I want to wish you all a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year!

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that I have listened carefully to many of my neighbors who have spoken with me over the past three months and asked that I stay involved in local and state politics. I have learned what it means to "win through losing" - running a positive, passionate, clean campaign with bold ideas. I amassed over 5000 votes without a single major endorsement, which was unexpected by many seasoned veterans. I stayed active working for the O'Malley-Brown and Cardin campaigns. I earned a victory that is much more of a beginning than an end.

If there were a position on the horizon for which I could run at this early stage, I would do so. Unfortunately, the cycle will not come around again in these parts for another four years. So in the meantime I have decided to get intimately involved in the process, and have accepted a job as Senior Policy and Legislative Adviser for Health and Education to Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg of the Montgomery County Council. It is truly an honor and a thrill to have the opportunity to make a serious contribution to my community, as well as to learn the inner workings of local and state government. I will be interfacing with the state and federal governments as well as working on the county level, and I expect the experience will stand me in very good stead for my next campaign.

Again, thank you all for your support this past year. It has been an experience of a lifetime.