Candidate, United States House of Representatives, Maryland, District 4, 2016

No caucus information on file.

Survey Statistician, United States Census Bureau, 2012-2015

Personnel Services Specialist, United States Army, 1999-2003

No organizational membership information on file.

Favorite Book:

Ender's Game has always been my favorite book. When I was younger, I always struggled with not being taken seriously because of my age and a story about children and teenagers being treated as complete, thinking people really spoke to me.

Favorite Quote:

"Arise, O youth, and become the foundation of the world." - Emperor Dreichels (The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel) It may be from a video game, but it speaks to the need to invest in our young people. We need to be giving them a first class education and engaging them in the political process. That is how you continually make things better rather than seeing inter-generational resentment.

Priority Issues:

My biggest priority is building a better country for future generations. I have no children myself, but several of my friends have infants and toddlers, and I want to do everything I can to protect the world for them in a way that it was not protected for my generation. I want them to have clean air, clean water, and food that is not drowned in chemicals. I want them to have abundant energy, and the freedom to pursue their dreams and contribute to society in whatever way they are most suited for rather than clawing desperately just to make ends meet. I want to give them the future of Star Trek, not the future of Elysium. (Candidate Submitted, 2016)

Concerns about health care, paying off student loans, and the feasibility of retirement abound. These concerns are all things that are tied together with government action, for good or for ill. Hospitals are funded with federal dollars, and face restrictions on the types of care they can provide. Insurance companies have seen their abuses reigned in by the Affordable Care Act, but still have a great deal of control on what kinds of treatment you receive. The debt load students take on is influenced both by state funding of schools, which drives tuition, and by the availability of student aid such as Pell grants. Social Security is a large part of many people's retirement plans, and has been a political football, with suggestions made to reduce benefits, push back the retirement age, or privatize it. And that's not even counting things that most people don't have the time and energy to think about, like the environment and our crumbling infrastructure.

I have always been a fan of puzzles and problem solving, which has driven much of my interest in and frustration with the political process. Many of the problems we face as a nation cannot be solved through the crisis-to-crisis governance Congress has displayed for the past several years. Rather than addressing actual issues, they pass band-aid measures and leave solutions for another time. With the Baby Boomers approaching retirement, America's health care industry is looking at a huge demand increase. There has been no serious debate as to how to handle the strain Medicare will be placed under, though I can predict what the reaction will be if we keep waiting - Medicare will die, and people will be left to fend for themselves. Automation is another area that is going to cause a crisis if nothing is done. A common argument against raising the minimum wage is that companies will simply automate those jobs. That argument misses a larger point - those jobs are going to be automated sooner or later anyway. When that happens, tens of millions of people are going to be out of work. How do we deal with systemic unemployment on that scale? A third looming crisis actually is getting some attention, if distressingly little action, and that's the environment. Climate change, the sixth great extinction, and earthquakes due to fracking all need to be addressed. All of these problems require forethought and a willingness to act. These are massive issues, but I believe they can be solved if we start having the conversation now.

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

I am running for office because we are not having a national conversation about the impact our actions today will have on future generations. As we reach a tipping point on a number of issues - the economy, the environment, net neutrality, the growing police state, and others, it was simply no longer possible for me to stand aside and trust that our elected officials would eventually get to it. (Candidate Submitted, 2016)

Many people in our district and around the country have given up on politics as hopelessly corrupt. With politicians raising millions of dollars each election cycle, regular people don't believe their elected representatives are representing anybody but their wealthy donors. There is a sense of helplessness, and you hear it all the time in claims that both parties are the same, and have sold out to corporate interests. You can see it every election in voter turnout rates. Even in 2008, when there was such a wave of excitement surrounding the Obama campaign, only 62% of eligible voters actually showed up. In 2014, that number dropped to just over 36%.

For a long time, I thought that as long as I was voting, I was doing my part. I have not been immune to the disillusionment that many other people face, but kept showing up. Recently, I have come to the conclusion that voting was no longer enough for me. Between the government shutdown, repeated last minute battles over the budget and debt limit, and complete lack of planning for the future, I decided it was time to step up and get involved.

I do not buy into the rhetoric that both parties are the same. Democrats have done important work in preventing a rollback to the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s. However, maintaining the status quo is not enough. Facing a looming climate crisis, crumbling infrastructure, and the twin threats to employment of automation and outsourcing, we have to make an active effort to plot a course into the future.

I believe that I can contribute to that effort, and I hope you will join me. Please sign up for updates, volunteer, or contribute and be a part of this movement. Let us work together to build a world worth handing down to future generations.