Education

Education is the hallmark and cornerstone of a nation; everything revolves around knowledgeable and educated citizens. This allows us to be competitive against other nations in the world. Aspiring for a quality education is the goal for all parents and educators alike, it enables us to remain competitive in the global arena.  

For far too long there has been a subversive attempt to distort history and the facts of this nation, we need to get back to the core tenets of education along with civics that teach our children to be responsible citizens and the positive influence America has had on the world and to be proud of those achievements.  Teaching our children all the facts of our history is important to ensure we do not make the same mistakes we have made in the past, erasing, lying, and distorting those facts does a disservice to those who fought, died, and sacrificed to change and improve this nation. Being proud of this nation should be encouraged by showing how this nation has had positive impacts throughout the world, not the false narratives that are being pushed on our children by those who lie and distort those facts. We are not a perfect nation, but we are far better than most of the world and we are fortunate to be Americans.

All our children deserve the same education regardless of income, status, color, or religion. Giving them a level playing field should be all our goals, teaching them to inspire to reach greatness and see their possibilities as endless instead of teaching them that one is better than the other is disingenuous and outright lies.

We also must ensure that parents have the say regarding their children’s education, to include school choice with vouchers. If it’s good enough for our elected officials to send their children to schools of their choice, shouldn’t parents have the same right regardless of their income status?  Whether it be public, homeschool, or private schools, all parents should have a say and choice along with the resources to ensure their children get the best education there is.

We also need to ensure that our schools are just as safe and secure as all our State and Federal buildings and elected officials, after all our children are the most precious commodity we have and should be treated as such. Our teachers must also have the resources to produce an efficient learning environment without wondering whether they can afford classroom supplies. Teachers, parents, and children need to work together in synergy to produce the best result for our community, country, and economy; our children deserve no better. I support:

·       Parental Rights

·       School Choice

·       Secure and safe schools.

·       Funding for all schools and classroom resources.

·       Classes that are focused on the core tenets of education, reading, writing, arithmetic, and civics.

·       Local control over curriculum and age-appropriate material.

·       Lower tuition costs using the voucher system for all students regardless of school.

Law Enforcement and the Rule of Law

As a former member of the military, I understand the importance of keeping law and order.  We see daily the failed policies of defunding the police and no cash bail. These failed policies are killing and putting law-abiding citizens in danger daily, and yet the Democrats want to double down on these policies, that is the definition of insanity. We need law enforcement that is from the community, for the community, and backed by the community. I support law enforcement and will be their ally in Lansing. This means working with local and state law enforcement and members of the justice system when drafting legislation to ensure that those who commit crimes are held accountable for their actions and the victim’s rights are put first, especially our children and the vile repugnant human traffickers that victimize countless children. I support:

·       More funding for effective law enforcement.

·       Enhanced authority for local law enforcement to make the right decisions for their communities.

·       Judges and prosecutors who abide by, respect, and enforce the rule of law.

·       Additional efforts to make our justice system protect and consider victims of crime over the criminals, especially children who are being human trafficked.

·       Enhanced penalties of convicted human traffickers.

·       Equal application of the enforcement of laws, especially elected officials that are entrusted to abide by said laws.

Election Integrity

As a veteran, I fought for every American to have the right to vote. The most sacred thing we do as Americans is vote, without it, our Republic and way of life are in jeopardy. I have assisted in setting up election processes in Third World countries, each of them implemented voter identification. Anyone against voter identification and clean voter rolls are basically for voter fraud, we need photo identification for everything we do in our daily lives, saying otherwise is disingenuous at the least and an outright lie at the most. This is why I support real common-sense solutions; this will ensure our elections are fair, safe, and secure. I support:

• Free voter identification cards for those without photo identification.

• More local control over the election processes.

• More community input into how to make the election process better.

• Clean voter rolls.

• Access to safe, legal polling locations.

• Transparent election processes that can withstand any audit.

• Additional penalties for those who knowingly commit illegal voting.  

Protection of Life

Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in our country today, but no matter what position I am in, I will always fight to protect the rights of both the born and unborn. Although, I strongly disagree with the radical issues embedded within proposition 3, due to one of our granddaughters being a micro-preemie weighing in at 1.4 pounds and knowing full well that she was a living, breathing human being, it is now embedded in our state constitution. This is why we must use other resources to help women and ensure that they feel they have a choice to choose life as an alternative. Each side deserves to have their opinion heard and respected; however; fear, threats, and intimidation have no place in our society. I support:

·       The life and welfare of the child.

·       The life and welfare of the mother.

·       Supporting victims of rape and incest.

·       Educating people on all options, especially of those choosing life.

·       Enacting medical standards for abortion providers to ensure the safety and welfare of women.

·       Ensuring taxpayer money is not funding abortions.

