9,009 VOTES ISN'T BAD FOR A ROOKIE
Dear Friends,  

Yeah, I'm disappointed. I put my heart, soul, and everything I had into this campaign because of the love I have for this community. However, I told myself in the very beginning that this run was, and always has been, bigger than myself individually. This campaign was about changing the perspective of how the rest of us, especially my generation, view politics; about encouraging others to care more about this community, to be passionate about making it better, inspired to step up and ensure that we continue our positive direction and growth. I told myself every day that whether win or lose, as long as I have inspired at least one person to step up and make this place even better, I've done my job. Excluding my own vote, 9,008 people believed in the vision of a "political newcomer." I take great solace in that and thank every single one of you for believing in me. 
I've spent the last 48 hours reflecting on the past five months of hard work. Thinking back, it's hard to believe Election Day has already come and gone. In reflection, I would like to leave you all with these thoughts from my perspective:

This entire campaign, while a constant test of my patience, composure and passion toward this community, has been an incredible experience. Running against such a formidable opponent like Cheryl Musgrave, even though she won, and congrats to her, I consider myself extremely lucky because I learned invaluable lessons from challenging a seasoned veteran politician. With Brenda Bergwitz, I was proud to have run in a race with a woman, who I now consider a friend, who showed respect for her opponents and instead of complaining or casting anonymous insults about our local government, had the courage to run based on her convictions. 
Sometimes it was a brutal test, teaching me to bite my tongue, take a deep breath (or 10), and remind myself of the bigger picture; to ignore the cheap wrath of the cyber bullies, to rise above the personal and vicious remarks, the biased "reporters," the pandering hypocrites who will say and do anything to advance their sole personal interests, and especially the "haters," who are such pathetic cowards that they sit behind their computer screen and belittle the people who are actually trying to make a positive difference this world. Is it true I bet they wouldn't say those things to my face?

I was tested daily to shrug it off and try my best to lead by example. The amount of venting Carol, Steve, Mandi, Brady, Kelley, Becky and Alissa had to listen to, well, they stuck through it by my side, and I'm sure I tested their patience as well. There was always a little voice inside that reminded me that in order to have a positive impact on this community, the irrelevant exposure, the hateful cowardice thrust at me, the hell I was going through, it was all worth it. 

Since I began to talk, I have been unapologetic about who I am, what I believe in and stand for, and that I am not perfect. In a world, not just in politics, full of pandering, massive egos, fake smiles and diversion tactics, I pride myself on being straightforward, genuine and real, and these past five months reminded me that I don't have to become jaded or cynical, there are still genuine people who are willing to open up and help make a difference with a positive attitude. 

This journey gave me daily reminders of the beauty this community still possesses and why it is that I have so much love for this place. Complete strangers would send me messages explaining that because I simply took the time to listen to them, to talk to them on the phone, or meet with them in person, that they were not only going to vote for me, but it would be the first time in their lives they would vote Republican. Most days my heart was overflowing with joy because of the people I had met and listened to, pouring out their own passion for this community. While I always enjoy telling people about this community and how great it is and can be, the best part of this campaign was making a personal connection with so many people. This wasn't a numbers game to me, it was about sharing my passion with others and making a positive impact on this community. 
My thanks go out first to my parents, Lori & Reed Schmitt. Not just because they gave up hundreds of hours of their weekends, evenings and full days to help their son achieve his dream, but also because without them, I would have never have had the courage, moral standards, community pride, kindness, love, tenacity and passion to even have this dream in the first place. 

Second, to Carol McClintock and Mayor Winnecke. While they both played an active role as a pair throughout this campaign, individually, they deserve thanks for the specific assets they brought to the table. Carol never stops. Ever. No one will ever be able to compare to the amount of energy, drive and passion expended by her to help me succeed in every single facet of this race, and I will never be able to fully repay her for everything she has unselfishly done for me over these past five months, and words will never fully suffice for the amount of gratitude I have for her. I've also learned to never suggest that she use an Excel spreadsheet.

The gratitude I have for Mayor Winnecke will also never be fully repaid nor adequately expressed. All I can ever do is try my best to make him proud and live up to the positive impact he believes I can have on this community. Aside from my father and two grandfathers, there is not a single person who has shown more about how to lead by example, to be positive in the face of the negative, to be honest, genuine and forthright, and care more about the success of this community than Mayor Winnecke. I'm not just basing that on his support of my campaign, but for the last four and a half years he has dutifully served the best interests of this city as our mayor. I have watched the progress and transformation he has made for our community, and done so with a smile and a positive attitude. It is because of Mayor Winnecke's positive momentum and genuine ability to work with others, that I decided this year was going to be the year I made my first run at office. Because of what he has inspired in me, I will try to inspire in others.

