Congressional Candidate Pounds the Pavement/Traffic reporter turned politician walks the distance from L.A. County to San Francisco

Congressional candidate hopeful David "Dr. Roadmap" Rizzo walks 400 miles -- wearing out three pairs of shoes and losing 15 pounds in the process -- to knock on the doors of 14,000 Southern California voters.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA (PRWEB) February 9, 2004--Congressional candidate hopeful, David Rizzo, announces today the achievement of covering 400 miles (roughly the distance between the northernmost edge of Los Angeles County and the city of San Francisco) on foot while walking door-to-door to meet voters within California's 44th congressional district. In the process, Rizzo claims to have knocked on the doors of 14,000 homeowners, hoping to convince them to elect him as the Republican nominee on March 2, 2004.

Rizzo hopes to unseat the four-term incumbent, Ken Calvert, for the district that includes the cities of Riverside, Corona and Norco, then hop-scotches over the Cleveland National Forest to encompass San Clemente and much of San Juan Capistrano.

Hundreds of square miles are involved, and given that the average population of a congressional district hovers at around 660,000, most candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives can be forgiven for not "walking the district." But Rizzo is a man on a mission. His marathon march begin promptly on September 30 and has continued almost unabated every weekday since.

"Being the underdog, I knew I had to meet voters face-to-face to demonstrate my dogged determination to introduce myself and hear their concerns," says 52-year-old Rizzo, an L.A. native who currently resides in Fullerton, Calif. "In the process of walking five miles a day for almost five months, I've worn out three pairs of dress shoes and lost 15 pounds."

Rizzo adds that his wife wants him to slow down and take time to eat more meals while on the road.

"I'm afraid my mother-in-law will think that I'm doing a lousy job of taking care of her son, but he is so driven, he'd rather stuff campaign envelopes than stop to eat," laments his wife, Lorie.

A man of many hats -- doctor of podiatric medicine, real estate broker, television cameraman, junior-college instructor, and technical writer -- Rizzo feels that his expertise as a traffic expert offers the most benefit for those residing in the district. Better known as "Dr. Roadmap"-- via five years of traffic reporting on several radio stations, 250 commuting columns, and as author of a popular commuting guide -- Rizzo's focus on solving traffic problems stems from his belief that local issues are just as important as national issues.

"As the late Speaker of The House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill, astutely pointed out, 'All politics is local,'" notes Rizzo. "In almost every poll, the ills of traffic congestion continuously rank near the top of concerns by Riverside and Orange County residents. A multi-car pile up on the eastbound Riverside Freeway at 5:30 in the afternoon affects them far more than a bomb going off in the Middle East."

With a credential from UCLA in transportation demand management, three-years' experience as a ridesharing consultant, and two "ridesharing" certificates from the local air quality district, Rizzo is quite prepared to work on local traffic congestion problems.

"People ask me why I want to get into politics," laughs Rizzo. "I respond that I don't want to get into politics; I want to solve freeway-gridlock, and the best way to do that is get into public service."

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