Hometown- I grew up in Novi and moved to Hartland in 2003.

Birthday- Born in 1985

Bio- I graduated in 2007 from U of M’s Ross School of Business, and rather than leaving the state for a job, I wanted to stay close to my family and community, and work to help turn the state around. I am married to the woman I will forever love, and work in the local real estate industry.

My Beliefs- I feel strongly in developing my values, and then letting those values determine the policies I support. I am loyal first and foremost to my principles and always doing what I feel is right. I will not put party above principle, and I despise hypocrisy wherever it is found. If there was one trait that I wish everyone held, it would be that of ‘intellectual honesty’.

Politics- I consider myself to be a progressive. I am a libertarian on social issues, so I have some inclinations to be a Ron Paul Republican, except that I have extremely different positions from him on economic issues. I support our civil liberties, and I feel the ACLU is worthy of the highest praise.

In regards to economic policy, my experience in business school led me to support the government protecting the people from the abuses inherent in the free market. I understand that there is good governance and bad governance, and I see nothing wrong with increasing the former while fighting against the latter. I view taxes as needed in order to provide our society with the opportunity to prosper. I want economic policy to be based on intelligent analysis and understanding of economics, rather than subjective emotions. Whether something is “fair” or “cruel” is not a persuasive argument in my opinion, as it is a subjective measure that both sides can claim, so I try to justify my economic positions with economic arguments.

Religion- I have faith that the scientific process results in the greatest understanding of the natural universe and history. For questions left unanswered by science, I have my own beliefs that may or may not coincide with the beliefs of others. I do not support the concept that if someone does not share my beliefs, they will then be punished for eternity. I think if everyone abandoned such thinking, many problems would be solved. But I do highly respect the religious leaders from history, be it Jesus or the Buddha, as great teachers of morality and philosophy.

Local Hot-Button Issues- I am very interested in increasing the transparency of our county government. Whenever there is one-party rule in a governmental body, where the opposition doesn’t have a single elected official, that body has a greater ability to hide their actions from the public. In my opinion, we are currently experiencing that here in Livingston. The Special Assessment Districts (SADs) have gotten a little coverage by the local media, but the public is not informed of the extent of the problem, nor all the likely consequences we are going to face in the future because of them. Since there is now the potential for an Emergency Manager to come to Livingston if it reaches a point of financial hardship, and that EM can then dictate the business of the county, townships or school districts, the residents need to know now about the financial state of the local government before it becomes too late and the people lose all say in the matter.