Dear Councilman Abed,

I want to personally thank you for your willingness to serve as our Mayor and formally offer my endorsement for your candidacy.

My wife, Christina, and I moved here from Los Angeles in 2003 with our three children in order for me to attend Westminster Seminary. We have stayed because we discovered Escondido to be a charming place in which to invest ourselves as we raise our family and have quickly formed roots in this vibrant and family-friendly community. During our time here, we have come to appreciate your service to the community as a successful businessman and as our City Councilman. We are completely in support of your campaign platform – especially your desire to work toward a more fiscally conservative as well as smaller and more efficient City government that focuses on the core functions of public safety, public works, parks, and the local library.

As a former Marine Corps Officer and, more recently, a Lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department, I recognize the value of strong, competent, and ethical leadership from a consistently conservative foundation. I find in you just such a leader. Also, your commitment to integrity shines as a beacon in a time when we see more and more politicians finding great comfort in the increasingly dark shadows of the gray area, lost if you will, in the mire of mediocrity, confounded by a liberal morass of their own making, and navigating the political landscape with broken moral compasses. I also know you to be a tireless campaigner and a committed and honorable public servant. It would be an honor to assist you in your endeavor to become our City’s next Mayor. While we would very much like to contribute to your campaign, our finances will not allow us to do so that this time. However, I would like to offer my time, perhaps making calls and walking with and for you during the months and weeks leading up to the campaign. Please keep us informed of any events where you will be appearing as a candidate for Mayor, either fundraisers or debates, and we will make every effort to attend to show our support.

Fidelis et Paratus,

Ed Hale