I live in Bellingham, Whatcom County, and have two adult sons; the oldest, a graduate of Sehome High School and Western Washington University , is starting up his own culinary business in Seattle and the youngest is finishing school and looking to land his first real job. I love them both dearly and am proud of their accomplishments. Though their mother and I have divorced, we are the best of friends and we care about the future of our kids.

From seven in the morning until the middle of the afternoon, I work in the Finance Department of the Whatcom Transportation Authority, a local public transit agency serving most of the county. My primary function has been to assist in the process of purchasing goods and services from local vendors and suppliers, municipal and state governments and national manufacturers. I have also been a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 843 since 2002.

After earning a Master’s Degree in German from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1978, I moved to Europe and worked 11 years in educational institutions there in the capacity of an instructor and Director of Administration. As a small business owner, I worked independently as a professional technical translator of German and French to American English, primarily handling corporate and legal contracts, standard operating manuals, and patents.

In civic matters, I have focused most of my efforts toward reforming health care in the US, impacted by my extensive observations and real-life experiences with health care in European countries. As a board member of Health Care for All - Washington for the past six years and serving as its President since 2008, I have traveled extensively throughout Washington State, appearing in 69 events either as a guest panelist along with university professors, medical professionals and political leaders or as a featured speaker. I have also been invited to discuss state and national healthcare reform on numerous radio and TV programs.

Within the Democratic Party, I have also served as Chair of the Washington State Progressive Caucus from 2005 through 2007 and was elected as National Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000 and 2004 for Bill Bradley and Dennis Kucinich, respectively. Lastly, I was a State Committeeman for the Whatcom County Democrats for one term. In addition to this, I was also a board member of the Whatcom County Chapter of the Washington Conservation Voters for a number of years, where I promoted clean water and clean air.

Vote for me, Larry Kalb -- A REAL Democrat for a Change.

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"I was very impressed with Larry and we had good discussions. He listens AND processes what others say, but he also has a strong guiding light."

-- Jeff Bossler, Artist, Author, Landscaper, Orcas Island