Matthew Ridenhour, organizer of the July 4th Tea Party in Charlotte, has filed to run for Charlotte city council at-large as a Republican.
“I intend to be a strong voice of fiscal conservatism, and adhering to the principles for which the Republican Party once stood,” Ridenhour said in an email to supporters. “Too often we have been called ‘Democrat-Lite’ due to wasteful spending, increasing the size of government, and allowing our party to move too far to the left.
He joins Navy vet and electrical engineer Craig Nannini as a candidate who was spun out of the local Tea Party movement. Nannini announced he was running for city council at-large last week. In other words, what critics derided as a hazy, ill-informed conniption fit has already supplied the Republican Party with badly needed fresh blood and enthusiasm. Whether the actually wants such things remains to be seen.
“I do not have a family name, wealth, or ‘proper’ pedigree, which these days seems so requisite for serving the public,” Ridenhour continued in his annoucement. “The other night I realized that that is one of the problems facing our community and nation today. Public office is often viewed as a stepping stone to a name legacy or financial well-being, rather than a humble opportunity to serve the greater good. I have served our nation for eight years in the Marine Corps, including two deployments to Iraq. Now I will serve my hometown, our city.”
