My involvement with public service was early. I was a College Republican at SCSU including a year as Student Government President. After college I felt I needed a skillset prior to pursuing public office. I took my degree in accounting and became a CPA for six years with KPMG and Deloitte. Great places to start.
In 1996, not wanting to work for someone else, I founded a web development and marketing agency. The firm employed 12 in our community. After 17 years I exited and semi retired at 45. I like to work. I still do web and marketing work and fractional CFO work.
I married at 45 and started a family with my wife Laura. We have three children, 2, 4 and 6. Finn, our oldest, is in first grade at Westwood Elementary.
My political journey is complex. I was a Republican for 30 years. My dad was diagnosed with Parkinsons at 59 and needed to leave the workforce. He was in a donut hole for healthcare coverage. He said "I paid in for 35 years, never used it, now when I need healthcare I can't get it. I hope your generation can fix this."
At the time, 12 years ago, the Republicans didn't want to have a conversation about healthcare. I was a fiscal conservative. I tried running as an endorsed DFL candidate in 2012. That was a mistake. I was naive. The DFL party did not agree with my small government approach. And today's DFL is much too progressive. I failed. Which means I learned.
Frankly, I'm not comfortable with the extreme left or right. The progressives on the left and the nationalists on the right are not healthy for our country. The two party system is a failure.
And no one wants to have a discussion about fiscal responsibility. Both parties are spending us into oblivion.
I'm a Ronnie Reagan Republican. I'm a budget hawk. Government is not the solution to every challenge. Government should not be the insurer of last resort. I keep a close eye on the City's purse, carefully scrutinizing every expenditure. As Ronnie said, "Trust but verify."
My approach has not been popular with the old guard establishment. Some call me a micro manager. I'll take that. To me, it's due diligence. In the least, staff know I'm watching. And I think that helps them make better, more tax-payer friendly decisions. I feel a responsibility as an elected to serve as a "governor" between the unlimited wants of government and the limited resources of taxpayers.
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A NOTE ABOUT POLITICAL PARTIES
I used to think we needed more political parties. Having served in a local non-partisan elected role the past 8 years I now realize we need no parties.
We should have non-partisan elections at every level of government. Caucus with who you want depending on the issue. No elected should have a commitment to the entire dogma of one party, especially with only two to choose from.
I've thought about founding a movement called The After Party. The only plank would be to require non-partisan races at every level of government as we've done successfully at the municipal level. Get enough After Party candidates elected and you disrupt the partisan system.
As a result of the two party system, many electeds are now activists. We don't need activists. We need folks that have a broad technical, legal, tax, financial and social background, experience they can draw on to create good public policy.
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