Over the past year I have come to know the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, Ashley Ehasz, and have found her to be exactly what we need in Washington: BRAVE. AUTHENTIC. RELATABLE. BATTLE-TESTED.
BRAVE: It takes immense courage to enter the political arena and stand up publicly for what you believe in, especially in our disturbingly vicious political climate. Ashley was accepted to West Point Military Academy as a 17-year-old, graduated, entered the Army, and became a fighter pilot flying Apache helicopters in combat in Iraq. She was the only woman in her flight school class.
AUTHENTIC & RELATABLE: Ashley was born to teenage parents and was raised by a single mother. Growing up, poverty wasn’t something she read about; she lived it. As an adult, she understands the reality of people having to make decisions about whether to eat, pay rent, fill a prescription, or fill up the gas tank, and she is running to make a difference for them. Ashley is an outstanding listener. She is intelligent. As a military commander, she often counseled those under her on how to make ends meet while on military salaries and how to take care of their physical and mental health. She is compassionate. No pretenses.
BATTLE-TESTED: Running for national office in 2022 is a battle-zone. Unlike other jobs where applicants are assessed based on their skill-set and ability to get a job done, candidates for Congress are assessed by how much money their campaign raises. This job requirement is secondary for candidates who come to the job with a huge stash of cash, but that’s not Ashley’s story. She put her life on the line every single day she pulled on that uniform. She operated in the real world as a commander of young recruits knowing that decisions she made could mean life or death for someone’s son or daughter. Returning from combat in Iraq, she witnessed the insurgency in Washington on Jan. 6, igniting her calling to continue serving her country, this time in the political arena, against enemies both foreign and domestic. Ashley Ehasz has a battle-tested will and nerves of steel.
Ashley is running against Brian Fitzpatrick. Unlike Fitzpatrick, Ashley supports the 50-year standard of reproductive rights that was established in Roe v. Wade and has since been torn away from women by the current U.S. Supreme Court. (Fitzpatrick has voted two times against making Roe v. Wade federal law that would protect a woman’s right to choose.) Unlike Fitzpatrick, Ashley supported the establishment of the Jan. 6th commission to get to the bottom of what took place on that tragic day in Washington when mobs stormed the Capitol with weapons attempting to stop the peaceful transfer of power according to the will of The People. (Fitzpatrick voted against establishing this Commission.) Unlike Fitzpatrick, Ashley doesn’t say one thing and do another, and won’t pad her voting record to appear “independent.” Her backbone is strong. Her sense of dignity is even stronger. This is someone I would expect to take the high road and own her tough choices.
I urge you to vote for our local Profile in Courage, Ashley Ehasz. PA01 deserves brave, authentic, relatable, battle-tested leadership.
