Dave and his family.

That was years ago, and I’m older now. And now I understand we were getting something real and authentic, a local product that was plain and simple, with nothing wasted. That’s still what Dave represents: an authentic local product, plain-speaking, no-nonsense. I still don’t like liver or kidneys or tongue, but I do support Dave and the local values he stands for..

Join me, and join Dave's campaign today by making a $10 donation. 

Alex Ward