A huge thank you also goes out to my friends, family, donors and volunteers. It is because of how I was raised to care about this community and the prosperity of my neighbors, that I truly believe in the importance of being a civic leader. It is also because of them that my campaign operated so smoothly and professionally. The countless hours everyone gave up for me to make phone calls, go door to door, work the polls, help put up yard signs, providing the financial support, and everything in between, without them, none of this would have been possible. 

My friend, Kevin Spahn, also deserves recognition for being responsible for designing and creating my brand. We all know that I had an uphill battle with name recognition, and without Kevin generously creating such incredible logo and yard sign designs, my brand would not have stood out as greatly as it did.
Well, that is all I've got left to say. I'll be honest, although at times frustrating, I had a lot of fun during this campaign. I was able to meet people who have had great impacts on my life and future, I was able to share a bit of my passion for this community, and ultimately, I had an incredible purpose in my life, being part of a new movement, continuing our positive growth, and doing it all solely because of the love of my hometown. It's hard to believe it's all over, but trust me when I tell you, this campaign was just the tip of the iceberg; people have only seen a brief glimpse of what I have to offer and my passion for this community has grown even more. Just because my name will not be on the ballot come November, I'm not going anywhere. 

Like I said earlier, 9,009 votes isn't bad for a rookie.

Thank you to everyone who has played a role in my campaign!

Sincerely,
                                                    
Special Thanks to my Volunteers

Friends of Alex Schmitt 

             Josh Claybourn       Kelley Coures     Mike Duckworth      Mandi Feagley

         Alissa Fricke     Becky Kasha    Carol McClintock    Brady Hall   Anna Kelsey

       Pam Hight   Steve Schaefer    Mayor Lloyd Winnecke   Derek Adams, Treasurer

Volunteers

Jerome Stewart   Judy & Sally Beyers   Nick Jahn   Kenny Birk

Andrew Bailey   Phyllip Davis   Theresa Lloyd   Mindy Word   Chelsea Grose  

Councilman Justin Elpers   Joe Kratochvil
 
Michelle Mercer, City Council at Large   Marco Delucio   Mary Jo Kaiser

Wayne Parke   Kevin Harrison   David Guerrettaz   Nick Cirignago   Debbie Stevens

Andria Glenn   Allyson Breeden   Russ Lloyd   Kathy Murrell   Lisa Kelsey Moore
 
Haley & Nate Duckworth   Alissa Fricke   Julie Horner   Jaime Horner   Nathan Horner

Mark Lovelace   Isaiah Bolin   Kevin Harrison   Brad & Pam Hight

Gary & Susie Burdsall   Tom Gant   Alex Jarvis   Denise Phillips   Lori Hupfer  

Joe & Kayla Hurley   Brent Hargett   Ryan & Amy Cummins   Kevin Canterbury

Kyle & Brittany Attebury   Judy Pace   Kelly Pace   John Graybill   Kelly Gill

Tammy Waters   Kevin Spahn   Marsha Abell   Bill Fluty
  Special Thanks to my Sponsors

Hosts

Donna & Dr. Mark Logan    Toast   Lori & Reed Schmitt  

American Structurepoint, Inc.     Cindy & Tom Austerman   Shirley Schauss  

VS Engineering, Inc.   Pangea   Jason English   Terry & Ira Boots

Dr. Kathryn & Congressman Larry Buschon, MD

Carol McClintock & Mayor Lloyd Winnecke

Judy & Elmer Buchta   First Group Engineering, Inc.   Kim & Dan Hermann

Beth & Wayne Kinney   Betsy & Jeff Knight   Cindy & Bob Koch

Lochmueller Group   Three I Design   United Consulting  

Clare & Ted Ziemer

Co-Hosts

Terry Boren   Amy & Josh Barnett   Garland Cravens   Gail & John Dunn

Pam & John Guthrie   Barb & Terry Huber   Kayla & Joe Hurley

Michele & Art Klipsch   Julie & Ben Klipsch   Linda & Daniel Koch

Medical Staffing Solutions, LLC   Sheryl & Dale Moore   Sheri & Randy Schmitt

Annette Wright   Kathy & John Wright   Barnes & Thornburg, LLP

Kathy & Stephen Briscoe   David Childs   Clark Dietz, Inc.   JP Engelbrecht

Commonwealth Engineers, Inc.   HNTB Corporation   Becky & Ed Kasha

KC's Timeout Lounge & Grill   Theresa & Russell Lloyd, Jr.

Cory Mills   Jim Morely, Jr.   Powers Engineering, Inc.  Laurie & Mike Schopmeyer
Paid for and authorized by Friends of Alex Schmitt
P.O. Box 628, Evansville, IN 47704