“My passion for history, and especially the history of this, the greatest and freest nation the world has ever seen, has compelled me to take up call to be a public servant. I consider the greatest fortune of my life to have been born in the United States. My love of learning inevitably led me from an early age to politics and the ideas that formed this nation. What makes us so different? It is our ideals. No other nation has a Declaration of Independence like ours. No other group of men put down on paper for all to see, such a sweeping tribute to self-evident truth, and then fought to defend it and see it implemented.
If elected I will fight for and champion the just, natural prerogative of all my constituents, and all citizens of this country. I will work tirelessly to keep my constituents informed on issues, by informing myself, so they can both better direct me in my service to them, and better direct their lives as they see fit.”
I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. Southwestern Arizona has always been my home. I love the people. I love the culture. I especially love the food. We are a community that has always thrived on the quintessential American ideal of creating a melting pot of peoples, no matter their birthplace, status, or religious creed. One of the leaders in the creation of the Arizona territory, and Tucson’s first Hispanic mayor, was Estevan Ochoa. This region was home to a large contingent of the all-black regiments, the buffalo soldiers, stationed at Fort Huachuca. Being a border region, Mexicans along with the already planted Native peoples, who already called the area home, early on infused their legacy and traditions into the fabric of the communities that sprung up. Immigrants from around the world came to the mining towns of Tombstone, and Douglas, while the rail lines brought ever increasing additions to the cultural and ethnic milieu. Each group brought their own unique cultural contributions to what would become their new home.
Tucson has often been referred to as a big city with a little town feel, and it is. This welcoming, laid-back, and friendly attitude is among the many charms that draw people to the Southwest even today, that and the ever-plentiful sunshine! I received a Masters in U.S. history with an emphasis on American constitutionalism from the UA and a minor in Aerospace Mechanical Engineering. My first job out of college was as a financial advisor. After four years, and successfully battling cancer, I switched career paths to teach history at Pima Community College, while tutoring mathematics on the side
I wrote for several years Western Free Press, an online, Arizona-based news outlet. Starting in 2017, I was a conservative columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson’s largest newspaper, an opportunity I surrendered when I announced my candidacy. I currently work for the Upward Bound program at Pima Community College, which assists underprivileged children in pursuing their dreams of higher education.
With jobs and economic prosperity constantly calling me to move away, I’ve resisted in order to stay in Tucson. I’ve done a little of everything, but my passion has always been history and politics. From my teenage years, I have been involved as a volunteer for numerous campaigns. Service is part of my life. From my earliest teenage years, I spent my summers helping my church in various building projects and doing ministry work at homeless shelters and nursing homes. I continue to volunteer at the Wilmot State Prison, and am a founding board member of a local non-profit, the American Patriot Memorial, which advocates for the promotion of patriotism in our community.
The first right that is explicitly laid out in the Declaration is the right to life. This is the most fundamental right. There can be no discussion of any other right without correctly defining this one. Science is very straight forward in determining the issue of life. People can debate when an unborn child is viable outside the womb, they can debate when an already born person in a vegetative state is viable as well. What one cannot do is deny the humanity of either. When a woman becomes pregnant, she knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that if carried to term, she will give birth to a child. She won’t birth a cat! Those who advocate for abortion are advocating for the delegitimization of a human life, as are those who advocate for unchecked euthanasia. I fully support the right to life, and oppose legalized abortion, except in the cases of the life-of-the-mother, as state-sanctioned murder.