Get to know Charles Nana, Democrat running for Alabama U.S. Senate seat

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Charles Nana for Senate

11 Republicans and eight Democrats will officially move forward to their party’s August 15 primaries to vote in the Alabama special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate

With a little over three months until voters head to the ballots, AlabamaToday.com is inviting all of the candidates, including appointed-incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, to complete a questionnaire we believe offers an interesting, albeit, thumbnail sketch of who they are and why they are running. If you are a candidate and would like to complete the questionnaire, email Elizabeth@ALToday.com.

Today’s candidate spotlight features Charles Nana, who’s running for office to demand leaders tell the truth, and to revive the American tradition “of love and compassion.”

Here he is in his own words:

  1. Significant other? Kids? I’m married to Florence and we have three boys: Nanda (17), Wanci (15) and Kedy (12). Florence is a medical doctor and board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious diseases.
  2. Education background? I am the first of 14 children and the first to obtain a college degree in my family.
    1. Bachelors Mechanical Engineering, Howard University, Washington D.C.
    2. Masters of Science, Biomedical Engineering, Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.
    3. International MBA, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL
    Professional Background?
    1. GE Plastics, Parkersburg, WV: Technical Leadership Program
    2. GE Silicones, Waterford, NY: Technical Leadership Program
    3. GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
    4. GE Capital- Employers Reinsurance Corp., Overland Park, Kansas: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
      Accenture Consulting, Washington D.C.
    5. Lean Six Sigma Master Black belt & Business Transformation Expert  US Steel, Birmingham, Ala.: Master Black Belt, Operational Excellence Expert
    My career in Engineering and Management Consulting has been about problem solving and developing solutions to all types of business challenges. I have been called upon to do the same for the great state of Alabama.

  3. What was your first job? Production & Reliability Engineer: GE Plastics in Parkersburg, WV. My primary role was to ensure machines and production lines were kept running at full capacity.

  4. In 25 words or less, why are you running for office? 
    A)    Bring Fresh New Wind of leadership & pay worker livable wages they deserve
    B)    Demand leaders tell the truth & revive our tradition of Love & compassion

  5. Did you speak with anybody in your political party before deciding on running? Receive any encouragement? From whom? Spoke to many democrats who encouraged me to run again for US senate as well as offer their support.

  6. Who do you count on for adviceIt depends on the subject matter; however, I have an array of individuals both formally and informally that I go to for advice.

  7. Who is your political consultant? Campaign manager?

  8. Who was the first person to contribute to your campaign? Why did they donate? My son was the first to donate to my campaign. He donated because he strongly believed in me.

  9. Who, if anyone, inspires you in state government? I was inspired by Nelson Mandela: Despite the unflattering past of our great state of Alabama, I strongly believe I could have a similar transformative impact in the state as Nelson Mandela had to the world. He constantly challenge the process and status quos thereby creating a whole new generation of political leaders

  10. Why do people mistrust elected officials and what are you going to do about it? People mistrust elected officials because most can’t tell the truth or live by the truth. If elected, my first priority would be to emphasize the requirement for honesty in leadership. I would support zero tolerance legislations that would force elected officials out of office if caught in a lie.The heart of our democracy is about entrusting elected officials to do what is right but unfortunately, children in Alabama have been deprived of role models at multiple levels: A president who continually lies and a governor who lies and will not tell the truth. American children are wondering when lies and dishonesty have become part of our success values? They can’t count on our president as a role model, they can’t count on our governor, and they can’t count on the speaker of the house either…… where then, do we expect our children to seek role models?
  11. What are 3 issues that you’re running on? (Please don’t simply say “education” or “improving the schools”)
    1.  Demand our leaders tell the truth & live by the truth. Revive our moral traditions of Fairness, Truth and Compassion
    2. Pay workers livable wages they deserve with a minimum of $15 per hour. No one should work fulltime and still be poor
    3. Fight against tax and trade policies that funnel our prosperity to the wealthy few
  12. What is a “disruptive” issue (i.e. ride-sharing) you are interested in?

  13. Who was the best governor in Alabama’s modern history? The best Alabama governor for Democrats was Robert Bentley. He was a “family value” republican governor who could not tell the truth even when his entire career depended on it.  Democrats had a unique opportunity to impeach and prosecute governor Bentley, but unfortunately, he was allowed to resign and walk away. Had democrats prosecuted him, their odds would have increased significantly in capturing the governor’s office in 2018 elections.

  14. Are yard signs an important part of campaigning in your district? Yes.
  15. What’s the first thing you read each morning? I read political news on online.

  16. Where do you get your political news?  I watch CNN almost exclusively.

  17. 60 Minutes or House of Cards? 60 Minutes.
  18. Social media presence? Twitter handle? Facebook but very light on Twitter.

  19. In 140 characters, what’s a Tweet that best describes your campaign message. It’s time for a New Fresh Wind in Alabama leadership. Pay workers livable wages they deserve and love thy neighbors as thy selves.

  20. Hobbies? Watching Movies and Soccer games.

  21. Favorite sport and sports team? Soccer and Chelsea, English premier league.

Some questions were left blank by the candidate.