Sarah Riggs Amico - A Woman with a Cause

Today marks the launch of “Liberty Lunch,” which is season two of my podcast “Lunch with Stormy.” When I was deciding where to focus this season, I kept circling back to politics, partially because I am in the midst of my first political run, and mostly because it is such a hot topic nationwide.

Sarah Riggs Amico, the former Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor in Georgia, was high on the list because she’s fascinating and has a unique story. She didn’t set out to enter the political realm, but when the opportunity presented itself, she instinctively realized that sitting on the sidelines was no longer an option. She was raised in a tight-knit family with a humble origin story, but they persevered, worked hard, and were able to achieve The American Dream, something which seems like it is sliding out of grasp for a lot of families in this country.

Many of us think of The American Dream as amassing great wealth, or achieving the 1%, or even finding stardom. But what if it meant living your life with freedoms of religion, love, parenting, opportunity, etc? What if it meant being able to provide for your family without having to stress about being homeless? Or worried that if you get sick you couldn’t afford healthcare? What if the American Dream meant acceptance and accountability for anyone by everyone? Our society may be too splintered for everyone to feel that responsibility, but that too is part of our freedom.

Sarah embodies these ideals and she also fights for them! Simply by raising her hand, she’s

been able to bring her narrative to the forefront by saying yes when life presented her with pivotal moments. It isn’t about the fact that she chose to get involved in politics, it’s that politics is one of the many opportunities that crossed her path, and she said YES. As a result, she has run for office twice, and although she didn’t win, she has utilized her platform to talk candidly about the issues. And now she’s channeled her energy into empowering other women to run for office through a PAC called Our American Dreams. Their goal is to amplify the voices of progressive female Georgians running for office.

I’ve publicly said the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever done is run for office. It can be extremely uncomfortable, particularly because most of your time should be devoted to fundraising. In fact, that’s what most candidates are doing. Dialing for dollars... I still can’t get my head around that. I’ve had people tell me that I need to be making 50 calls a day asking for dollars. In fact, incumbents spend most of their time campaigning for a re-election. This is truly a sad reality of public service. The amount of nationwide dollars going into campaigns is staggering. I don’t like it, I’m not good at it, it makes me uncomfortable and yet, here I am, doing it.

While campaign fundraising is the number one thing candidates are most likely working on, Sarah reminded me that it matters, win or lose. The participation matters and I believe her. Running as an open cannabis advocate, a single woman who walked away from an extremely successful career in an extremely conservative state as a Democrat, matters. Even if you lose. Because raising your hand puts you in the conversation and win or lose, that counts.

My conversation with Sarah was a reminder that if your head is in the right place, with the right intent, and you can keep it there – the sky is the limit in the path it may take you. Even if it doesn’t take you to the end of the particular path you are walking, doors open, your mind opens. You can

change paths, even while beating the same drum.

Kudos and the best wishes to Sarah and all she does, which will most likely benefit us all. Because that’s just who she is. Check out Sarah’s new PAC called Our American Dreams PAC by clicking HERE.