Former Lions safety Don Carey picks “craziest time” to run for office

[Roary]

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Former Lions safety Don Carey wants to help, and would love nothing more than to be in front of his people.

But with much of the country locked down because of the coronavirus outbreak, he’s having to conduct his campaign in a new way.

Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Carey is running for city council in Chesapeake, Va., a process which has been turned upside down like everything else in the world right now.

“This is probably the craziest time I could have ever picked to run for political office,” Carey said. “I can’t get in front of my constituents. I can’t, as they say, shake hands, kiss babies.”

Carey’s run for one of three open seats on the council is complicated by the fact the state of Virginia issued a stay-at-home order which runs through June 10. The election is May 5, which means he’s forced to keep his campaign in a new way.

“I’ll tell you what I’ve found in this political thing, I don’t care much for the politics of it, but I do love dealing with people, hearing the issues that matter to people and then getting something solved,” he said. “It’s tougher to hear those issues [now], so I’m left to tell people what I care about.

“But thankfully, I’ve been around enough and I’ve talked to enough people that I kind of get an understanding of what the different areas, different neighborhoods of the city are needing. And the things that I care about aren’t too far off or aren’t different at all than what the different areas already need.”

Carey said he first considered politics when he was working to help bring STEM programs to Detroit schools, and encountered red tape. Then-Lions coach Jim Caldwell put him in touch with former wide receiver and Oklahoma congressman Steve Largent, who helped teach him about the process of running for office.

And even though nothing about this is normal, he’s hoping for a chance to help his community.