Where I Come From

I grew up in Pittsburgh - a city that taught me strength, decency, and the value of work. I got a world-class education, held a dozen different jobs, and lived across this country before the Navy brought me to Hampton Roads. I've been here for over 25 years, and I'm not leaving.

 

What the Navy Taught Me

I went to Officer Candidate School not because it was the easy or the expected path - anyone who knew me then would tell you I was an unlikely recruit - but because I was looking for a challenge that demanded my best and put me in the service of something larger than myself.

​

I found it. I served 21 years as a Meteorology and Oceanography Officer, working with ships, submarines, aircraft, and naval special warfare across the country and across the globe. I was aboard the USS Harry S Truman on September 11th. I deployed to the multinational Air Component Commander for Operation Iraqi Freedom. My career culminated in commanding support operations for a dozen aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious ships across the Atlantic Fleet.

​

The Navy taught me one thing above everything else: mission clarity and team trust are worth more than any individual talent. That's not a philosophy - it's a fact I've tested under pressure.

 

What I've Done Since

After 21 years in uniform, I brought those same scientific, analytical, and leadership skills to the private sector, helping companies and clients leverage data, technology, and teamwork to solve their most challenging operational problems. Including highly successful public-private partnerships right here in Hampton Roads.

​

For the last several years, I've been working with a veteran-inspired service organization dedicated to bridging the civic divides that have fractured this country. Not theorizing about it - doing the work. Sitting across from people who disagree with me and finding the common ground anyway. It's harder than it sounds. It's also the only thing that works.
 

Why We Need a Change

Hampton Roads is home to the largest concentration of active duty service members and veterans of any congressional district in America - more than 220,000. More than 55% of post-9/11 vets here are unaffiliated with either party - because they've seen what real leadership looks like, and what they're watching in Washington doesn't qualify.

​

Representative Bobby Scott has held this seat since 1993. Thirty-three years. There has been no Democratic primary in this district since 2018. No real general election competition in a decade. The district has been on autopilot while the world has changed around it.

​

Hampton Roads drives 40% of the regional GDP through its military economy. We have the infrastructure, the workforce, and the strategic importance to lead this country on AI, defense technology, offshore energy, and workforce development.  All of those need a regional perspective, active engagement, and close collaboration with the major federal agencies in D.C., not 30 plus years of doing it the way we've always done it. 

​

This district can do more than survive in Washington - it can lead it. But only with the right representation.

 

What I Believe

I fail the litmus tests of both parties - and I consider that a qualification, not a liability.

​

I believe in personal responsibility and the value of hard work. I believe leadership means putting the community's interests above your party's interests, full stop. I believe that every one of us will need a helping hand at some point, and that no one is right all the time - including me.

​

Strong floor, no ceiling. Nobody left behind. No limit on how far we can go. That's a framework that makes sense to me, and one that should be embraced in Washington.

​