Pro-Second Amendment

Having served abroad in numerous combat operations, I have seen firsthand how citizens without the right to defend themselves are left powerless. History is ripe with examples of defenseless citizens being slaughtered by their own governments. Our founders placed the Right to Bear Arms as the Second Amendment for a reason, it wasn’t tenth, six or fifth; you must wonder why that is. It was placed second for a specific reason, anyone can read the founders personal writings to understand why the Right to Bear Arms is second. They recognized our God-given right to defend ourselves and our way of life, it is the people’s teeth ensuring those rights not just for self-defense but as a last resort from a tyrannical government. I will always defend the Constitution and all Amendments, to include our Second Amendment. I swore an oath to do so my entire adult life, that oath has no expiration date. I will do everything as your state representative to let Lansing know we will NEVER give up our rights. I support real, common-sense policies such as:

·       Constitutional carry for law-abiding citizens.

·       Education classes to ensure our youth understand and respect our sacred rights and the safety that comes along with those rights.

·       Ending bureaucratic attacks and infringement on our God given rights.

·       Enacting and enforcing laws against criminals not inanimate objects, punishing criminals who commit crimes not punishing law abiding citizens who did nothing to warrant their rights being infringed.

·       Any policy that further protects our right to defend ourselves, our families, and way of life, so help me God!

Smaller Government

Our individual liberties and freedoms are being eroded daily by bureaucrats and elected officials who ignore their constituents and oaths of office. These individuals hide behind walls and anonymity, they write and pass laws that impact citizens negatively and then lie about the facts. These same individuals ignore the very laws they write and think they are above the average American, we see it daily with the double standard and hypocrisy. They are too afraid to talk face to face with its citizens and too often the media distorts the facts and truths with lies and innuendos. The federal and state governments have become to bloated and toxic to the individual rights of Americans.  We do not need government, elected officials, and bureaucrats telling us how we can and cannot live our lives. I support:

·       Ending government overreach.

·       Protecting the people’s hard earned money from greedy, out of touch politicians and bureaucrats.

·       Defending property rights.

·       Allowing local communities more say and input.

·       Banning intrusive mandates on individual’s liberties.

·       Cumbersome policies, paperwork, and permits delaying entrepreneurs the ability to achieve the American dream.

·       Less taxes and regulations that impact law abiding citizens negatively. The audacity of self-appointed elites who think they know what’s best for Americans instead of allowing Americans to determine what’s best for themselves. .

Infrastructure and Housing

Northeast Michigan needs more affordable housing and better technology, this will assist communities to grow and prosper.  We need to work with local municipalities to establish ways to draw in more affordable housing for our growing towns and villages. This means getting rid of burdensome regulations and providing incentives for our communities to allow the proper growth and prosperity for all as they see fit.  This also means repairing our roads and updating our infrastructure, ensuring clean air and water.  I support:

·       Funding for infrastructure to include power, roads, water, and sewer systems.

·       Incentivizing broadband and better technology.

·       Protecting an individual's right to their property.

·       Deregulating laws that are non-productive and out of date.

·       Working with all communities to improve the quality of life in Northeast Michigan..

Protecting our natural resources and way of life

We have been entrusted with a beautiful planet by our creator, Michigan is known for its natural beauty, we must always strive to protect it. We can have both economic prosperity and a clean environment to leave for our children and grandchildren. We can do all of the above, thinking that we can do one or the other is so disingenuous. We rely on fossil fuels for almost all products we use on a daily basis, by using technology and the resources provided by mother earth we can build a better tomorrow without hurting the economy or those who cannot afford the high costs of newer technology today. This means supporting real common-sense solutions and ideas, like the Great Lakes Tunnel Project and protecting jobs that help hard working Americans feed their families, all the while investing in newer abilities to sustain us for the foreseeable future. We need to always make sure our water and air is clean, our parks have enough funding, and our farms and wildlife are abundant and prospering for generations to come. I support:

·       Maintaining clean water and air and PFAS prevention

·       Preventing pollution in our Great Lakes, rivers, and streams

·       Building the Great Lakes Tunnel

·       Funding our parks

·       Supporting farmers and all workers in agriculture.

·       Defending and growing our clean energy jobs.

·       Encouraging technology for better solutions for the future..

Veterans

I am the only candidate running for the 106th district that has served our great nation in uniform.  I cannot stress enough how proud and privileged I was of my service. I truly love our country and our way of life; I spent many years in combat to protect our families and our way of life, to me all of that was worth it. All our veterans deserve the promises that were made to them for their sacrifices. I know all too well of those sacrifices, I have lost too many friends, and have too many of my brothers with traumatic injuries that occurred during the conduct of operations throughout the world. Combat veterans have seen the worst of humanity and deserve to be recognized for those sacrifices that they have experienced on behalf of this nation. I will always stand for our veterans, and I will be fighting for veterans and their needs in Lansing daily. I support:

·       Funding community veterans’ officers and programs.

·       Educating our youth on sacrifices our men and women in uniform make daily.

·       Standing against any effort that will jeopardize our country, state, and national security.

·       Protecting our veteran’s rights and way of life.

·       Exploring better treatment modalities and protocols that enhance quality of life for our veterans.