Biography

I was born in February 1966, into turbulent times. My dad had been drafted and was a part of the 215,000 troops that had been sent into Vietnam. My family lived in Yuba County at that time, in Wheatland. My grandfather on my dad's side was the ranch manager for a large and wealthy landowner on the outskirts of Wheatland and my mom's father and mother owned a gas station/restaurant in downtown Wheatland. I believe that my grandmother worked the hardest; running the restaurant, cooking and waiting tables and taking care of the whole family besides. She was always my strongest inspiration.

I remember some of my earliest jobs were in the orchards and fields, picking corn and peaches, harvesting walnuts and changing sprinkler pipes. We moved a couple of times, but our house always seemed to be situated next to the Bear River or Feather River so naturally, I learned to fish and hunt, camp, canoe and survive. Childhood in those days was much different than it is for today's kids. I remember once sneaking away from the house and the babysitter to go fishing. I was five years old, but that didn't matter to me; and off I went.  It wasn't long before I had gotten a fishhook stuck in my bare foot. It was unfortunate but not the end of the world.  I made my way back, a good quarter mile, with that life-lesson stuck there in my toe. I didn’t complain. What I experienced that day stayed with me the rest of my life and taught me that, even with its pain, life was going to be worth living.

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I credit a strong upbringing to my dad, a Vietnam veteran, who knew the importance of teaching me how to take care of myself in a tough world that was always going to be there to knock me around. Ultimately, full credit goes to my mom, who loved us all unconditionally.

I was a kid that loved mechanical things and tools and the idea of building and repairing always appealed to me. I learned how to make or fix just about anything, and this naturally helped a young mind learn how to problem-solve. I excelled all through school; in academics, athletics, student government and career-technical courses. Nevertheless, when I went off to college in 1984, I was not prepared for the enormity of that change, and I left after a year to join the workforce.

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For the next ten years, I would work a wide variety of jobs, from forklift driver to restaurant host to lab technician. From custom car audio installation to retail sales management, I did just about anything to make ends meet.  Through it all, I learned to work hard and pay the bills and depend on myself to get by. In my mid-twenties, I started a family and never looked back. In 1997, I was managing a music store when a random event would change the trajectory of my life. I was injured by a group of teenage shoplifters who got caught stealing CDs from the store. There was an attack and my leg was broken, but fortunately through California's Employment Development Department, and an incredible rehabilitation worker, I was entered into a re-training program that allowed me to go back to college to become a teacher. I graduated with a B.A. in Communication/Philosophy from Cal State University, Fresno, but didn't become a teacher just yet. 

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I did very well at Fresno State, where I had joined the Barking Bulldogs Debate Team. This gave me the opportunity to travel around the country for two years competing political debate competitions. This success led to an internship with the City of Lemoore my senior year, which led to a full-time government analyst position for the next seven. I continued on with graduate school at FSU and coached the debate team from 2002 to 2004.

The debate experience proved invaluable to me later in my career as I went up against heavy opponents like Chevron and PG&E in the public arena, advocating on behalf of our citizens against the wasteful practices of the corporate world. The position also afforded me the opportunity to learn all aspects of local government administration and to be trained by a City Manager of the highest caliber. Steven L. Froberg, the man responsible for my internship and political career, was the League of California Cities City Manager of the Year in 2004 -- a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, Purple Heart recipient with Pentagon experience, my friend and mentor. I learned more during those seven years than any other in my professional life.

Writing policy and other legislation and presenting it for public consumption every week was just the routine. I authored grants, built parks and other community facilities, recruited and hired the police force, and managed the health care system for nearly 200 employees. I put up solar panels, incorporated electric cars into our fleet, and planted trees - enough to qualify Lemoore as a Tree City, USA member. I supported the elderly population in many ways and worked closely with the Tachi Yokut tribe at the Santa Rosa Rancheria to the benefit of our many native peoples there.

At the pinnacle of my government career, I was appointed to the Board of Directors and elected to the Executive Committee where I served as Secretary for the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority. The SJVPA was a coalition of 13 Central California cities, including Fresno, that organized to begin producing cleaner energy than was being made available at the time by PG&E. The utility giant fought us tooth and nail in the public square and the experience I gained in those confrontations will never leave me. To be sure, this list is not all inclusive. My duties at the City of Lemoore were vast and wide-ranging.

During that same time at the City, from 2004 to 2008, I taught Public Speaking, Debate and Argumentation at night at the local Junior College, West Hills Community College. My life was a full schedule, to say the least, but I did what it took to take care of my family as best I could. One thing I’ve never been is lazy.
 

Eventually though, life changes. There was a divorce, and I left all of that political life behind and moved back to Northern California with my daughter to pursue a new career as a public-school teacher. I would go back to college – a single dad with a teenage girl. Before it was over, I would find myself in post-2008 recession bankruptcy, living off of substitute teacher pay and financial aid in Section 8 housing. But we were strong and persevered together; she worked while in junior college and helped pay the bills. We were tough through the hardest of times, and by 2013, I had earned my teaching credentials and had started teaching sixth grade Math & Science in Lake County, one of the poorest and most neglected areas in the State. I taught the elementary kids for five years, then in 2017, I took over the High School Auto and Paint Shop Program from the retiring teacher and put my love of math, science, racing cars and teaching kids together into what has proven to be the most rewarding and fulfilling job I’ve ever had. That is where you find me today.

My daughter, meanwhile, earned her degree in Environmental Science from Humboldt State and then moved back to Lake County. She now serves as the Water Resources Manager for the Environmental Department at Big Valley Rancheria. My son-in-law graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Toxicology and now serves as a Certified Arborist in and around Lake County. I’m proud of them both and proud to know that Public Service runs in our blood and in our family.

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THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES and our democracy needs a new kind of leader…incorruptible, honest, hard-working, and not beholden to corporate donations and demands like so many of our current lawmakers. Knowledgeable, informed, logical, not self-serving, compassionate, empathetic, dedicated to our democratic values and to our Constitution...these are the qualities that we should look for in a Congressional representative.

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I am all of these.

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Too many politicians today are hungry for fame, money, or power. Some join the game through personal financial independence afforded to them through family names or fortunes. Some join because they’ve been hand-picked by the establishment as the next successor in an intricate system of aristocratic hierarchy.
 

I am none of these.

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I am here because I am supposed to be here. Now is the time. I have the political experience to navigate through the swamp, I have the courage and conviction to always stand up for what is right, and I have the strength of character to resist the influences of the negative forces in Washington. I believe that it is this intricate and timely combination of life, work and educational experiences that makes me uniquely qualified to be your next Representative in Washington DC.​​