Special series running this week on The Second Chance Sheepdog

I am running a special series here on the blog this week. I'm calling it "Support the Home Team" and the purpose is to give various candidates an opportunity to get their message out to voters. The candidates had to meet the following criteria before I offered them an opportunity to participate :

1. They had to be a conservative,
2. They had to be from Wilson Co. (TN), and
3. I had to have met and established a rapport with them.

Once I determined which candidates met these three criteria, I sent them the following e-mail on Saturday, April 17, 2010 :
  

The reason I am writing each of you in to offer a Special Invitation. Some of you know that I began a blog, The Second Chance Sheepdog, last summer. I deal with transplant, other health issues, Tennessee politics, U.S. politics, and other things there. My reason for starting it was to get involved and hopefully make a difference. At the Wilson Co. Republican Party Presidential Dinner last week, I was speaking with Adam Futrell about my blog and extended an invitation to him to send me a bio or press release (which I have received) that I would subsequently post on my blog. A few days later  I had the idea to extend the same invitation to each of you and do a series titled "Support the Home Team." Basically, "the Home Team" is each of you. Why ?? Because each of you is a Wilson Countian and a Conservative Republican, as am I, and running for office.

At this point you may be asking, "Johnny, what's the purpose of the invitation ??" Well it's two-fold : 1) Absolutely FREE press for you on the internet that YOU write, and 2) blog promotion for me. It's a win-win for all of us. I have a number of readers in Wilson Co. and the surrounding area so you will be reaching your target voting block. You can basically put whatever you want in the bio / press release you forward to me via e-mail. You can include education, volunteer work, family, interests / hobbies, your stance on important issues, how you propose fixing some of the current problems facing us, etc. However, there are three (3) rules you MUST follow. They are :

1. You are limited to 500 words. Also, I encourage you to include a digital picture I can include in the post to dress it up a little. 
2. Absolutely, positively, NO mud-slinging at any of your Republican primary opponents. This is to be about you - not them. This will be strictly enforced. However, if you want to hurl a truckload of it at a particular Democrat or the Donkey party as a whole, that is perfectly permissible. It's always Democrat Season in my book.
3. Except for Robert since I've already revealed my receipt of one for Adam, please do not contact me and ask if your opponent has submitted an entry. My response will be, "You'll have to wait and find out."

A violation #1 or #2 will result in either your bio / press release being edited by me or not being posted altogether depending on the extent of the infraction. Remember - my blog, my rules. Non-negotiable. Furthermore, the reason I sent this invitation to you is because I feel like I know each of you and each will do a wonderful job in any position of public office you hold. For that same reason, I am not endorsing anyone on the blog at this time. This is simply an opportunity to get your message out. I may extend endorsement(s) later, but I have not decided that definitely. I hope each of you are o.k. with the rules above and will participate. The deadline for submitting your entry is next Saturday, April 24th. I will run the series starting either the following Monday the 26th or the first Monday in May (3rd). Also, I will notify you of the day your bio / press release will run on the blog.

I extended this invitation to several candidates but only four responded. I have listed them with the position they are running for and the date their post will run below :

• Jason Brockman, Wilson Co. Commission District 16 - Tues., 5/11
• Robert Fields, TN House of Representatives District 57 - Wed., 5/12
• Adam Futrell, TN House of Representatives District 57 - Thur., 5/13
• Joe Kirkpatrick, Governor - Fri., May 14

Each candidate is responsible for the information provided in their post. I have not edited or censored their information in any way. Furthermore, I am not endorsing any of these candidates at his point. This is simply an opportunity for them to get their message out for free. I may offer an endorsement or two later, but I have not decided that at this point.

I hope everyone enjoys this series. It is something different that has not been done on The Second Chance Sheepdog before. I hope it is just a beginning. Enjoy and please offer feedback. I will also include these candidates website and blog links in their posts and in the left side bar of the blog where they will remain through the elections.