Senate District 38 Convention – Glacier Hills Elementary

“Here are some excerpts from my endorsement speech at the Senate District 38 Convention on February 27, 2010. ‘As I like to say every morning, “it’s a great day to be alive!” It has been the greatest privilege to serve on active duty and in the Army Reserve for over 20 years. Having served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990/1991 and now returning home after serving in the Iraq War just over one year ago, I am prepared to do battle on your behalf in the State SENATE. After graduating from West Point, I’ve deployed overseas on six tours of duty around the world rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. You’d be so proud to see firsthand those superb young men and women in time of war and to witness their tremendous sacrifices. Let us never forget them.

Our country and our state face serious challenges like never before…I’m a CPA by profession and have balanced many budgets. I’ve been acting Vice President of a major bank where I’ve written policy, worked on strategy and put my MBA from St Thomas to good use. I’ve worked as Chief Financial Officer of a small business employing over 30 people and from these experiences know we need to create an economic environment so the private sector is freed to create jobs. In fact, that was a big part of my job in Iraq – working on economic development in Diyala Province 35 miles north or Baghdad, where we established economic and political stability and recognized that increased government regulations and additional taxes didn’t create jobs – it was the people and their natural ingenuity that did, just as it does here and everywhere else around the world…’