Chrys Kefalas: The Greek American hope from Dodecanese for the US Senate

It has been more than three years without a Greek-American in the senate, since Olympia Snowe’s term from Maine ended in January of 2013. That could change soon with Chrysovalantis Kefalas.
Kefalas, a 35-year old lawyer from Baltimore, hopes to run in the 2016 Senate race for the state of Maryland with the Republican party. The Greek-American had been the Deputy Speechwriter for the U.S. Attorney General between 2013 and 2014, after serving for almost six years as a Trial and Appellate attorney at the DOJ.
“I have the experience and the leadership necessary to renew the American Dream and to restore the middle class in Maryland and the US. I have served the people of Maryland my entire life and I am ready and able and have the right vision to do so again,” he said.
A senate race for a Republican in the state of Maryland is arguably a difficult task. In fact, the last time Maryland had a Republican Senator was 1987 with Charles Matthias. Kefalas however, believes that he is capable of working with people from both parties to advance Maryland and to restore what he sees as a weakened United States both internally and as a global power.
“I think that starts with restoring manufacturing in Maryland in the United States by addressing tax and regulatory policy that harms growth, that stifles investment and keeps America from leading the world in producing the next wave of innovations and opportunities for everyone in this country,” he said.
Foundation of the American economy
Manufacturing is a core part of Kefalas’s campaign. He has served as Vice-President of the National Association of Manufacturers since August 2014, something that he says allows him to work for an industry he calls the “foundation of the American economy” that touches everyone in Maryland and the U.S..
Manufacturers are not the only group of people he is interested in helping. Kefalas’ grandparents as well as his father are Greek and the Senate hopeful noted that with the exception of last year he has been visiting Greece for every year for the past 10 years to meet with his cousins on the islands of Rhodes and Karpathos. But ancestry is not only a matter of familiarity and pride for the candidate.
“We have 3 million people of Greek descent in the United States and not a single Greek-American U.S. senator. We are currently relying on others to represent our interest in the world’s greatest deliberative body and I think that is actually shameful. I think we as a community deserve and should have more say in our future. We should be able to have someone who is capable of fighting for our issues and our priorities,” he said.
A specific point Kefalas touched upon was Turkey and its record in human rights. He asserted that politicians talk about Cyprus and the problem of patriarchy. However he would work with people from both parties to create consensus to issues that our relevant not only for the Greel people, but people in a civilized world that seeks to advance human rights and religious liberty. As such, his presence in the Senate, woule be a “game-changer” in pressuring world leaders to move forward in these issues.
Marriage equality
Kefalas is a Greek Orthodox Christian. He has also been openly gay, a choice the Greek Orthodox church considers a sin. While, he claimed that he has never been asked by a voter who he loves, he does believe that having fought for marriage equality as a Republican demonstrates he has the moral courage and the willingness to lead when difficult decisions need to be made.
While the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage across the country in June 2015, Greece recently legislated a same-sex cohabitation agreement which gives same-sex couples certain legal rights. Kefalas viewed the legislation as a positive step for strengthening civil liberties in Greece.
The Greek Orthodox Church condemned the legislation while some individual clerics publicly bashed homosexuals in anticipation of the vote in parliament. Kefalas who is a faithful Orthodox Christian clearly has a different stance on the matter. However, he seeks to remind people that marriage equality is an issue that cannot change as quickly.
“I don’t think we can expect an institution that has been around for thousands of years to change overnight. Families do not change overnight,” he said.
In his view, people who share his conviction should be understanding of principled disagreements and seek to change minds.
Aside from the present, Kefalas notes that he draws inspiration from his Greek ancestry to push forward his campaign team.
“I continuouslly tell my team ‘let’s look at the example of my ancestors to forge a path for us forward’. It’s not necessarily a visible part of the campaign people see, but my campaign team hears it all the time,” he said.
