Marie Gluesenkamp Perez publicly goes by Marie, but her birth name is Kristina Marie Pérez. There is nothing inherently wrong with using a middle name or a different version of your name, but I’m seeing a pattern in the way that her story is always strategically selective, vague or exaggerated, and it raises a lot of questions.
Her congressional website says she “ran an auto repair and machine shop with her husband, Dean.” That’s it. Nothing more about it.
No business name. No location. No description of her role. No indication of the size of the operation. It allows her to establish the political identity she wants (small-business owner, mechanic-adjacent, working-class, understands trades) without giving the reader enough information for them to be able to actually evaluate it for themselves and discover that her campaign message doesn’t align with reality.
Marie’s image is designed to establish particular credentials. She’s shown us her insincerity time and time again, leaving out details that might complicate or contextualize her campaign’s narratives, such as her business’s location in Oregon.
So, what else is she hiding? And what other decisions has she made as our “leader” in the name of prioritizing self-interest and image protection over our communities?
In contrast, John Braun actually encourages his voters to do research on him and to evaluate for themselves. That confidence tells me this is a man who is being honest, upfront and genuine. That kind of openness is what will make voters feel a sense of security with their leader.
Marie relies on selective storytelling. John relies on truth. With every public statement, she somehow finds a way to avoid being direct and having to fill in the details. Nothing about her has ever been plainly clear, direct or detailed: her standpoints, her policies, her background, even her identity.
Who is this woman?
The contrast with John Braun is like night and day. His public statements and campaign website offers every detail about his background that we need in order to fully understand who he is and what kind of representative he will be. There is no mystery, skepticism or confusion.
There is no inconsistency.
That’s the difference voters should notice.
One candidate gives you the full picture. The other gives you a carefully packaged version and leaves you to do the digging. That difference matters to me. It reveals something bigger about who she is.
Voters deserve nothing less than trust and credibility from their representative. And that’s what distinguishes John from Marie.
Debbie Larner
Clark County
