Where I Stand On The Issues
Country | Economy | Community
As we mark the 250th anniversary of America's founding, the challenges we face are unprecedented, and yet our political parties and their representatives - on both sides - focus on fighting each other. What if we worked together, putting aside our differences and concentrating on just fixing the problem? That's something I learned in the U.S. Navy and have tried to apply every day since.
These pages lay out how I think we should tackle those problems. It is my platform, not written by a political party or wealthy donors seeking special treatment. It's what I believe and what I will fight for. Read it, agree with it, disagree with it - I welcome it all. I would rather you know exactly where I stand - so we can discuss our differences, resolve them where we can, but always keep moving forward and fighting for a better life for our families, our community, and our country.
That's my pledge - I'll always talk, always listen, and always fight - for you and for us.
Government & Rule of Law
Over the last century the United States has pushed beyond its imperfections, saved the world from fascism; sparked decades of unprecedented economic, scientific, and technical growth at home and across the globe; and established cooperative systems to protect rights while maximizing opportunity. America's integrity and institutions were fundamental to that progress, but today cynical politicians from both parties hack away at that record, poison the electoral process, and prevent further progress for their own selfish purposes. That has to change.
Defend Government & Rule of Law
Over the last century the United States has pushed beyond its imperfections, saved the world from fascism; sparked decades of unprecedented economic, scientific, and technical growth at home and across the globe; and established cooperative systems to protect rights while maximizing opportunity. America's integrity and institutions were fundamental to that progress, but today cynical politicians from both parties hack away at that record, poison the electoral process, and prevent further progress for their own selfish purposes. That has to change.
ELECTION INTEGRITY
-
End partisan gerrymandering - independent citizen commissions only
-
Reverse Citizens United - elections should not be an auction
RULE OF LAW
-
Restore a politically independent and honest Department of Justice
-
Congress must reassert itself as a co-equal branch, fighting executive autocracy
-
Run the executive agencies as the law specifies, not by skirting those laws
-
Reinforce the military's apolitical role
CORRUPTION & SELF-DEALING
-
Ban congressional and executive branch stock trading and political betting markets
-
End conflicts of interest - no federal official can direct or permit spending that benefits themselves, their family, or their donors
-
Prosecute violations and corruption vigorously, regardless of party or position
-
No lobbying for 10 years after leaving Congress
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
-
Balance the budget. $113,000 in national debt per person (rising at $5000 per year) is malpractice and unsustainable
-
Fix entitlements honestly - not demagoguery from both sides
-
Drive federal spending by actual need and opportunity, not inertia
-
Rebuild intelligently after the damage done by DOGE, streamlining or restructuring where it makes sense, but only where it makes sense
-
No Congressional budget, no Congressional pay
-
Protect America's Place in the World
Hampton Roads has the largest concentration of veterans and active-duty military in the country. They have served, fought, and died in dozens of conflicts and a hundred countries - all to defend and serve their country and the world. Those efforts established America as the most successful nation in history, sparking prosperity and security at home and abroad through alliances, shared sacrifice, and a rules-based international order. Backing away from those commitments has alienated our friends, empowered our enemies, made us less safe and less respected, and will take a generation to recover from. We need to start now.
