Liz at a glance

Year 2011

 

44 years old. 

Originally from New Zealand. 

Faith: Catholic. 

Married to Joe the past 17 years.  

Homeschooling mother. Campaign manager, treasurer and in charge of ballot access and campaign literature graphics.  

Former public relations consultant in New Zealand.  

Liz also has an agricultural science degree.  

Volunteer work:  Catholic Worker outreach to the poor in Cleveland, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia; Brown County, Ohio, Mental Health Walkathon co-coordinator; city youth gymnastics instructor; city youth league baseball and soccer coach.  

Hobbies:  Running, art, gardening, history and scrap booking. 

 

In Liz's words: 

 

Kia Ora and gidday.

 

"Kia Ora" is the greeting of hello in Maori, the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand.  The country I am from.

 

"Gidday" is, well, a Down Under greeting too.

 

I now live in Ohio, where some people look at me a bit funny when I say gidday.  I live in Ohio with Joe, that is when we're not on the road campaigning.

 

I was traveling the world when I met Joe.  We got married, and I have been here now the past 18 years.

 

While raising our children, Joe and I have become very concerned about their future  nuclear proliferation, poor international relations, global warming, escalating war and violence in general, unjust distribution of wealth, the declining value of life and family I told the Mississippi Press newspaper that it is easy to lament about all this; but its better to try to do something about it.

 

And so we are attempting to.

 

Peace...

 

In the face of what seems ongoing war now, we propose a U.S. Department of Peace.  We have spent years researching such initiates as: the Ulster Project to decrease tension in Northern Ireland; Bluffton Universitys Cross Cultural Program to bring social justice and conflict resolution help to other countries; Wilmington Universitys Peace Center programs for trust building in families and schools (Peace has to begin at home.)

 

The U.S. Department of Peace would work to help deescalate international tension .  And it would help secure a future for all our children by proactively building solid, lasting relationships with as many nations as possible. 

 

While we honor those who put their lives on the line for their nation and believe in more support for Veterans and their families; we would hope with a deeper commitment to peace that war would diminish in kind.

 

Saving the planet...

 

I said to a Chronicle Telegram reporter in Elyria, Ohio, while on an End Global Warming Bicycle Tour, that if nothing changes -- nothing changes. 

 

For the future of our children, Americans need to change their lifestyles.  It is critical that they start to live more simply and environmentally conscious.  In our family, we cycle or walk to the grocery store, we dry our clothes on the line, live with little, recycle, compost and we have converted part of our yard into a backyard habitat. 

 

And it would be the same for us in D.C.

 

Government, too, must make a major commitment to save the environment for our children.  We have looked at comprehensive recycling program in New Jersey, extensive wind energy projects in Oklahoma and California, effective solar energy applications in Wisconsin, geothermal technology in Michigan and much more.

 

We believe the federal government should push to help subsidize a lot more of these types of projects around the country, and soon.  

 

Healing the family, and faith...

 

A friend of ours says: If you heal the family, you'll heal the nation.  And we carry his message with us throughout the country.

 

In talks, I note that there was a time when families lived and worked side-by-side, valuing being together more than the new house, furniture and latest must-have.