Welcome to my personal web site. I have been involved in the technology sector and conducting political research for over ten years. I have helped design and build numerous web sites for fortune 500 companies, non-profits, political organizations and universities. I have also been involved in the political process both as a consultant and as a candidate. I founded the technology consulting firm Magic Box, LLC. in 2002 with the goal of making Internet related technologies easy to use and incorporate. I also started the research project WhoServed.com in 2005 to document and track the military service of politicians in the federal government. I have been happily married to my wife Renée since 1993 and we have four beautiful children; Gavin, Aiden, Ewan and Lillian.

In 1997 When I started working in the civilian technology field after leaving the military, many people were just starting to learn about the benefits of a good web site for their business. Now, I think many political groups and candidates are discovering the communication benefits of a good web site, blog, and Internet video. The Internet has truly changed the political landscape and it is giving some candidates an opportunity to communicate with the voting public that has never been available before. When I ran for Congress in 2006, I was able to easily reach people in my district through my web site. Voters could donate to my campaign, watch television interviews, read my position on major issues, read articles that I had written, check my campaign calendar, etc. This information was available 24/7/365 to anyone who wanted it. This is an unprecedented level of communication and I think most candidates are just now starting to scratch the surface when in comes to leveraging technology on the campaign trail. However, most local and state level candidates have not been able to use this technology for their campaigns due to financial constraints or lack of technical knowledge. It is my goal in the next decade to make Internet communication more accessible to these candidates.

My background is quite unique. I spent seven years in the military, joining the Army in 1990 expecting to serve in Operation Desert Shield (which later turned into Desert Storm) as an Infantryman. By the time I arrived to Fort Bragg for duty with the 82nd Airborne Division the war was over. However, during the next four and a half years I spent with the 82nd I saw the world. I was deployed to Southern Florida in response to hurricane Andrew, the National Training Center in California, the Jungle Operations Training Center in Panama, Operation Eager Light 94 in Jordan, a tour of duty with the Multi-National Force and Observers in Egypt, and many other operations too numerous to mention. I also narrowly missed combat two more times with a called off deployment to Somalia in 1993 and with the cancelled invasion of Haiti in 1994. After my initial enlistment was over I re-enlisted for three years and went into military intelligence. I was sent to South Korea for a year tour of duty and came back to the US to serve with the 5th Special Forces Group before leaving the Army in 1997. You really appreciate the United States when you see the conditions that people around the world are living in. We are an extremely blessed nation.

In addition to being a graduate of the Non-Commissioned Officer’s Academy at Fort Bragg, NC and the US Army Intelligence School, I hold a BA with distinction from the University of Michigan, Dearborn in political science with a history minor. I am a former contributing editor for Defense Watch magazine and have written articles for the Michigan Journal. In 2005 I decided to run for Congress is Michigan’s 14th district. As the Republican candidate in an extremely Democratic district I managed to garner 15% of the vote. Even though I lost, the experience and insight that I gained from the race was invaluable. I learned more about real politics from that campaign than any class I took at the University of Michigan. I have an even further appreciation for this country after running for office. When a regular guy like me can walk in off the street and make run for a Congressional seat that, my friends, is amazing.

I think it is also important to mention that I am a Christian. For me, being a Christian is more than just going to church on Sunday and reading the Bible once and awhile. It is a way of life. Just like the military is not just a job, it is a way of life. I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be. I struggle like everyone else in life, but I don’t stop trying to be the best father, husband, friend and person that I can be.