Met yesterday with the campaign consultant who ...

(we're hoping) will run my young candidate's campaign for the city council. The meeting was at her invitation, and since she is one of the top campaign organizers in the state, this is really significant and suggests that the "buzz" out there in the political world is causing excitement, enough to attract her attention.

First met Catherine Lew, Esq. when we were both working in the Jessye Jackson campaign for the presidency, his first run. She was campaign boss and I was serving as Northern California co-chair with former Berkeley mayor, Gus Newport. She has since gone on to handle candidates all over the state, including two successful runs of my former boss, Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, Mayor Irma Anderson of Richmond, several city council members here in this city, plus a host of other city and state campaigns for both office holders and initiatives. Her firm is presently working on about 50 campaigns throughout the state. She has an enviable record of successes. We'll wait for the two of them to assess their prospects and then decide if this is a match. I know that he was impressed, and now we'll wait to see if she felt the same.

Having mentored my young friend for about three years, give or take a few months, it is rewarding to see others beginning to see what I sensed about him many months ago. His integrity shines out of his eyes. He is one of those young people who is seen by his own community as a natural leader. He is not the product of a political machine. His community support is broad and deep. Without any significant outreach, his campaign coffers already boasts over $7000 in contributions, and we've not yet held fundraisers.

You might like to check out his web site -- put the name Eddrick Osborne into your browser and take a look.

I so enjoy our one-on-ones and frequent luncheon conferences. He is a bright, eager, and willing student, and I need to pass along a lifetime of political experience to someone -- the perfect "marriage." It's a rare privilege to be able to mentor one who will follow, the only real immortality there is, I believe. The chance to influence the next generation through the passing along of whatever wisdom was gleaned from my own life experience is a gift to be treasured. (Such thoughts come more often these days.)