Everything that I believe needs to happen in our country in order to “right the ship” is anchored not only in data, but in my morals, and I believe these morals are essentially universal. I believe you likely share my morals just because, if you’re reading this, you’re a human being just like me. I believe we all have an innate sense of fairness and justice. We all instinctively know what’s right and what’s wrong. Some of us have been trained out of some moral positions that we would naturally hold, but I believe the overwhelming majority of people (whether they agree with me or not) are good. They’re truly good, decent people. I believe that even people who have done bad things are usually good people at their core. Haven’t we all done bad things, after all?

I’m running for congress, and I’m doing it from a position of wanting to do the right thing, not the popular thing, or the “affordable” thing. We need to figure out what’s right, and then do that. Period. No exceptions.

It shouldn’t matter if doing the right thing costs more money. If it’s the moral thing to do, and we can agree to that, then the question isn’t “can we afford it?” but rather “how do we pay for it?”

Whether we do what’s right or we do what’s wrong should never be determined by how much money it costs.

It shouldn’t matter if doing the right thing is more difficult, either. Doing the right thing usually is more difficult, isn’t it? But if it’s the moral thing to do, and we can agree to that, then the question isn’t “is it easy enough?” but rather “how will we do it?”

Whether we do what’s right or we do what’s wrong should never be determined by the level of difficulty.

We can do anything we put our minds to if we work together. And if we don’t have what it takes to stick it out, we will fail. I’m not here to be a politician who tells you what you want to hear. They all seem to want to tell you, “Elect me, and I’ll fix everything!” That’s not how it works. That actually might be why it’s not working.

If you elect me to represent you in congress, I will still need your support after Election Day. I will need you to follow what I’m doing, inform me about when I’m doing something you like, or don’t, and read what I’ll be posting on my congressional website. My entire mission as the representative for the 39th district will be to do right by you, and the last thing I’ll ever ask you to do is “just trust me.” Don’t “just trust me.” None of us should trust anybody we elect into any position of power. I think our current representatives have proven how dangerous trust can be. Our government is not designed to be “set it and forget it” like a Crock-Pot or a rotisserie. It’s a government of, by, and for the people. That’s you. That’s me. And my goal is to move us back to that.

We all need to maintain a healthy level of skepticism when it comes to anybody who is trusted with any amount of power in our society. Trust should be hard to earn and easy to lose. I expect you to question me, and I’m not afraid of that. No honest person should ever be afraid of being questioned, because if you’re an honest person, you should have honest answers; and honest answers are the easiest answers to give.

Even though it will ultimately be my job to deliver, and the buck will stop with me if anything goes wrong, I want this to be a partnership. In fact, I believe it has to be a partnership. I will expect you to hold up your end of the deal, and I will hold up mine.