Timothy Larson

NS Nation Name: Yaruqo
Character Name: Timothy Larson
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 45
Character Height: 5' 7"
Character Weight: 175 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job: U.S. Representative (D-PA-3) - Jan. 2019 - Present; U.S. Representative (D-PA-2) - Jan 2015 - Dec 2018; Member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives (D-182nd-Philadelphia) - Jan 2011 - Dec 2014
Appearance: Photo
Character State of Origin: Pennsylvania
Character State of Residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
Main Strengths: Local roots and strong financial backing from local community leaders, particularly those in the LGBTQ community, consistently progressive record, empathetic.
Main Weaknesses: Struggles balancing his focus on data driven policy with more progressive policies, a strong desire to make a name for himself, bachelor status has generated some tabloid juice, history of attempted self harm, depressive episodes, little legislative success.
Biography: Timothy Larson was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a working class family. His father was a middle school teacher, and his family was active in the local church community. He went to public schools within Philadelphia, and despite the environmental difficulties, he managed to get a 3.2 GPA and make a passionate enough case to get him admitted into Temple University in the fall of 1992, where he would pursue a BA in History and a Minor in Criminal Justice. While he was able to get into the university of his dreams, he had the uphill climb to pay for his tuition. His family could only pay so much to help him, so he worked two jobs, as a waiter and as a canvasser for a local chapter of an NGO to help him make ends meet. By the time he graduated, he was able to land a job with this NGO, advocating for the city to focus on improving the quality of life of its black community, from environmental issues surrounding air quality in black neighborhoods that had historically been redlined into industrial zones to a push for community policing. It was as a community organizer and advocate that Larson would strive to make a push into politics. In the 2003 Democratic primary, he ran for one of the At-Large seats of the City Council, but his campaign, as bold as it was, did not manage to secure enough votes to break through the threshold to make it onto the General ballot, due to the number of Democratic contenders - there were 10 other Democrats wrestling for only 5 At-Large seats. However, this setback would clear the way for another run for office seven years later, and it would begin with a personal setback.

By the time 2007 rolled around, Tim Larson had been keeping a secret from his family for the vast majority of his adult life. He hadn't known what it was, exactly, up until college...and after college, when it wasn't "just a phase." So, a 33 year old Tim Larson made the decision to come out as gay to his parents...and was disowned. He later attempted to take his life, before he backed out and called 911. While shaken up and depressed, he had not hurt himself too badly. The suicide attempt is not known to the public, and only a few close members of Larson's circle know about it. Meanwhile, his "chosen" family rallied behind him, and would help him through work, therapy, and, when he got well enough, encourage him as a dedicated member of the Liberty City Democrats, Philadelphia's LGBT Democratic club and a growing power in local politics, and would eventually rise to become one of its leaders. And in 2009, this would prove to help him as he would jump into the primary for the 182nd District's open State House seat as a history making candidacy: not just the first openly gay man to run for the seat, but the first openly gay black man to run for that seat. His candidacy did irk more traditional minded black voters, but his ground operation and his connections managed to give his candidacy the shot in the arm it needed. He would eek out a win in the 2010 Democratic primary, and since the 182nd was a safe Democratic district, he would go on to win the general election and make history in Pennsylvania. But the State House was...difficult, to say the least. Not for lack of trying, not by any means. But in a state legislature dominated by Republicans and with Democrats that were, at that time, still not fully on board with LGBT equality, the freshman legislator had trouble making many inroads in Harrisburg. He did champion progressive reforms, as one is wont to do, as well as partner with bipartisan initiatives to attempt to reform the judiciary into merit based promotions, rather than decided by elections. By the time that news of the 2nd Congressional District's Congressman was embroiled in a corruption scandal broke in 2013, Larson was ready to move on from Harrisburg. And where else to go but up?

With the LGBT community backing him in Philadelphia, as well as an assortment of progressive grassroots organizations and younger black voters, the primary competition against the embattled Congressman was eventually narrowed between Larson and the incumbent. It was here that Larson was able to shine and talk about all of the things that he wanted to do in Harrisburg, but now that he wanted to do in Washington: implement national nondiscrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation & gender identity; impose higher national standards on the use of force in policing and implementation of more comprehensive training; provide more funding to inner city and rural communities to develop viable healthcare and education infrastructure - and make it focused on tackling systemic inequalities that had historically targeted black and brown communities; provide more funding for R&D for green energy production and higher environmental standards; universal background checks and red flag laws; and, what ended up setting him apart from the Congressman on foreign policy, he wanted to end the 2001 AUMF, saying that "We have been involved in Iraq for 10 years on the basis of this authorization, and we have been embroiled in God knows how many other conflicts around the world. It is time that Congress seize responsibility and encourage a more responsible use of American military force, manpower, and treasure." The Congressman had, like many Democrats, voted for the AUMF against Iraq. With a corruption scandal in the backdrop, the primary went to Tim Larson. He would breeze through the general and would be the first openly gay black man to sit in the United States House of Representatives at the age of 40, in January of 2014. A member of the Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, among others, he'd butt heads with Republicans in committee and on the floor, sometimes to his detriment (not scandal worthy, but very much gaffes that could have been avoided). Of course, being 2014 and with Republican control of the House set to be maintained until after the midterm election of 2018, he would be unable to get much done, aside from try to shutdown attacks on the ACA and other progressive causes by the Republican House Leadership.

In the 2016 Democratic primary, he endorsed former First Lady Clifford, stumping for her in his native Philadelphia and going around the suburbs. After her defeat to now President Wolf, his positions hardened, after having dealt with what he construed to be bad faith Republican tactics now for his entire legislative career, from Harrisburg to DC. He would march with protesters in Philadelphia International Airport to protest against the Muslim ban, and he even engaged in a sit-in at the ICE Philadelphia field office with local protesters to demonstrate against the draconian tactics of the Wolf Administration in 2017. In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the congressional district map, and so Congressman Larson would end up running in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District of Pennsylvania (what it is now IRL), which was similar to his old state legislature district. Now, for the first time in his political career, he is returning to a Democratically controlled House of Representatives, and he intends to ensure that the march to progress isn't snuffed out. He currently has no political ambitions beyond the House, according to insiders.

Other Info: Has long since left his family's Pentecostal church, has been an Episcopalian since ~2008.
I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: Yaruqo

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