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Thank you all so much for being here.
I speak for my entire family when I say that we truly appreciate you all coming
out to Clyde's this afternoon.
The rain held off...Its absolutely beautiful to be here in Columbia today.
For those you don't know me, I am the eldest Kittleman child and
I have the pleasure of giving you a little description
about a man some know as Senator Kittleman...Mr. Kittleman,
Allan, um..I know him as Dad. It is going to be
very difficult to give you this description in such a short period of
time.
But, I'm gonna try my best to give you a nice snapshot
what it's like to have Allan Kittleman for a father. My dad...he
is light-hearted; he is slow to anger.
He is quite the comedian of the family. He
is the one who rushes
to the tallest roller coaster at the theme park...he is leading the way
We
live on a family farm and when the pond froze over
he in my grandfather rushed us all over to Play-It-Again sports
so we could buy used ice skates. On Saturdays one of his favorite things to
do is to play at trivia
at Jilly's in Ellicott City. Our team is K-9
and on Sundays at 9 o'clock, he has to be home - he rushes home
so we can watch your favorite TV show The Walking Dead
together. And finally um
he's the one who gave all us are
ridiculously embarrassing nicknames. For the past 21 years
my nickname has been Haley Baley Pumpkinhead.
(laughter) By his
example though, in addition to be and awesome
and awesome father and adding so much fun to our house
um, he has taught my siblings and me so many
valuable lessons and values. I know I'm the open minded women
I am today because my father. He also
is the one who taught us to pursue
our interests. Last year I graduated from Duquesne University with a degree in
history
and a degree in Latin.
Here I am today almost done my first year teaching at
Glenelg High School, my alma mater on teaching Latin
(applause)
And finally, the one thing I want to talk about is that he has taught us
the importance of faith and family.
Talking from experience, I know that my dad no matter where he is or what he's doing
if he finds out that one of his kids is having a hard day
or if I am feeling sad...he's gonna drop everything -
I mean everything and go see them. Even if they are a four hour
car ride away. (tearing up)
Last year at Duquesne University, Duquense is located in Pittsburgh for those of you who don't
know
- a four hour car ride away. And last year was my last semester at Duquesne and I was
feeling
extremely homesick and I called up my family -
my mom and my Dad, and talked to him on the phone crying saying how much I missed home and how
much I wish
I could be home. Little did I know that after my dad hung up
he turns my mom said "I'm ready..Let's go!"
Three and a half hours later I got a phone call from my parents asking
what my plans were for dinner that night... They drove
three-and-a-half or four hours, have dinner with me in Pittsburgh,
and they drove right back home! I mean that is my dad for ya!
That's my dad...he will do
anything and everything he can for his family.
I have grown up in a very political household has some of you may know
and for the past 21 years I have seen him
in politics and I mean
probably by age 2, I was folding up literature and licking envelopes...
by age 5, I'm sure I was sporting every single
political t-shirt I could at the polling centers
on Tuesday. You have to understand, Election Day for the Kittlemans...
It's a holiday! We are not sleeping in on Tuesdays.
I remember when I was in elementary school
...or even middle school, I was begging my dad to let me wake up at 5
or 5:30 in the morning so I could go out um
and greet all the early morning voters. In high school,
when they brought all the seniors and to register to vote
I'm sure I was probably the most excited student sitting there in that
auditorium
I could not wait to finally register to vote
and that's all because of seeing my dad involved in politics.
I've seen him as a Central Committee Member, a Councilman.
I've seen him as a Senator and it is just so
obvious how much you loves the political process.
He loves the the debates. He love serving the public
and he loves this County. He loves Howard County.
And..without a doubt, he is a proven independent leader
and I think he is best person
for the job
of County Executive.