My Story

I have always enjoyed paying attention to politics, but if you had told me a few years ago that I would mount a winning campaign from Colorado’s 5th Congressional District for the US House of Representatives, I would have laughed. I am just a regular guy living on the southeast side of Colorado Springs without a fortune to draw on to pay for my campaign. I married my wife because I want to spend time with her and raise our son together. My biggest life goal has always been to be a great husband and father. Being gone all the time in order to represent my community in Washington, DC was not part of my plan. But someone needs to stand up and say we’ve had enough. Let me tell you my story. It explains why I am the person to do it.

It starts with my dad. When he was a young man he dreamed of being a dairy farmer. He and my mom moved their young family from Southern California to west central Wisconsin where they bought a small run down farm. They wanted to raise their kids in rural America, be their own bosses, and live a pastoral American dream. I was born shortly after they arrived in Wisconsin and the savings they had intended to use to get the farm running went to raising me, my sisters, and brother. 

Dad returned to the trade he’d learned in California in order to pay the bills. He worked as a journeyman electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. This had him driving about an hour every day to Minnesota’s Twin Cities, or the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior at the western tip of Lake Superior when work was plentiful. When work was scarce, he would be gone all week in order to drive even further afield. He liked to say that to make a small fortune in farming you have to start with a large one. Frustrated at being unable to fulfill his dreams, he turned to alcohol to dull the pain. 

As a teenager I became involved in a youth group at a local evangelical church. The community I joined gave me a sense of security and belonging that my chaotic home was lacking. In times of crisis, I could turn to God and his people for strength. Knowing that I wanted a greater understanding of my faith I chose to attend the church’s Christian college in Chicago. I earned a bachelor of arts in Biblical and Theological Studies and later went to seminary where I earned a Master of Divinity degree. 

The natural next step was to become a pastor so I served a couple churches within my denomination. I loved the time it gave me to study and learn, but I started feeling professional ministry was not quite where I was being called. I left that behind and joined the workforce. I tried car sales for a while, but I was not very good at it. I hated the feeling that my income was based on getting as much profit as possible out of the buyer. 

I married the love of my life in 2013, started working at Costco, ran a youth group on the east side of Colorado Springs, and welcomed my son into the world in 2014. I wanted to be home more and, since I loved working with kids, thought maybe teaching was the right career for me. I completed the 2-year program at UCCS while teaching elementary school. 

In case you didn’t know, teaching is a really hard job. The pressure on teachers to adhere to a government mandated system to ensure the students are growing takes much of the joy out of the role. Teachers are not treated as professionals, but are micromanaged. It was hard but I put my all into it. An assistant principal once told me, “This job is killing you.” Finally, near the end of the 2023-24 school year, feeling completely adrift and burnt out, I left the classroom. While it no longer fits me, I love the teachers and administrators who are educating our children and preparing them to be the next leaders in business, industry, conservation, ranching, farming, and service.

I’ve taken my time since then to work out what it is that I am to do for work. To make sure I am supporting my family financially I started driving modified Jeeps and giving tours of the beautiful landmarks in Colorado Springs. In the process I’ve fallen in love with the area’s past and the people who keep its history alive.

Since giving nature tours is primarily a warm weather job, I took a position as a seasonal equipment operator working for El Paso County for the winter. Working with a bunch of great men and women on the asphalt crew, I helped fill potholes and cracks on county maintained roads, as well as picking up garbage and roadkill from the ditches.

In the process, I fell in love with the county and the people who make it great, too. I love the hard working tradesmen and women who keep our community running. I love the entrepreneurs and business leaders who build up our community through their visionary hard work just like General and Queen Palmer and Spencer and Julie Penrose did in their day. 

Unfortunately, I realized the politicians making rules and laws for us in Washington, DC do not really represent us. Why else would they vote to give massive tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires while adding to the national debt and cutting programs we depend on for our health, and that of the landscape we love? 

All my experiences have prepared me for this moment. I am going to win the next election for US Representative for north western El Paso County. I am going to represent all of us in Washington, not just the wealthy and well connected.

I believe in the power of compassion and empathy toward those who need a hand or simply want to be free to be who they are. I believe that, at its best, the government works to help all of us get the things we need to not just survive but to thrive. I believe that the government should be small and flexible enough to serve our needs, not that we should serve it. I believe the constitution guarantees our freedom to do and to be who and what we want to be and that it only works if it is defended and protected. 

I will need to hear from you in order to succeed as our representative. I will go all over our community meeting as many of you as I can and listening to your stories. What’s brought you to this time and place? What is most important to you? How can I help make sure what you value is conserved? I have to hear from you if I am going to serve you well. I have to hear from you if we are going to make our government work for us. I know that together, we will win.