Source: greekreporter.com
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
23/03 22:27
Greek battle ships dock at Piraeus port for public visits over Independence Day
23/03 22:18
23/03 19:55
Passenger traffic in Greek airports grows 53.3% in February compared to 2022
23/03 18:13
Fall in coronavirus infections and rise in flu cases in Greece on March 13-19
23/03 14:23
22/03 23:37
Priceless antiquities returned to the people of Greece at New York Consulate
22/03 22:42
22/03 21:46
Greek summer school organized in Peloponnnesian city of Kalamata in 2023
22/03 18:52
Downtown Athens traffic restrictions imposed for Greek Independence Day parades
22/03 17:31
ABNA-SE conference concluded with general assembly in Thessaloniki
21/03 23:17
UNWTO organizes tourism statistics workshop for Asia and Pacific in Nepal
21/03 23:00
Calilo Resort on Ios: A Greek hotel in the 11 most sustainable hotels in the world
21/03 22:21
HRADF inks Igoumenitsa Port share purchase deal with Grimaldi-led joint venture
21/03 16:15
19/03 14:10
UNWTO launches new Women in Tech startup competition across the Middle East
19/03 14:07
Greek president attends memorial march for Thessaloniki Jews killed in Holocaust
19/03 09:14
Greek Minister: Relaunching railway services key to restoring public's confidence
18/03 14:07
FM launches official campaign of Greek candidacy for UN Security Council
18/03 13:37
18/03 13:28
Greek Tourism Minister forecasts that 2023 will be a very strong year for sector
18/03 09:02
Greek Minister meets visiting Israeli minister of science and technology in Athens
17/03 23:10
Passenger traffic rises in Greek ports but cargo drops in Q3 2022
17/03 16:09
17/03 15:04
China and Greece join forces to create mutual learning model between cultures
17/03 12:14
Τhe new minimum wage set by Greek government at 780 euros as of April 1
16/03 21:37
Walk against discrimination 2023 to take place at Syntagma Square on March 21
16/03 19:30
Central Athens road traffic restored after rallies and transport strikes
16/03 19:12
Athens Half-Marathon to affect traffic in and around downtown Athens on Sunday
16/03 14:17
Greek state budget recorded primary surplus of 4.201 billion euros in Jan-Feb
16/03 14:12
FinMin: Greek banks able to absorb any turbulence from global markets
16/03 14:03
IATA and Afroport Mauritanie ink agreement on ground handling safety
16/03 13:07
15/03 13:59
Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino opens this summer in Peloponnese of Greece
14/03 23:09
Greek mining enterprises planning to invest 300-400 million euros in 2023
14/03 20:41
Public transportation in Athens halted partially by 24-hour strike on Thursday
14/03 20:19
14/03 19:15
Nominations open for 2023 IATA Diversity and Inclusion Awards in aviation
14/03 19:02
Health Minister: Greece lifting Covid measures with some exceptions
14/03 18:52
UNWTO Best Tourism Villages ceremony focused on tourism for rural development
14/03 17:33
Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air cancel all flights in Greece on Thursday
14/03 13:06
7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum in Thessaloniki on April 25-26
14/03 12:11
Hellenic Train: Buses to transport passengers for free on certain routes from March 15
14/03 12:00
Thessaloniki Urban Transport employees annunce 24-hour strike on March 16
14/03 00:10
Hellenic College - Holy Cross full accreditation reaffirmed by NECHE
13/03 23:23
75th Anniversary of Dodecanese unification marked on March 12 in Astoria
13/03 22:33
Greek Transport Minister and railway unions meet on safe restart of train services
13/03 19:18
UK’s Prime Minister rules out return of Parthenon Marbles to Greece
13/03 16:49
Hellenic Republic President: Cyprus top national priority of Greek foreign policy
12/03 14:23
British Museum head on solving 200-year-old dispute with Elgin Marbles
12/03 14:20
Greek unions call 24-hour national strike on Thursday over Tempi train crash
12/03 14:05
Summer tourism season kicks off in Greek island of Rhodes earlier than ever
12/03 13:11
Athens metro stations closed as protest rally is held over Tempi train collision
11/03 21:05
11/03 19:05
UNWTO marks Best Tourism Villages ceremony in AlUla of Saudi Arabia
11/03 17:15
Huawei VP CEE & Nordic Europe Region: Greece is a valuable market
11/03 13:27
UNWTO report on methodologies and tools to measure greenhouse gas emissions
11/03 12:58
GWTO head: Greece among most promising emerging wine tourism destinations
11/03 10:13
New Cyprus President to visit the Greek capital Athens on March 12-14
11/03 09:48
Hellenic Statistical Authority: Greek trade deficit fell 21.9% in January
10/03 20:20
Tourism's potential centered at LDCV, UN conference on least developed countries
10/03 19:24