ALLIANCES AND ENGAGEMENT
-
Re-embrace NATO - 80 years of the most effective peacekeeping force in history; our behavior toward it has been shameful
-
Assemble a Pacific alliance among democratic nations in the region as a balance to China
-
Return to America leading by example, rather than being an unwelcome neighbor
-
Restore our international aid programs - the most potent instrument of soft power available
STANDING AGAINST AGGRESSION
-
Support Ukraine fully - a democracy brutally attacked by a dictator deserves our backing
-
Support Taiwan's independence - ambiguity invites miscalculation
-
Control and wind down the Iran war - continue to resist Iranian influence and trouble making while avoiding an open-ended drain on our military
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
-
I fully support Israel's right to exist as a safe home for the Jewish people
-
I equally support the existence of a Palestinian state and the rights of the Palestinian people
-
The October 7th massacre was among the most heinous acts of the 21st century, to which Israel was entitled to respond decisively
-
The Netanyahu government's actions against the general Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank have been equally reprehensible and can no longer be ignored in our policy
COMPETING WITH CHINA
-
Implement a whole-of-nation strategy to compete with China - not just tariffs, but all of the many tools and levers that are uniquely available to the United States
-
Re-engage with the developing world on the economic and security fronts, before China fills every gap we have left through our own retreat
-
Restore leadership on climate, health and disease, and international institutions we have abandoned, pushing back on China's emergence there
-
Build Jobs, Health Care, and Growth
Our economy has become horribly distorted, with just 10 tech and AI companies dominating the S&P 500 for the last several years. The speculative bets on AI that are driving record stock prices are just that - bets, and if those bets are wrong, the investor class will once again call on the American public to make them whole. The inflation has been reignited by across-the-board tariffs and traumatizing America's undocumented - but critical - work force. The billionaire class captures an ever-increasing share of American wealth, while paying a lower tax rate than a welder or a nurse. For the first time ever, American children are looking at a lower standard of living than their parents. The system has been rigged, and we owe it to them to unrig it.
INFLATION & TRADE
-
Fight inflation by restoring middle class wages, not by blaming scapegoats
-
Support free trade with targeted, conditions-driven exceptions, not blanket tariffs that hurt American families most
-
Reduce dangerous supply chain dependence on foreign adversaries, ensuring that we can supply truly critical products and services here at home in the event of disruption
WEALTH & FAIRNESS
-
Everyone pays the same rates and all types of income are taxed equally
-
Modernize antitrust - too big to fail means too big, period
-
Stop government bail outs and rescues, where private investors win during the good times and taxpayers are left holding the bag during the bad
-
Embrace Strong Floors No Ceiling, providing meaningful help to those left behind, while providing unlimited opportunity to those who work hard and thrive
HEALTH CARE
-
American medical professionals and their technology are the best in the world - the system we make them operate in is an embarrassment.
-
Universal access to basic health care. Other peer nations have solved this - we need to.
-
Reform health care administration and strategies. The highest per capita health care costs in the world - with 25% going to paperwork - are giving middle of the pack results.
ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
-
Climate change is real and undeniable. Bickering about the cause does not relieve us of the obligation to act now, in collaboration with international efforts that we first initiated.
-
Embrace and grow renewable energy at home - the most cost-effective power source of the coming century.
-
Embrace and grow renewable energy abroad - a huge business opportunity that we are ceding to China out of nearsightedness and nostalgia
-
Restore federal R&D investment in science and technology - the U.S. government has been behind every major advance of the last 80 years
-
Strengthen Rights, Safety & Society
The culture wars have paid off handsomely for both political parties, their most partisan supporters, and the Anger-Industrial complex. Keeping Americans angry at each other is good for making profits and collecting contributions, but it's not good for a healthy society. We need to recommit ourselves to equal and fair treatment for all, protection from predatory companies and actors, being the land of opportunity the world looks up to, and creating a society that offers unlimited opportunity and steadily improving conditions for all. Public servants must act in the public interest, not the interest of themselves and their supporters.
RIGHTS
-
Protect civil rights across the board - no discrimination on race, religion, gender, or sexuality.
-
Protect religious freedom and non-establishment - no American theocracy
-
Establish and protect safe workplaces
-
Defend clean air and water for all
-
Increased housing to support our growing population at affordable rates
TECHNOLOGY ACCOUNTABILITY
-
Repeal Section 230 - social media companies must be held accountable for the negative impacts they have on our children and society at large
-
Put guardrails on AI, harnessing its possibilities but acknowledging its limitations and controlling its impact on employment, the stock market, and warfare
-
Regulate online political betting markets
-
Break the links between wealthy tech investors and public officials who govern their industries
IMMIGRATION
-
Secure our borders fairly, intelligently, and compassionately
-
Embrace robust legal immigration through secure, well-managed entry
-
Abandon mass deportation and actually focus on the worst of the worst
-
Provide a deferred but clear path to legal status for undocumented immigrants already in the country
-
Rein in ICE and hold it fully accountable for documented violations and abuses
FAMILIES & FUTURE
-
Fund Head Start, affordable childcare, family leave, and programs for young adults
-
Invest equally in vocational training and academic education
-
Increase family planning, reduce abortion, expand adoption
-
Implement a national service requirement, with both military and community options
-
Where I Stand On The Issues
Country | Economy | Community
As we mark the 250th anniversary of America's founding, the challenges we face are unprecedented, and yet our political parties and their representatives - on both sides - focus on fighting each other. What if we worked together, putting aside our differences and concentrating on just fixing the problem? That's something I learned in the U.S. Navy and have tried to apply every day since.
