What I’m Seeing
I've been paying close attention for a long time. We've always had challenges. We've always had disagreements about how to face them. That's not new.
What's new is that we've lost the ability to tackle those challenges together. The machinery of Washington - and the media ecosystem built around it - now profits from division. Keeping us angry, tribal, and exhausted is a business model. And it's working.
I'm not interested in feeding that machine. I'm interested in what works for the citizens of this community and this nation.
Something shifted over the last 30 years. Institutions stopped being trusted. Conversations became about winning, not solving. The incentives changed - being loud and outraged became more rewarded than being right and effective.
Social media accelerated it. Certain organizations, media companies, and political actors explicitly took advantage of that speed and reach to build what I can only call an anger-industrial complex - one where they profit by driving the rest of us apart. They're not going to stop on their own.
The only way out is to actively choose something different. Through community. Through engagement. Through electing people who aren't beholden to the machine.
In conversations across Hampton Roads - across backgrounds, across political identities - a few things come up consistently:
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The country feels off track.
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The cost of living and economic pressure is real and getting worse.
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People don't believe their leaders understand what they're dealing with day to day, and in some cases, people simply do not believe their leaders..
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The national conversation has become about sides, not solutions.
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People are exhausted - and they're not giving up.
What stands out most: people who disagree on the specifics almost always agree on those broader observations. That agreement is the foundation. That's where we build from.
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Hampton Roads is not waiting for Washington to save it. It never has.
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A military that answers the call, every time, without exception.
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World-class research and innovation at NASA Langley, Jefferson Lab, our universities, and dozens of forward-looking private companies.
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Manufacturing and engineering that builds the Navy's most advanced ships, drives the nation's largest offshore wind project, and engineers the infrastructure the country depends on.
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The people who make all of it work - civilian, military, and government workforces that don't miss.
The foundation is here. The question is whether we're going to elect someone who can leverage it - or keep sending someone who's been part of the system that has failed us for the last 33 years.
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What if we stopped leading with ideology and started leading with outcomes?
Less focus on sides. More focus on what works.
There's a framework I've been working with called Strong Floor, No Ceiling. The principle is straightforward: ensure no one is left behind while removing every limit on how far people and communities can go. It's not ideological - it's practical. And it's exactly what this district needs from its representative in Congress.
I'll be writing more about how that applies to Hampton Roads' specific challenges - defense, technology, workforce, healthcare, and more. Check back here, and tell me what you want to hear about.
Public leadership means putting the community's interests above a political party's interests. It means understanding what people are actually experiencing - not theoretical talking points, not what the caucus needs you to say.
I've led in the Navy. I've led in the private sector. The standard is the same: show up, do the work, be accountable for the results, tackle setbacks honestly and vigorously. No performance for the cameras. No hiding behind the party.
We should demand nothing less from our representative in Congress.
I'm broadening this conversation before I make any decisions. I'll be posting on the issues that matter most to Hampton Roads - and I want to hear from you more than I want you to hear from me.
What are you worried about? What's working that nobody talks about? What do you think the next representative for VA-03 has to get right?
Reach out. I'm listening.