Panhellenic Exporters Association: High Greek exports growth to continue
10/03 18:33
Construction commences on 'Giannis Antetokounmpo' BB court in Ghana
10/03 11:12
SKY Express offers free flights for Athens-Thessaloniki students
09/03 23:09
UNWTO and Saudi Arabia join forces to promote education and training in tourism
09/03 21:46
09/03 20:20
UNWTO: New report to support climate action in the tourism industry
09/03 13:45
Natural gas prices for households in Athens dropped 23% during February
09/03 02:13
Feminist organizations rally in downtown Athens for International Women's Day
09/03 00:18
The UK’s National Theatre staging Homer’s epic Odyssey across England
08/03 23:29
08/03 22:37
International Air Transport Association releases 2022 airline safety performance
08/03 22:06
Railroad employees to continue strike action in Greece through Friday
08/03 20:47
Archbishop of Greece meets with visiting Pakistani Shia Muslim leader in Athens
08/03 20:36
SNF Institute for Infectious Disease Research founded at Rockefeller University
08/03 18:53
Europarliament's Civil Liberties Committee completes two-day visit to Athens
08/03 17:01
UN World Tourism Organization: Women take "centre stage"in sector development
08/03 00:46
EU officials to discuss railway safety and modernization in Athens on Wednesday
08/03 00:13
07/03 22:29
Greek PM asks shipping minister to increase security on ships ahead of Easter
07/03 21:25
Athens mass transport to operate on limited schedule during Wednesday's strike
07/03 20:39
Founder of company renovating Athens’ Archaeological Museum wins ‘Architecture Nobel ’
07/03 20:28
IATA: Disjointed EU PLACI roll out risks customs clearance delays
07/03 19:42
Three Athens Parthenon fragments returned to Greece at Vatican ceremony
07/03 16:20
Media: ‘Modern Elgin’ arrested trying to steal pieces of Athens Acropolis
07/03 14:16
06/03 22:47
Hellenic Cables and IPTO ink deal on Lavrio-Serifos and Serifos-Milos interconnection
06/03 22:06
Melina Mercouri exhibition organized at Elefsina, European Capital of Culture
06/03 20:38
Lamda Development signs deal with TEMES for joint development of hotels in Ellinikon
06/03 18:24
24 hour general strike to affect transport across Greece on Wednesday March 8
06/03 17:43
IATA slams disjointed EU PLACI roll out risks customs clearance delays
06/03 16:02
AHEPA honored at Hartforf and visits UConn’s Hellenic Studies Center Paideia
06/03 15:51
European Union promises to modernise Greece's railways and improve safety
05/03 23:59
Cyprus port of Paphos wins EU 2023 European Capital of Smart tourism competition
05/03 15:54
Tripadvisor: These are the two Greek beaches among the World’s top-25
05/03 15:47
Associated Press report: Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas
05/03 15:43
05/03 15:40
Moving concert tribute to legendary Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis in Astoria
05/03 15:35
Violent demonstrations and incidents in central Athens square of Syntagma
04/03 23:35
Global aviation challenges mandatory flight reductions at Schiphol Airport
04/03 23:34
New Minister of Agriculture calls for hard work in face of challenges in Cyprus
Greek battle ships dock at Piraeus port for public visits over Independence Day
UNWTO launches new Women in Tech startup competition across the Middle East
Downtown Athens traffic restrictions imposed for Greek Independence Day parades
Fall in coronavirus infections and rise in flu cases in Greece on March 13-19
Passenger traffic in Greek airports grows 53.3% in February compared to 2022
Greek summer school organized in Peloponnnesian city of Kalamata in 2023
Priceless antiquities returned to the people of Greece at New York Consulate
ABNA-SE conference concluded with general assembly in Thessaloniki
Founder of company renovating Athens’ Archaeological Museum wins ‘Architecture Nobel ’
Media: ‘Modern Elgin’ arrested trying to steal pieces of Athens Acropolis
Greek Infrastructure & Transport Minister resigns over Tempi train crash
Public transportation in Athens halted partially by 24-hour strike on Thursday
BoG: More than 26.4 million tourists visited Greece in the first ten months of 2022
Greek Minister presented with Austria's Grand Cross, country's highest honor
Greek Deputy Foreign Minister meets with new Egyptian ambassador to Athens
Outgoing British Premier Boris Johnson continues Greek holidays (video)
Central Athens road traffic restored after rallies and transport strikes
China and Greece join forces to create mutual learning model between cultures
Greek Tourism Minister forecasts that 2023 will be a very strong year for sector
17th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival launches Global Greek Film Initiative
Minister: Some 900 rallies and marches were organized in Athens in January-August 2022