These pages lay out how I think we should tackle those problems. It is my platform, not written by a political party or wealthy donors seeking special treatment. It's what I believe and what I will fight for. Read it, agree with it, disagree with it - I welcome it all. I would rather you know exactly where I stand - so we can discuss our differences, resolve them where we can, but always keep moving forward and fighting for a better life for our families, our community, and our country.
That's my pledge - I'll always talk, always listen, and always fight - for you and for us.
DEFEND
Government & Rule of Law
Over the last century, the United States has pushed beyond its imperfections, saved the world from fascism, sparked decades of unprecedented economic, scientific, and technical growth at home and across the globe, and established cooperative systems to protect rights while maximizing opportunity. America's integrity and institutions were fundamental to that progress, but today cynical politicians from both parties hack away at that record, poison the electoral process, and prevent further progress for their own selfish purposes. That has to change.
Protect
America's Place in the World
Hampton Roads has the largest concentration of veterans and active-duty military in the country. They have served, fought, and died in dozens of conflicts and a hundred countries - all to defend and serve their country and the world. Those efforts established America as the most successful nation in history, sparking prosperity and security at home and abroad through alliances, shared sacrifice, and a rules-based international order. Backing away from those commitments has alienated our friends, empowered our enemies, made us less safe and less respected, and will take a generation to recover from. We need to start now.
Build
Jobs, Health Care, and Growth
Our economy has become horribly distorted, with just 10 tech and AI companies dominating the S&P 500 for the last several years. The speculative bets on AI that are driving record stock prices are just that - bets, and if those bets are wrong, the investor class will once again call on the American public to make them whole. The inflation has been reignited by across-the-board tariffs and traumatizing America's undocumented - but critical - work force. The billionaire class captures an ever-increasing share of American wealth, while paying a lower tax rate than a welder or a nurse. For the first time ever, American children are looking at a lower standard of living than their parents. The system has been rigged, and we owe it to them to unrig it.
Strengthen
Rights, Safety & Society
The culture wars have paid off handsomely for both political parties, their most partisan supporters, and the Anger-Industrial complex. Keeping Americans angry at each other is good for making profits and collecting contributions, but it's not good for a healthy society. We need to recommit ourselves to equal and fair treatment for all, protection from predatory companies and actors, being the land of opportunity the world looks up to, and creating a society that offers unlimited opportunity and steadily improving conditions for all. Public servants must act in the public interest, not the interest of themselves and their supporters.
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DEFEND
Government and Rule of Law
As blemished as it has been at times, over the last century the United States has saved the world from fascism; sparked decades of unprecedented economic, scientific, and technical growth at home and across the globe; and established cooperative systems to protect rights while maximizing opportunity. Cynical politicians from both parties hack away at that record, poison the electoral process, and prevent further progress for their own selfish purposes. That has to change.
