President

Candidate, North Carolina State Senate, District 48, 2010

Campaign Manager/Senior Advisor, Charles Carter for NC Senate, 1996-1998

Staffer, Marion County (IN) Democratic Party, 1994-1995

Staffer, Fred Grandy for Governor of Iowa, 1993-1994

Staffer, Congressman Fred Grandy (R-IA-5th), 1993

No caucus information on file.

Manager, State & Local Industry Analysis, INPUT, 2006-present

Senior Issues Coordinator, National Assoc. of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), 1999-2006

Community Fund Associate, United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County, 1996-1999

No organizational membership information on file.

Awards:

Eagle Scout (1986)

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

I first considered running to represent Buncombe, Henderson, and Polk counties in the North Carolina state senate after reading about the closing of the Volvo Construction Equipment plant in Arden in December 2009. This closure sent nearly 300 of Western North Carolina's few remaining good-paying manufacturing jobs to Pennsylvania, South Korea, and Sweden.

I often drive with my family down U.S. 25 through Fletcher and Mountain Home on the way to eat out in Hendersonville or visit family in Saluda and Tryon. (We like to take the liesurely route.) I noticed that just this stretch of road between Skyland and Hendersonville likely has two million square feet of vacant plant space. As I looked deeper, I realized that no one in the Raleigh is speaking up on this issue for the 48th district.

Spouse's Occupation:

Part-time youth dance instructor