Why I'm Stepping Forward...

I've always been interested in history, which means having to be aware of politics, even if it rarely seemed like something I would like to do. Right after college, I volunteered for a presidential campaign and got a taste of political sausage-making. I was still interested, but I didn't get bit by the political bug. Soon I was in the Navy and focused on my career, which was truly as apolitical as you could get. I worked closely with probably a thousand people over the years, and I knew the political leanings of maybe a half dozen, and that's because we were friends outside of work. The mission and taking care of each other was all that mattered, not someone's political views.

But throughout, I was personally still a keen observer of politics and current events, and looking back, the trend is clear. Beginning in the 1990s, American politicians started chasing power not by accomplishing things and taking care of citizens, but by demonizing the other side. The trend has been steady and unrelenting, leaving us more divided than at any point in my lifetime, and dangerously so. As we celebrate our 250th birthday, real problems go unaddressed, with both sides blaming the other and succeeding only at leaving a horrible mess for the generations behind us. Malign actors keep us focused on the 20% of things we disagree on, preventing any progress on the 80% we do agree on. It's a formula for failure.

I can't guarantee that I'll succeed in helping fix things it, but I can damn sure tell you I'm going to do everything in my power to try. That's why I'm here. This country and its people - of all political persuasions - are too important and too deserving to allow inertia to keep tearing us apart. I'm running, and running as an Independent, because we need to prevent that - the ship is headed for the rocks, and we need to turn it back towards safe waters. I believe I have a role to play in that, as do each and every one of us. Here's hoping we all step forward together in the days to come.