(Good luck! – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Ok, so no one is exactly shocked to hear that today I’ve made it official but I wanted to come here to this blog to post it myself since the folks at Calitics have always been good to me.

I also wanted to post a little more about myself so that you understand why I’m running and why you should care about this race.

EDIT by Brian for space. See the flip.

With unemployment in Riverside County now at 13.2 percent – and growing – along with the fourth largest foreclosure rate in the nation, the families in my district clearly need a leader who is on their side and I’m committed to being that leader in 2010.

The current representative (Ken Calvert) voted against the interests of his own district when he chose to vote along strict party lines which meant he voted against the Stimulus Bill, even though it will bring more jobs to this district than any other in California.  He also voted against HR 1106 which will save countless homes right here in this district from going into foreclosure.

I have lived in this district for almost 30 years, raised my five children here, and both my wife and I have been educators in Riverside County for over two decades so I understand what families in our region are up against and every decision I make will be with their best interests in mind.

I originally threw my hat into the ring in 2008 because of a personal issue, the Iraq war.  I have two sons who, combined with their spouses, will have served a total of 10 deployments in Iraq by the end of the year.  Mr. Calvert was a champion of the ill-advised occupation of Iraq and continued to push for its continuation long after everyone else knew what a terrible mistake it had been.  I had children over there that were being directly affected by that partisan way of thinking and I wanted to be a voting voice on the side of reason in ending the occupation and bringing our troops home.

I also understand the burdens placed on military families when loved ones are serving overseas.  With lengthy and multiple deployments, soldiers and military families often face undue financial hardships. I don’t think most Americans realize that many service members and their families are actually living at the poverty level.  This is something I find unconscionable and will work on changing.

I have an uphill battle on my hands so I hope all of you will help me this next cycle.  In 2008, flying under just about everyone’s radar, I was able to win the Riverside portion of the district (totaling 80 percent of CA 44) by 4 percent and came within 2.4 percent overall of unseating a 16 year incumbent.  With expanded resources, help from the Netroots community and a strong voter registration effort, I am sure I can close the gap in 2010 and capture the seat.

For more information, visit my website at www.hedrickforcongress.com or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/billhedrick