Why I am running

Growing up I saw my parents work to recreate the prosperity of their parents, but then the slow migration of manufacturing of the 80’s and a severe workplace safety injury stopped them mid-stride. Throughout my youth, we experienced the ups and downs many American families did as the American dream moved farther and farther away. Later, I would leave western Pennsylvania to serve my country, but as I returned home to visit, I saw the slow decay of the heart of America. Good paying jobs lost and the slow erosion by Wal-Mart to small business, further stalling the economic engine of America and replacing community pillar small business owners with half hearted donations to local charities. The community my family grew up in, slowly eroded beneath their feet along with many other small American towns. We cannot let the American dream be relegated to history books, but rather redefine a new and better American dream underpinned by investment in innovation, education, and their underlying infrastructure.

Furthermore, I am concerned about the recent promotion of troubling ideologies long thought to be relegated to history, ideologies inconsistent with our democratic institutions. Institutions the modern world was built on and continue to rely on to be a guiding light during these uncertain times. We are Americans, and even with our troubles, we are the envy of the free world. We are not dictators. Not even for a day. Character matters.