After a detailed introduction of John Kanno, the curious Assyrians finally got their chance to hear from him. On the aesthetics level, the audience found Kanno a tall and slender man in his forties, impeccably dressed speaking in a softened British accent.

A twenty four year resident of Modesto, California, John Kanno’s roots go back to Habania, Iraq where his parents lived with their eight children. Shortly after Kannos’ migration to England, John as the ninth and last child was born. He worked for the Ministry of Defense where they sent him to school to study electrical engineering. In 1981, John migrated to the US and is a proud and patriotic citizen of this county. He was part of a state department funded project called, “The Future of Iraq Project” along with some 260 selected staff and one of only two electrical engineers assigned to the task of rebuilding Iraq. In March of 2003, one week before leaving to Iraq, the UN building where John was supposed to stay was bombed by the terrorists and the project was put on hold and John never made it to Iraq.

Though John takes pride in his fluency in Assyrian, he chose to conduct his speech in English as his dialect may not have been fully understood by some. He pointed out his stand on gay marriage, illegal immigration, guest worker program, second amendment, and homeland security. He firmly expressed his intention to represent all Assyrians, Chaldeans, Jacobites, and Syriacs in the US. He also gave his solemn word on lobbying for the safety and well being of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Jacobites, Syriacs, and other Christian minorities in the Middle Eastern countries. He insisted, however, that he would not work towards promoting any single organization’s agenda as he will represent the interest of all the aforementioned people. The speech was followed by question and answer session and nothing was off the limits. Everyone was encouraged to ask any burning question they had on their mind.

The Assyrian support was genuine and positive comments rampant. The evening came to a close after five hours of political exchanges and friendly interactions. The event was a great stepping stone for John Kanno. The patriotism and generosity of over 120 guests in Los Angeles not only generated nearly $25,000. at the final tally, it created an atmosphere of optism for the prospect of having an Assyrian who will promote the best interest of our beloved country, the Great United States of America as well as our people across the world. Hopefully, Los Angeles paved the way for all other organizations and associations to support John Kanno, California’s 18th district congressional candidate.