Election integrity
-
End partisan gerrymandering - independent citizen commissions only
-
Reverse Citizens United - elections should not be an auction
Rule of law
-
Restore a politically independent and honest Department of Justice
-
Congress must reassert itself as a co-equal branch, fighting executive autocracy
-
Run the executive agencies as the law specifies, not by skirting those laws
Corruption & self-dealing
-
Ban congressional and executive branch stock trading and political betting markets
-
End conflicts of interest - no federal official can direct or permit spending that benefits themselves, their family, or their donors
-
Prosecute violations and corruption vigorously, regardless of party or position
-
No lobbying for 10 years after leaving Congress
Fiscal responsibility
-
Balance the budget. $113,000 in national debt per person (rising at $5000 per year) is malpractice and unsustainable
-
Fix entitlements honestly - not demagoguery from both sides
-
Drive federal spending by actual need and opportunity, not inertia
-
Rebuild intelligently after the damage done by DOGE, streamlining or restructuring where it makes sense, but only where it makes sense
-
No Congressional budget, no Congressional pay
LEAD
America's Place in the World
Hampton Roads has the largest concentration of veterans and active-duty military in the country. They have served, fought, and died in dozens of conflicts and a hundred countries - all to defend and serve their country and the world. Those sacrifices established America as the most successful nation in history, sparking prosperity and security at home and abroad through alliances and a rules-based-international order. Backing away from those commitments has alienated our friends, empowered our enemies, made us less safe and less respected, and will take a generation to recover from. We need to start now.
ALLIANCES AND ENGAGEMENT
-
Re-embrace NATO - 80 years of the most effective peacekeeping force in history; our behavior toward it has been shameful
-
Assemble a Pacific alliance among democratic nations in the region as a balance to China
-
Return to America leading by example, rather than being an unwelcome neighbor
-
Restore our international aid programs - the most potent instrument of soft power available
STANDING AGAINST AGGRESSION
-
Support Ukraine fully - a democracy brutally attacked by a dictator deserves our backing
-
Support Taiwan's independence - ambiguity invites miscalculation
-
Control and wind down the Iran war - continue to resist Iranian influence and trouble making while avoiding an open-ended drain on our military
ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
-
I fully support Israel's right to exist as a safe home for the Jewish people
-
I equally support the existence of a Palestinian state and the rights of the Palestinian people
-
The October 7th massacre was among the most heinous acts of the 21st century
-
The Netanyahu government's actions against the general Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank have been equally reprehensible and can no longer be ignored in our policy
COMPETING WITH CHINA
-
Implement a whole-of-nation strategy to compete with China - not just tariffs, but all of the many tools and levers that are uniquely available to the United States
-
Re-engage with the developing world on the economic and security fronts, before China fills every gap we have left through our own retreat
-
Restore leadership on climate, health and disease, and international institutions we have abandoned, pushing back on China's emergence there
BUILD
Jobs, health care and growth
Our economy has become horribly distorted, with just 10 tech and AI companies accounting for all growth in the S&P 500 in the last several years. The speculative bets on AI are driving record stock prices are just that - bets, and if those bets are wrong, the investor class will once again call on the American public to make them whole. The inflation that was moderating after COVID spending has instead been reignited by across-the-board tariffs and traumatizing America's undocumented - but critical - work force. 1000 Billionaires and their families have captured an estimated 30% of all wealth created in the last twenty years, while paying a lower tax rate than a welder or a nurse. For the first time ever, American children are looking at a lower standard of living than their parents. The system has been rigged, and we owe it to them to unrig it.
INFLATION & TRADE
-
Fight inflation by restoring middle class wages, not by blaming scapegoats
-
Support free trade with targeted, conditions-driven exceptions, not blanket tariffs that hurt American families most
-
Reduce dangerous supply chain dependence on foreign adversaries, ensuring that we can supply truly critical products and services here at home in the event of disruption
Wealth & fairness
-
Everyone must pay their fair share - most billionaires game the system to pay far lower rates than working Americans
-
Modernize antitrust - too big to fail means too big, period
-
Stop government bail outs and rescues, where private investors win and taxpayers are left holding the bag
-
Embrace a Strong Floors No Ceiling perspective, providing meaningful help to those left behind by economic transitions, while providing unlimited opportunity to those who harness those transitions.
HEALTH CARE
-
American medical professionals and their technology are the best in the world - the system we make them operate in is an embarrassment.
-
Universal access to basic health care. Other peer nations have solved this - we need to.
-
Reform health care administration and strategies. The highest per capita health care costs in the world - with 25% going to paperwork - are giving middle of the pack results.
ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
-
Climate change is real and undeniable. Bickering about the cause does not relieve us of the obligation to act now, in collaboration with international efforts that we first initiated.
-
Embrace and grow renewable energy at home - the most cost-effective power source of the coming century.
-
Embrace and grow renewable energy abroad - a huge business opportunity that we are ceding to China out of nearsightedness and nostalgia
-
Restore federal R&D investment in science and technology - the U.S. government has been behind every major advance of the last 80 years
Strengthen
Rights, safety & society
The culture wars have paid off handsomely for both parties, their most partisan supporters, and the huge companies that provide the technology. Keeping Americans angry at each other is good for making profits and collecting contributions, but it's not good for a healthy society. We need to recommit ourselves to equal and fair treatment for all, protection from predatory companies and actors, being the land of opportunity the world looks up to, and creating a society that offers unlimited opportunity and steadily improving conditions for all. Public servants must act in the public interest, not the interest of themselves and their supporters.
RIGHTS
-
Protect civil rights across the board - no discrimination on race, religion, gender, or sexuality.
-
Protect religious freedom and non-establishment - no American theocracy
-
Establish and protect safe workplaces
-
Defend clean air and water for all
-
Increased housing to support our growing population at affordable rates
Technology accountability
-
Repeal Section 230 - social media companies must be held accountable for the negative impacts they have on our children and society at large
-
Put guardrails on AI, acknowledging its limitations and controlling its impact on employment, the stock market, and warfare
-
Regulate online political betting markets
-
Break the links between wealthy tech investors and public officials who govern their industries
IMMIGRATION
-
Secure our borders fairly, intelligently, and compassionately
-
Embrace robust legal immigration through secure, well-managed entry
-
Abandon mass deportation and actually focus on the worst of the worst
-
Provide a deferred but clear path to legal status for undocumented immigrants already in the country
-
Rein in ICE and hold it fully accountable for documented violations and abuses
Families & future
-
Fund Head Start, affordable childcare, and family leave
-
Invest equally in vocational training and academic education
-
Increase family planning, reduce abortion, expand adoption
-
Adopt a national service requirement, with both military and community options
Where I Stand On The Issues
Country | Economy | Community
Both parties have had their chance. For over a decade, the voters of Hampton Roads have been managed, not represented. Their congressman sits on Education and Workforce while 220,000 veterans depend on decisions made by Armed Services. Four straight primaries were canceled. No one had to ask for your vote.
That ends now. I am not running to join a team. I am running because the problems facing our country are real, our community deserves better, and our economy is rigged against the people who built it. Neither party has the credibility or the will to fix any of it.
Below is where I stand - not a platform written by a committee, but what I actually believe and what I will actually fight for. Read it. Disagree with parts of it. That is fine. I would rather you know exactly where I stand than wonder.
Why
Independent?
We are at a crossroads - a point where strong, ethical leadership and a clear, executable plan for success are needed, and neither Republicans nor Democrats are providing it. Here in Hampton Roads, home to over 220,000 veterans who have volunteered to put their lives on the line for the country, our Congressional representatives are doing no better - they follow their party line through thick and thin, even when we the voters say we want something different, as we are so clearly saying now.
That ends now. I am not running to take orders from a political party or partisan special interests. I am running because the problems facing our country are substantial and demand answers that partisan politics cannot deliver. Because our economy is often rigged against the people who build it. Because our communities deserve better than to be torn apart by self-interested outsiders who benefit from divisiveness and polarization.
Neither party has the credibility or the will to fix any of it, but, along with Independent candidates running in dozens of Congressional districts across the country, that's all I care about- fixing our problems. I'm not interested in moving up the political ladder or becoming a highly paid lobbyist, just in making our country, our economy, and our communities a little better, every day.
Come join us.
Back an Independent
Fund a Campaign That Belongs to the People No PAC money. No party machine. No dark money. Just people who believe Hampton Roads deserves better representation than it has had for the last 33 years. Every dollar goes directly to building a people-powered campaign that neither party can buy.