Eighth Congressional District Candidate Forum at George Mason ... >
May 5, 2014 - Derek Hyra.

Opening Statement
Hi everybody.  Again my name is Derek Hyra and i just want to that George Mason University for hosting this event.  The Virginia public university system is one of the best in the country and I am proud to be a part of this as a Virginia Tech professor.  Now, I love my job.  There is nothing more rewarding than teaching and training the next generation of leadership in the DC metro region.

But let me tell you a little bit more about why I'm running for Congress.  I'm tired, I am tired of the partisan politics and gridlock in Washington.  Do you know right now Congress, only 10-percent of the American public has confidence in Congress right now.  We need to change that and we need to restore the faith, the faith in our governing institutions.  We need to refresh the American Dream.  Now how are we going to do that?

We need to stabilize our housing market.  We also need to grow the middle class.  And last thing, we need to reduce inequality and create greater opportunities in our underserved communities.

My passion to help those in need came from an experience in high school.  I grew up in a suburb of New York City and for two years I played basketball in Harlem.  That experience, seeing Harlem in the late 80s/early 90s, when it was coming off the crack epidemicxxthe relationships that I formed with my teammates, who became my friends, I saw directly how impoverished communities can limit life chances.  This came to a head one day after practice.  The coach asked us how many of us had passed the SATs.  At that time you had to get over 700.  I was looking down thinking about the shots that I had missed that day, put my hand up.  I was the only one that had gotten over 700.  I was the only white person on the team as well.  I did not see any difference between the intellectual ability of my teammates and myself, but there was vast difference in the environments that we grew up in.

So I studied Harlem, I've studied Bronzeville on the South side of Chicago, and I've studied Shaw in Washington, DC.  We need to bring equitable development to these areas and create better opportunities. 

I have put the scholarly knowledge to practice.  I've worked at the Treasury Department, I've worked at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, I've also worked locally on the Alexandria Housing Authority and I now serve on the planning commission.  The idea is to basically take concentrated poverty and replace it with mixed income communities that can provide greater opportunity for low and moderate income people.

So, let's put someone in Congress with a fresh perspective and somebody who will help restore faith in our government as a productive partner in our lives.  Thank you.
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