Here is an unedited version of the 2006 North Carolina House Campaign Bio written around December of 2005. It was written for that specific purpose and while as authentic as I could be running for State office, much has changed in the 19 years since.
I was raised by a single mother in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I remember my mother proudly struggling to care for my sister and I after a bitter divorce. While initially welfare keep us fed and sheltered, my mother hated relying on any handouts. She got a job where she worked “twice as hard as a man - for half the pay!” She also studied in night courses and got active in politics to change the way that women were viewed and treated. She shared her knowledge, strength, and American moral values with her children, and continues to inspire me.
In spite of my mother’s best efforts, my teenage years were rough. However, at age 17, I had a profound spiritual awakening and re-birth. I straightened up with the help of God and the love of close friends and family. To this day I don’t drink, smoke, or take drugs and I put my life in God’s hands daily.
I finished high school (class of 1978), and started working for a living. I learned first hand that a most jobs for an 18 year-old high school graduate went nowhere without much more education.
My mother also instilled a sense of honor and duty to my country, and my love of America has always run deep. Like many patriotic Americans who can’t afford college, I joined the military to get a good education and skilled trade, while getting paid and defending our great country.
I enlisted in the US Navy in 1980. Shortly after boot camp, in January of 1981, Jeanne and I married. We will be celebrating 25 years of marriage this coming January and just recently had our marriage blessed. This wonderful woman has traveled with me all over this country, and is the love of my life.
I was trained in Electronics and as a Submarine Nuclear Reactor Operator. I was fortunate enough to have a knack for training others and spent most of my 8 years in the Navy on various training assignments. I also started college and university classes part-time, where I became very interested in computers. In January 1989, I was honorably discharged as an E-6, Petty Officer First Class in Charleston, South Carolina at the end of my second enlistment, with the wonderful anticipation of our first child.
Veronica was born in July of 1989 and now attends Enloe High School and helps on her father’s campaign. Ryan was born in 1995 and is a rising 5th grader at Fuller Elementary.
From 1989 to 1995, I worked for various government contractors (Bechtel and Westinghouse) supporting the US Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. In 1995 I was a manager in the IS Computer Department of a manufacturing plant. And in 1997, I started my dream job as a Computer Specialist with IBM. In 1997, after ten years of part time coursework, I finally received my Bachelors degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of the State of New York.
Since 1999, I have lived and worked from my home in Fuquay Varina for IBM. I am there when the children return home from school, so I can spend time with my family, my primary interest. I have some hobbies like genealogy, community web sites, and trying to get grass to grow in my front yard. We are parishioners at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Fuquay Varina.
Short Bio List:
- Born January 26, 1960 at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas
- Grew up in Excelsior, Minnesota
- Joined US Navy and served 8+ years (1980-1989)
- Married Jeanne in 1981
- Two Children: Veronica born 1989, Ryan born 1995
- Honorable Discharge US Navy as E-6 - 1989
- Government Contract work 1989-1995
- Computer Manager 1995-1996
- IBM since 1997
- Bachelors degree 1997
- Work from home in Fuquay Varina 1999-present
Ed’s Political History
My mother was and still is very involved in the Republican Party, first in Minnesota and now in California. So I had exposure very early to the political process, and have followed party politics all my life. While I was in the military, I exercised a personal belief that people in the service should not vote for the folks that would order them to war – so I did not vote.
After I left the military, it took a few years to register to vote, as I had babies and careers. When I did first register to vote in the early 1990’s, I registered as an Independent because I felt the Republican Party was becoming too rigidly conservative, but I was not ready to commit whole-heartedly the Democratic Party.
Over the years, I found myself drawn to the platform and candidates of the Democratic Party in South and North Carolina. This was a party that reflected both my progressive views of social justice and communities working together as well as my conservative views on responsible fiscal management of both taxpayer money and the government’s obligation to serve all it’s citizens well.
In 2004, however, I had a personal disappointment in the voting booth - there was no Democratic candidate for my district’s NC House Representative. I realized that until I joined the Democratic Party, I could not complain about the party’s lack of a candidate. I am now a registered Democrat, and I am offering the many Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans of Southern Wake County a real choice for who best represents them in the North Carolina House.
Why am I qualified to be your Representative to NC House of Representatives?
The founders of North Carolina knew the best government was by the people, and created a General Assembly of part-time citizen legislator’s. Representatives were to be the people’s friends and neighbors who traveled to Raleigh and spoke up for the folks back home. And while North Carolina has grown, the folks back home still need to be represented by their neighbor. I will speak up for my friends and neighbors here in Southern Wake County.
A good representative must also listen. We are a variety of folks, and everyone must know that their voice will be heard. I will listen and bring everyone’s voice with me.
A good representative must be trusted to make decisions that reflect the will of the people. I will stick to this principle above all – my votes and other actions will reflect the will of the voters of Southern Wake County.
Ed Ridpath’s Family History