VOTE411 Voter Guide

I served over 27 years in the Air Force and the Air National Guard in Idaho. During that time, I worked for, and with, many different people and am able to build coalitions as well as take direction where appropriate.

As a small business owner, I have spent over a decade learning the best and most successful ways to build bridges between varying groups of individuals for better communication and the advancement of shared goals.

Additionally, as a father, I have an expanded perspective on the world we are building for the next generations. I operate under the assumption that we have more in common than not and this hateful rhetoric must come to a stop for our sake, as well as the sake of those that come after us.

I'm running as an Independent Candidate to bridge political aisles. As an Independent, I can be a deciding vote in our highly polarized and tightly contested environment. This position will allow the advancement of issues that Idaho and our citizens care most about; not those of special interests and billionaires that have taken control of our nation and currently drive our politics.

My goals are to defend The Constitution (the first oath I ever swore when I volunteered to serve our country and will uphold even in retirement), protect our Public Lands (preserving public access to our cherished lands instead of selling them off to the highest bidder), and ensure the people’s interests are the focus of all of my decisions.

No more greed-flation. No more mega corporations giving us the misperception that we have choices when limited choice is the true outcome. I will encourage enforcement of our anti-trust laws and ensure that everyone benefits from policies and the laws being decided.

The concentration of wealth and control.

We’re given the illusion of choice while, in actuality, policies are being made that greatly limit our options and restrict our voices. Citizens are overworking themselves just to make a living, possibly afford a house, pay predictable bills, have children, etc; and their efforts are getting them nowhere. That must change.

The People shouldn't go bankrupt for needed medical care while the top seven health insurance conglomerates generate record profits. The People shouldn't have to take on more debt to get an education while Simpson is voting to reduce educational spending. The People shouldn't have to work multiple jobs and still have to be on social assistance to survive while mega corporations (for which many Idahoans are employed) are making historic profits. Our agricultural families shouldn’t be going bankrupt and unable to keep farms which may have been in their family for generations, just so the megacorps swoop in and buy them up.

I'm running because Mike Simpson is not doing his job.

Instead of representing Idahoans, he represents those groups and people who can send him the most money. He spends his time in Washington voting against the ability to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers, voting for policies that increase debt burden to our agriculture communities, and often pushes agendas that benefit the wealthy to the detriment of the middle class and poverty level citizens. The wealth concentration in our nation is unacceptable and it must be fixed.

Mike has had nearly three decades to do better for Idahoans. I will represent the Idahoans of today and push policies that reflect the needs and desires of today’s citizens as well as future generations.

I ran for my hometown City Council, becoming the youngest person ever elected to the position. I won my race because I showed up prepared, with a fully articulated platform, earning the vote of my constituents. That is democracy, not this gamified, fear mongering, adherence to strict party platform ties, big money, downright alienating system that we currently live under. I have stood for my constituents in two ways. First, I have enacted policy and legislation to address the cost of living crisis. Second, I am rebalancing the power dynamic between electeds and the highly educated, often elitist and mostly anti-democracy bureaucratic class, who would rather manage society on behalf of the wealthy than ever see The People hold actual power.

So much. I will always be a proud idealist, but pragmatically, I am well aware of the current gridlock that is our United States Congress. That being said, here are some issues I care about that have at least 80% support from the American public: Ban Congressional Stock Trading, End Forever Wars (return war powers to Congress), Lifetime Lobbying Ban for former Members of Congress, Minimum Tax for Billionaires, Ban Corporate PACs, Audit the Pentagon, Medicare Drug Negotiation, End Gerrymandering, Release the Full Epstein Files, Ban Foreign Governments from Buying American Farmland, Fund Social Security, Ban Corporate Purchase of Single Family Homes, Overturn Citizens United, Paid Family Leave, Right to Repair (Guaranteed access to parts and manuals for cars, machinery and electronics), Congressional Term Limits, Comprehensive Data Privacy and Ban Junk Fees. Lastly, a great American teacher named Matt Beat is advocating for Uncapping the House of Representatives. High Five Matt!

The single most significant challenge facing Idaho and the United States is the consolidation of corporate power. Across the entire economy there has been massive, often illegal, monopolistic consolidation both horizontally and vertically. Airline mergers were first. Hollywood with Netflix, Paramount and Warner Brothers. Sysco is attempting to buy Restaurant Depot, severely hurting independent restaurants and the quality of our food. Google and Facebook systematically acquired any viable competitors for decades. DR Horton “the fast food of homebuilding” also owns the title, insurance and mortgage companies in much of America. Beef processing in the United States is 80-85% controlled by the “Big 4” Meatpacking cartel and the same goes for fertilizer. Independent family farms are disappearing at alarming rates and the list goes on for miles. As corporate power shifts drastically into the hands of the few, competition and democracy fall by the wayside. We must enforce antitrust laws.

I love my country, the land of the free. The original freedom that America was founded on is the right to self-governance and democracy. I am not exaggerating when I say some of the most powerful people in the world, who reside inside our borders, don’t just no longer believe in this fundamental truth, but are actively and aggressively pushing the United State of America and the rest of the world down a much darker path. A path where finance reigns supreme, governance is replaced by unelected management, natural resources are only meant to be consumed and every moment of existence is commodified. Democracy is difficult and frustrating but it's the best we got, and right now, it is of the utmost importance that we recommit to it.