I’ve lived here in Leon County for most of my life; after graduating from high school in 2002, I worked several different hourly retail jobs before enlisting in the U.S. Army in June of 2007. After completing my term of service in 2011, I moved back to Tallahassee to attend college using benefits provided by the Post 9/11 GI Bill; I subsequently graduated from Florida State University in December of 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.

I’ve been active in local politics since 2016, first as a member of the Big Bend Democratic Progressive Caucus and later as a member of the Tallahassee chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. In 2018 I was a volunteer for Jeremy Matlow’s campaign for City Commission – Seat 3 and in 2020 I volunteered to help with Jack Porter’s campaign for City Commission – Seat 1.

As a Democratic Socialist, I’m supportive of policies that would significantly improve conditions for workers. At the federal level, examples of policies that I support include a minimum wage of at least $15/hour that’s indexed to inflation, Medicare For All, Paid Family Leave by Law, the Green New Deal, Cancelling All Student Loan Debt, Making Public Colleges and Universities Tuition-free, and Significantly Reducing Defense Spending.

Here in Leon County, I’d like to see us create a vibrant worker co-op sector to strike at the root cause of income inequality, increase funding and support for community health centers to help enable more people to see a doctor when they need to, partner with local non-profit organizations to create a variety of housing options that better reflect the income ranges present in our local economy, increase funding and support for Title 1 schools to ensure that every child can receive a great education no matter what zip code they live in, and shift funding away from reactive law enforcement programs that don’t actually address the underlying problems that make criminal behavior more likely.