ELECTION INTEGRITY
EDUCATION
I think we need to take a new approach to education. I owe many achievements in my life to the great teachers that I had growing up. I think its disgusting what is happening in some of our schools, with teachers indoctrinating our children with their politics, and teaching our children about things that should be left up to the parents. We need more transparency in the classroom, and less weight on examinations. If we’re just teaching kids to regurgitate facts, they aren’t learning anything besides memorization. I will work with teachers and school administrators of all backgrounds, to come up with solutions to these ever-increasing problems. I also believe our rural schools have been receiving the short end of the stick, when it comes to funding and when new laws and regulations are being considered.
TRANSPARENCY IN STATE GOVERNMENT
Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that go on in Madison behind our backs. I’m thankful for WisconsinEye, so we can watch floor sessions and committee meetings, but that doesn’t show you what goes on behind closed doors. What goes on in dark rooms and outside the Capitol walls. When I get to Madison, I will keep you informed as-to who is fighting for Wisconsinites, and who is fighting for outside actors.
ELECTION INTEGRITY
Plain and simple, people do not trust the system in place. We need to ensure that there is no question whether the results are legitimate or not. We should not be sending ballots to people that haven’t requested them. We don’t need to have drop boxes collecting ballots, or special agents or other folks going door-to-door to collect ballots. There are too many ways to manipulate the system. It needs to be tightened, and there needs to be more transparency in our elections in general.
HOUSING
As a REALTOR and real estate developer, I can tell you that there are a lot of inherent problems in today’s housing market. Inventory is low, demand is high, but no one can afford to build a new home. The state has the ability to help in the facilitation of real estate developments, through Tax Incremental Financing and agencies like WEDC and WHEDA. As your State Senator, I will work with these agencies to come up with solutions that will fix our housing problem for good.
TAXES
One of the things I want to do as your Senator is eliminate the State Income Tax. Other states that have done this have shown that businesses increase hiring and investment when their tax obligation is reduced. Higher after-tax wages also encourage more people to migrate into the state and more households to go to work. With greater employment and more available capital, economic output, wages, and incomes grow!
MENTAL HEALTH
I believe a lot of the problems we have in this world come down to a lack of mental health counseling and awareness. Men are taught to hide their emotions, children are told to act a certain way, and there are many other roadblocks to achieving self-awareness for many people struggling with mental health issues. We need to increase funding for mental health counseling, but also need to spread awareness of all of the different types of mental illnesses and signs of their oncoming.
ALCOHOLISM
In Wisconsin, we often see graphics with data showing our state as the “Drunkest” or with the most alcoholics, and unfortunately some people view that as a badge of honor. As someone that has battled with alcoholism, with a family history of alcoholism, I want to get to the root of the cause and find a way to change the narrative. I grew up going to a small tavern in Ingram called Horseshoe Bar & Café, owned by Lou and Vicki Paffel, two amazing people. I learned a lot of things over the years from all of the interesting folks that came through those doors, and the regulars that had unique stories of their own. Those small taverns are very important to the fabric of our state, so we don’t want to jeopardize their businesses, but we need to address the growing issue of alcoholism.
TOURISM
Wisconsin is one of the most beautiful states in the union. With rolling farmland, beautiful lakes and rivers, and forests that go on for miles. With only 5 of the 21 members of the Governor’s Council on Tourism being from North of Highway 29, I believe that Northern Wisconsin is grossly underrepresented in our state’s tourism budget. Within the 29th Senate District, we have hundreds of navigable lakes and rivers, we have a handful of music and art festivals, we have several very important winter sports facilities and events, and many more sources of tourism. It is our job at the state level to ensure that these businesses and organizations have what they need to bring in tourists to the area and help facilitate the foundation of more organizations like them.
2ND AMENDMENT
I am a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Unlike what many liberals will say, the 2nd Amendment isn't up for interpretation. The words "Shall not be infringed" are as straightforward as they get. I’m not a huge sportsman like many of my friends around the district, but I do enjoy getting out with my friends and hunting small game, birds, or whitetails. I also appreciate my friends that carry concealed weapons. I feel safer with responsible gun owners carrying on the streets and in public places. I believe that we should look at more reasonable laws such as Constitutional Carry, to ensure that there are as many legally carried guns on the street as possible. Despite what the left wants you to think, guns do not kill people, and in the right hands, guns save lives.
MUNICPAL SUPPORT
Our municipalities are the heartbeat of our communities. If our towns and cities don’t have the support they need from Madison, they fall behind on new projects. When they fall behind on new projects, economic development is usually one of the first things to go by the wayside. We need to give our municipal leaders the seat at the table that they deserve.
ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION
Living in Wisconsin, the roads are never truly “great”, and there really isn’t a way to ensure that roads will be perfect forever. However, I believe that we can build an infrastructure budget that has a built-in fund for maintenance, to ensure the longevity of our roads. I think there are many roads within the 29th Senate District that need to be improved, but without the proper resources, we will rebuild roads twice over a ten year stretch instead of fixing the root problems before they come up.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
As an Investment Advisor, I evaluate companies every day. I dive into the numbers and can tell you after a 30-second glance if a business is profitable, growing, declining, or about to go bankrupt. We need more businesspeople in Madison with analytical backgrounds to dive into our economic development programs and find areas that we can improve. Sure, Madison, Milwaukee, and many of the surrounding cities have no problems attracting new businesses or developments; it’s not quite that easy up here. I think we need to look into new areas of funding new businesses and developments for rural areas and economically challenged areas like the northern part of this district.
HEALTH
I go to the gym every morning. It’s a healthy part of my routine and is a great way to start my day. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have the time or ability to get in the gym every day. Also, many people aren’t aware of the dangers of many of the store-bought foods we’re eating. I want to fund an awareness campaign that highlights ways to get active and healthy, and how to sustain a healthy lifestyle. This will help us when the next health crisis emerges.
WORKFORCE
Once the Covid-19 unemployment benefits were gone, we expected people to go back to work, and many have; but unfortunately, we’ve now added many people to the system that have now figured out a way to live without needing to work. We need to incentivize working and disincentivize being on government benefits such as food stamps or unemployment. We need to teach professional skills to our students and young adults to equip them with a skill that they can take with them everywhere they go. And once we’ve achieved maximum employment for our area... we start to attract new workers.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Our great Country was built on the foundation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. One of the freedoms that was considered paramount to the success of this nation is the freedom to practice whatever religion you choose. Unfortunately, the most popular religion in the United States, Christianity, has been under attack for a long time. I believe in the separation of church and state, but also don't think it's right that our schools are teaching our children what to believe, including many things that directly conflict the teachings of the Bible. We learned with the Covid-19 pandemic that the left does not care about your beliefs, it's their way or the highway, and I will fight that concept with everything I have.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Being a law enforcement officer is one of the toughest, most thankless jobs in America right now. Across the country, the left is attacking the police for simply doing their jobs. As your next State Senator, I will ensure transparency within our police departments, and build-in protections for officers that do their jobs properly, as 99.9% do. No one wants to get rid of "Bad Cops" more than their fellow officers that receive the blame for the .01%'s mistakes.