About Heather:
I've been fortunate to lead a fascinating and well rounded life. Here is but a small
sample of the interesting story of my life:
I was born and raised in the heartland, Des Moines, Iowa. My parents, Richard and
Mary Ryan were both union members at a paper company in Des Moines for the brunt
of my childhood. Me, my two brothers and our parents lived a humble existence on the
East Side of Des Moines in a two bedroom bungalow throughout our upbringing.
At the tender age of 10, I became politically active when I met Senator Tom Harkin and
Presidential Candidate Gary Hart at an anti-nuclear proliferation rally. From that day on,
my life has revolved primarily around political activity.
Toward the end of Operation Desert Storm I enlisted in the United States Navy. I
served honorably for three years as a Yeoman Third Class Petty Officer. While
stationed at NAS North Island in San Diego, California, the Navy afforded the
opportunity for me to attend college at Chapman University while active duty.
Through the Montgomery GI Bill, I continued my education during my tenure in Civil
Service for the Department of Defense until I finally became a full time student at Drake
University in Iowa. Though a divorced single mother, I was awarded a Bachelor's
Degree in Political Science in 2000; the first person in my family to attend and graduate
college.
Upon graduation from Drake University, my daughter and I moved to Washington,
D.C., joining the struggle for Women's Rights as a non-profit fund raiser for five years.
In 2005 I accepted a position as a campaign manager for the Eric Streit for US
Congress campaign and subsequently moved to Paducah, Kentucky. While on the
campaign trail, I met my husband Carl McNew. Carl, also a Navy Veteran, is a full time
student at the local Paducah Law School. In August 2007, we were fortunate enough
to be blessed with a baby daughter.
While Executive Director of a small non-profit movie theater, and the sole financial
provider for our family of four, I had an encounter with Senator Mitch McConnell where I
attempted to ask him a question about the War in Iraq. Senator McConnell ignored my
question and slipped into his waiting SUV without incident. The following day I was
warned that the Senior Republican Senator had instructed his staff to call community
professionals and non-profit organizations and threaten funding for Paducah River
Front projects if I was not fired from my position. Within a week, I was without a job
because a corrupt politician had thin skin and used his influence to hold the city of
Paducah hostage, subsequently forcing them to render a constituent jobless.
I was very fortunate throughout the ordeal with the Senator to host a wonderful band
of supporters who also believe in the First Amendment. They saw that I was not afraid
to ask a corrupt senator a blunt question about an unpopular, unplanned and unending
war.
Newly jobless, and without any prospects in the economically distressed Jackson
Purchase area, my friends and family encouraged me to run in the uncontested race
against "Exxon Eddie" Whitfield; the very race in which I was the campaign manager for
Eric Streit during the Primary Election two years previously. It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to realize that "Special Interest Ed" is part of the problem in the "Culture of
Corruption" the Republicans have created in Washington, D.C. Power and Money are
their only concerns, NOT the worries of their constituents, which was plainly evidenced
by my treatment and by the treatment of the people of KY-01. So, I entered this race
with the goal of returning the First Congressional District to a Representative Of, For
and By the people - the way our Founding Fathers intended.
With your support, we can return KY-01 to Democratic Control, which was historically
the case until "Special Interest Ed" duped the voters with a broken "Contract with
America" in 1994. Although Exxon Eddie broke his promise to leave office after three
terms, we can send him back to his home in Florida on November 4th!
Please support this candidacy and campaign by joining our e-mail network, making a
contribution, volunteering and voting! With your help and support, we can END THE
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!
I've been fortunate to lead a fascinating and well rounded life. Here is but a small
sample of the interesting story of my life:
I was born and raised in the heartland, Des Moines, Iowa. My parents, Richard and
Mary Ryan were both union members at a paper company in Des Moines for the brunt
of my childhood. Me, my two brothers and our parents lived a humble existence on the
East Side of Des Moines in a two bedroom bungalow throughout our upbringing.
At the tender age of 10, I became politically active when I met Senator Tom Harkin and
Presidential Candidate Gary Hart at an anti-nuclear proliferation rally. From that day on,
my life has revolved primarily around political activity.
Toward the end of Operation Desert Storm I enlisted in the United States Navy. I
served honorably for three years as a Yeoman Third Class Petty Officer. While
stationed at NAS North Island in San Diego, California, the Navy afforded the
opportunity for me to attend college at Chapman University while active duty.
Through the Montgomery GI Bill, I continued my education during my tenure in Civil
Service for the Department of Defense until I finally became a full time student at Drake
University in Iowa. Though a divorced single mother, I was awarded a Bachelor's
Degree in Political Science in 2000; the first person in my family to attend and graduate
college.
Upon graduation from Drake University, my daughter and I moved to Washington,
D.C., joining the struggle for Women's Rights as a non-profit fund raiser for five years.
In 2005 I accepted a position as a campaign manager for the Eric Streit for US
Congress campaign and subsequently moved to Paducah, Kentucky. While on the
campaign trail, I met my husband Carl McNew. Carl, also a Navy Veteran, is a full time
student at the local Paducah Law School. In August 2007, we were fortunate enough
to be blessed with a baby daughter.
While Executive Director of a small non-profit movie theater, and the sole financial
provider for our family of four, I had an encounter with Senator Mitch McConnell where I
attempted to ask him a question about the War in Iraq. Senator McConnell ignored my
question and slipped into his waiting SUV without incident. The following day I was
warned that the Senior Republican Senator had instructed his staff to call community
professionals and non-profit organizations and threaten funding for Paducah River
Front projects if I was not fired from my position. Within a week, I was without a job
because a corrupt politician had thin skin and used his influence to hold the city of
Paducah hostage, subsequently forcing them to render a constituent jobless.
I was very fortunate throughout the ordeal with the Senator to host a wonderful band
of supporters who also believe in the First Amendment. They saw that I was not afraid
to ask a corrupt senator a blunt question about an unpopular, unplanned and unending
war.
Newly jobless, and without any prospects in the economically distressed Jackson
Purchase area, my friends and family encouraged me to run in the uncontested race
against "Exxon Eddie" Whitfield; the very race in which I was the campaign manager for
Eric Streit during the Primary Election two years previously. It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to realize that "Special Interest Ed" is part of the problem in the "Culture of
Corruption" the Republicans have created in Washington, D.C. Power and Money are
their only concerns, NOT the worries of their constituents, which was plainly evidenced
by my treatment and by the treatment of the people of KY-01. So, I entered this race
with the goal of returning the First Congressional District to a Representative Of, For
and By the people - the way our Founding Fathers intended.
With your support, we can return KY-01 to Democratic Control, which was historically
the case until "Special Interest Ed" duped the voters with a broken "Contract with
America" in 1994. Although Exxon Eddie broke his promise to leave office after three
terms, we can send him back to his home in Florida on November 4th!
Please support this candidacy and campaign by joining our e-mail network, making a
contribution, volunteering and voting! With your help and support, we can END THE
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!
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| Paid for by the Heather Ryan for Congress Committee All Rights Reserved 2008 |
