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The Sinclair for Congress campaign held the official Kickoff at the Tazer Valley Farm in Stanwood on Sunday afternoon, 13 June 2004. State Representative Barry Sehlin warmed up the crowd and introduced Suzanne. Here's the message Suzanne delivered to a warm reception:

Who represents you?

In October, 2002, Rick Larsen refused to authorize President Bush’s use of necessary force against Saddam Hussein. Did he represent you?

Were you not proud of our nation and her military men and women when we pulled Saddam Hussein out of his hole in the ground? If Rick Larsen had his way, we would never have seen it.

When Rick Larsen voted for amendments that would have put our men and women in uniform under UN control, did he represent you?

Or did he represent you in May when he voted against making the Bush tax cuts permanent? Rick Larsen has already talked about “rolling back” the Bush tax cuts. I love the “rolling back” part – it makes him sound like a Wal-Mart price buster.

Did he represent you in March, 2003, when he voted against enacting medical liability reform? Reform that would protect you against damage by negligence, but fight the skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice insurance that is driving doctors out of Island County and out of business?

I will represent you when I vote to make President Bush’s tax cuts permanent. These tax cuts are working, we’re experiencing solid economic growth again. Raising taxes does not help the economy.

Suzanne ticked off the crucial differences between her ideas of representation and Larsen's.

I will represent you when we work to improve the prescription drug benefit for Medicare. Prescription drug coverage will help strengthen the quality of care available to senior citizens. I will work to bring fair Medicare reimbursements to Washington, and keep health care accessible.

I will represent you working to bring fairness back to lawsuits. Negligence and malpractice suits are supposed to bring compensation for damages and loss. They have become “lawsuit lottery.”

I will represent you by voting against a government-run, universal health care system. This is actually being proposed by Washington Democrats. Turn to the person next to you and say these words, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you.” Check the reaction.

I will represent you by supporting businesses because prosperous businesses create a prosperous community – keeping taxes low, helping lower the cost of employee benefits, improving transportation, fighting onerous regulations. By working with Washington state officials and to improve the business climate in our state.

I will represent you as we work to keep our oceans and Puget Sound healthy, using solid science and sensible guidelines. Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean support our tourist industry, our fishing industry, shipping industry, and our military.

My mom taught foreign languages in a Toledo, Ohio, high school. She and my father were divorced when I was three, and she raised my sister and me on her own. My mom believed that all things were possible. Never limit your vision. I went to DePauw University as a scholarship student.

My mom taught me that learning never stops and no matter where you are or who you talk to, you can learn something if you’re paying attention. I had a part-time job as a waitress – I learned about portion control. I worked as an assistant to the producer at the Indiana Repertory Theater – I learned that big egos accomplish little, and that the stars who shone brightest treated everyone with respect. I was a full-time mom – I learned how to gauge fevers with my palm and I learned about myself in the mirror of my children.

I went to Central Washington University and became a CPA. I passed the four part exam in one sitting, and I mention that because, yes, I’m proud of that. Not everyone does it.

My mom taught me to stand on my own two feet and to think for myself. She – and my grandmother and grandfather – taught me the history of my family and the history of my country. My family taught me that words on paper can be moving and eloquent, but that it is the idea and ideal of liberty that we hold in our heart that makes us Americans. This is what we must guard jealously, not just for ourselves, but for America’s future.

I see the United States at a crossroads. We were very evenly divided in the last Presidential election. There are many threats to America. Some are obvious – terrorists, but some are not. The balance in favor of freedom is perilously close. And that is why I wanted to run.

Our country is a nation of communities, but it is not communal. We must work to keep America strong, preserve the rights of the individual, limit government intervention in our lives, and guard the idea and ideal of liberty, so we will always be the “shining city on the hill,” and a beacon of freedom to the world.

Thank you.