I am a lifelong resident of Warren for 32 years and a homeowner for 10 years. I am married to my wife Jennifer; we have a 3 year old daughter, Natalie. I graduated from Fitzgerald High School in 1995 and have remained in the community since.
For the past 9 years I've been employed with a major Telecommunications company and I am currently studying Business Administration at Baker College. I have been actively involved in state and national politics for around 13 years. I have primarily worked on state campaigns helping to go door-to-door, raising funds, chairing meetings, and working in phone banks.
I believe we need to reform our government to become more efficient and more transparent to Michigan's residents. We see where every dollar of our money goes in our personal finances, and I believe that as taxpayers we need to see where every penny of our state budgets goes, right down to the two-dollar light bulb used to help light an office desk.
We need to fight to keep jobs within our state and attract new jobs to Michigan. We need to boost economic development by cultivating an entrepreneurial culture and providing greater support for our states growing new economy of entrepreneurs. I will work to accomplish this by challenging Lansing to simplify the business tax, lower existing regulatory barriers and use tax incentives to encourage new business development.
We need to make sure that the teachers in our schools have the resources they need to give our children an excellent quality education. Reducing classroom sizes, measuring student achievement more broadly than through standardized testing and ensuring equitable funding across all school districts has to be a major focus. Having a superior education available from preschool through lifelong learning through collage and beyond is pivotal for us as a state to grow, retain and attract new talent to Michigan.
We need to focus on promoting energy conservation and become leaders in the research, development and manufacturing of alternative forms of energy. Converting to green fuels and alternative energy makes good environmental sense.
I believe that our elected officials are servants to the people. If I am elected as the 28th district State Representative, I am committed to maintaining contact with the District, whether it be through regular town hall meetings, e-mails or phone calls. One thing is for certain – you will always hear from me, never from somebody on staff. I am committed to working together on both sides of the political isle and putting interests above party politics. Our state legislators must do the same in order to help Michigan succeed.