Where I've been, why I'm here and what I hope to do

I was born in Minnesota in March 1956. My family moved around a lot, but settled in Sacramento, California, by the time I started high school. I graduated from Bella Vista High School in Sacramento in 1973.

I joined the U.S. Air Force a few months after graduation, working on B-52 bombing and navigational computer systems at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, and was honorably discharged as a sergeant.

For the first few years after leaving the Air Force, I held a variety of jobs, the longest of which was several years at the Western Union telephone customer service center in Reno, Nevada, where I met Liz, the woman who has been my wife for more than 40 years. We have no children.

 In 1982, I joined the Federal Aviation Administration, where, after graduation from the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, I became an air traffic controller, working at Van Nuys and Burbank airports in Southern California for 10 years.

While in the FAA, I returned to college, earning an associate's degree in letters, arts and sciences from Antelope Valley College in 1992. In 1996, I earned a bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Northridge.

Also in 1992, I started working at the Los Angeles Daily News, eventually becoming a copy editor. In 2005, I was hired by The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where I worked as a copy editor for more than a decade, and oversaw the opinion pages for my last four years.

 I retired from The Spokesman-Review in 2021.

If I were to pick a campaign slogan, I think that would be it.

I'm a Democrat because I believe we're all in this together. But more important, I'm a progressive. That means I support ideas that move our nation forward. Ideas that shouldn't be ideological. Ideas that Republicans and Democrats can work together on, rather than each "majority" advancing its agenda until the other party regains control and undoes them.

Here's an AI definition I've cut-and-pasted: "Being a liberal generally means supporting a political and social philosophy that champions individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise. Modern liberals advocate for government involvement to promote social equality, welfare programs, and civil rights, while classical liberals prioritize economic freedom and minimal government intervention."

I consider myself a classical liberal, and I think the "modern" definition is part of the reason our country is so divided. I would never abandon those principles, but I think making them a focus of your politics cannot help but alienate people who don't think the government -- which is supposed to represent everyone -- should be used in that way. Whether or not you agree with them, that is their belief, and rather than branding them our mortal enemy and locking horns, I believe it's more productive for our leaders to focus on things that we all want, such as safe streets, a healthy environment, affordability in housing, food and energy, et cetera. Everybody everywhere wants that.

So while I personally will always support social equality, as a representative of this district, I will only oppose efforts to restrict it. Pursuing legislative remedies for societal attitudes has only led to more division and less true direction for our country. We must seek a more central path forward. An eagle can't fly on only one wing.