Even though I’m running for office, I am not a politician.

I’m a mom of three kids and I want them to grow up in a world safe from gun violence, where climate change is being effectively addressed, and where my daughters have the same opportunities and privileges as my son.

I’m a writer. I’ve been living in the freelance working world, not in a political bubble. I’m not somebody who is beholden to any party or faction, and I don’t owe anyone a thing. I’m a civilian, in other words, and I have no patience for political games.

And I’m an activist, who 7 years ago helped start a group of moms who refused to accept our government’s inaction on this country’s epidemic of gun violence. When Moms Demand Action was first created in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook, we were a tiny group. We weren’t politically savvy—we weren’t even activists! I certainly wasn’t. But my oldest child was the same age as the children killed that day, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try to do something. So I took action on a local level to address a national issue, because that’s what I COULD do.

It felt small, just trying to organize a picnic to honor survivors of gun violence—and getting 10 people to show up. That doesn’t make a difference, right? Well, yes, it does. Because I kept on doing that sort of thing, and other people did, too, and over time we impacted the national conversation such that presidential candidates are talking about common sense gun legislation on the campaign trail. It was a third-rail topic even four years ago.

On the local level, we campaigned hard to flip the New York Senate blue, because the Democrats were the ones who were willing to take a stand on creating stronger gun laws in the state. Our goal in Nassau County for 2018 was to flip one seat; instead activists like myself were instrumental in flipping 3 seats and securing the majority. That new Senate passed nine gun laws within the first two weeks of session.

So I’ve seen firsthand the kind of change that a group of dedicated people can make simply by trying. And when I was approached to run for office in Nassau County, I realized that I could make change the same way.

Nassau County has a GOP machine so entrenched that when my grandma moved here from Brooklyn in the 1940s, the first thing her neighbors told her was that she had to join the Republican party if she wanted to take part in the area’s public life. When my mom was a teenager in the 50s, she was told to register Republican if she wanted to get a job. And even now, it’s understood that if you want a job in the public sector—whether you’re a teenager with a summer job as a lifeguard at the beach or a skilled laborer in the building trades working on a county contract—you’d better have an in with the Nassau Republican machine.

The corruption has been going on for so long and runs so deep that they don’t see it anymore—giving high-paying no-show jobs to friends and family seems normal to them. Using taxpayer dollars to bolster their political power seems normal. Bending the rules of democracy—appointing people rather than holding special elections, anointing candidates without ever holding primaries—this all seems normal to them. They think it’s how politics works. But it’s not how government is supposed to work, and it’s not what’s best for constituents.

This culture of corruption has, moreover, led to stagnation in the county government. The legislative majority opposes good government simply because it’s being proposed by a democratic County Executive. The old administration froze property reassessments and created a two-tiered system of taxation that is both untenable and highly inequitable, and it has put Nassau on the path to financial ruin if not addressed. We have had state oversight of our finances for almost 20 years, most of that time under Republican rule. The feeling in Nassau is that our taxes continue to climb, but our quality of life has fallen. The county legislature votes along party lines merely to keep power, to keep doing things the old way…and not to put the needs of the people over politics. We are desperately in need of a functioning government that works for the residents of Nassau instead of for a party. We need legislators who will ignore the old political wisdom in favor of a rational, common-sense approach that moves us forward again.

So why should you vote for me? The answer is simple. Back when I was planning picnics to try to have an impact on a national epidemic of gun violence, I began to understand that old saying, “all politics is local.” The work that I’ve done as an activist has had ramifications far beyond my county line or even my state line. It’s had ramifications across the country. Regular people, working together to do the right thing, can make real change. We need a real change in Nassau County.

And I know how to do that.