Jay Ovittore

Election Day Starts TODAY at 6:30 a.m.

I'm going to be traveling across the state today to help get young candidates through their primaries and in position to win in November. Though I don't have a vote, I'm giving my time to bring new energy to North Carolina.

But I can't do it alone. An hour of your time can go a long way in these critical, low-turnout races. Please e-mail NCFarmTeam <:at:> gmail.com if you can spare an hour to GOTV for young candidates!

Why put your valuable time and energy into GOTV? The Farm Team Prospects need to be in the best position to win in November. Making it through the primary isn't enough. If you help them get the votes they need to win first place, you'll be putting them in the lead heading into November's elections. And with the General Election less than a month away, our candidates need every opportunity to build the momentum.

Tomorrow's the big day.

On Tuesday, many young candidates face a primary election in their efforts to bring new leadership to North Carolina. In addition to raising money to help out in the general election, the Grassroots Farm Team has been working to help these exciting Democratic candidates. On Saturday we were canvassing for Farm Team Prospect Gordon Smith and today we're asking you to give a couple minutes of your time today or tomorrow to help us Get Out The Vote in Tuesday's election. Please e-mail NCFarmTeam <:at:> gmail.com if you can spare an hour to GOTV for young candidates!

Filing has closed for those wishing to run for local office and three of our own will be on the ballots in different cities in North Carolina.

Gordon Smith, a long-time friend and front pager at BlueNC is running for city council in Asheville. Gordon has been blogging for years in Asheville and used to make very frequent appearances at BlueNC. After working to unseat Charles Taylor, Gordon's attentions were turned to helping other local candidates in Asheville and now to becoming a candidate himself. I know Gordon well enough to say Asheville will be lucky to have him serving on the city council.

So I lost my primary in May and then disappeared of the face of the planet. What have I been up to?

Well first and foremost, I took some time to breathe. Running a campaign is really the equivalent of going to the gym all day working out with heavy weights and reading quantum physics at the same time.

I also still had political responsibilities as a Human Relations Commissioner for the City of Greensboro. My dog in the fight for the last 6 months has been housing. A little back story for you...

So I snapped this pic with my phone this morning as it was the third shredded one I ran across while leaving Greensboro to head to work this morning.

Now I’m an old-tymer. I am well aware that yard signs are the most common victims of campaign violence. However, I was concerned when we received a phone call from a concerned voter who stated that there were Ovittore signs in a closet at an early voting site.

And the investigation begins.....

The editors of The Pilot in Southern Pines has made, in my opinion, the right choice in recommending that Democratic and Unaffiliated voters that vote in the Democratic Primary in NC-06 choose Jay Ovittore as their candidate to face Howard Coble in November, who they believe it will be "hard to dislodge".

I had the honor of representing Jim Neal at the Alamance County Democratic Convention today, and luckily, he showed up just in the nick of time so I could avoid the public speaking aspect of my surrogate duties (whew).

I'm sure I would have done just fine, but since I actually live in Alamance County, it's not like I could just fade away and never come back if I tumbled over a chair ala "America's Funniest Home Videos" or accidentally dropped an F-bomb while speaking. While they may not be as horrific as the nightmare where you show up at school naked, these things were playing in the back of my mind, nevertheless.

Here's our glorious and recently face-lifted courthouse where the Convention took place:

Veritas.

This Latin word for Truth is dead, but is its meaning? It very definition implies an honesty we rarely see in our own lives let alone in politics.