Some of the Von der Porten family emigrated from Germany before WWII.  This saved the family from extermination because, despite their Jewish heritage, there were no Holocaust survivors.  Everyone who stayed, died.  As a result, I have been taught to consider the questions posed by the rise of Fascism from the time I was a little boy.  How did authoritarianism become so deeply entrenched?  Why did the people go along with it?  What would you have done differently?

History will hold us all accountable for how we answer these questions.  For me, it’s personal.  I know that when my 9 year old daughter is grown she will look back on these times and ask me "what did you do?"

 

I will look her in the eye and say "I did what I could” because I’m doing something I never dreamed of:  I'm running for public office.  It’s time that communities like Aliso Viejo say "enough!"  We will protect our people, act with integrity even when others don't and make sure our children have the opportunity to thrive here like we have.