Susie Petra, a Democratic activist in Ames, wrote this letter after Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign last month. -promoted by Laura Belin

Dear Senator Sanders,

I am a member of Iowa CCI and an active supporter of yours for over nine years. My heart actually hurt for you when I heard you had suspended your campaign…and hurt for the many millions of your supporters. We had seen, and almost grasped, that exquisite light at the end of the 9-year tunnel. However, I know our collective work isn’t finished, yet!

I wanted you to hear from me that you actually did turn that light on for millions of us.

Thanks to you, we see clearly that Our America needs substantive, wide-reaching change. Our economy, our education, our health care, our government functions including our system of elections, our income gap and pay disparity, our woeful lack of essential manufacturing and anti-trust laws, our criminal “justice” system, our justice system in general, the speed at which we must address the planet’s climate crisis. And the inter-relatedness of them all. 

Things are changing at warp speed, and our government needs to be able to anticipate both short-term and long-term specifics. You, at the helm, would have made a difference.

You are and have been courageous for your entire career. You have captured our need for community, both as a nation and as a member of our home planet.

You have opened our collective eyes to see and understand that We Must Do Better, for the sake of our well-being and for the sake of our fragile democracy.

Your contribution has been, and continues to be, tremendous. And, though you may be tired of hearing it and it may give you scant comfort knowing how fervently you’ve campaigned, it is true, nonetheless.

For the umpteenth year, I am on the Iowa Democratic Party’s platform committee, and I promise to shepherd your issues–which are ours, now–into our state platform. We Sanders delegates understand what we need to do–effectively, compellingly, persuasively and credibly–to ensure that the agenda you’ve worked for, will be represented in Iowa’s state Democratic platform, advancing high expectations for better governance for the people.

My deepest thanks for all you’ve given to us all. Blessings to you and Jane, your family, your staff and your unbelievable field personnel.

Forever grateful,
Susie Petra
Ames
April 16, 2020

Top image: Bernie Sanders marches in Independence Day parade in Ames, Iowa on July 4, 2019. Photo by SMcKinney, available via Shutterstock.