Comcast channel 24 or streaming video on www.peopletv.org

View the video by clicking the YouTube link (at right).

Last year we embarked upon the most important phase of our campaign, knocking on doors and meeting one-on-one to hear what is important you. These face-to-face opportunities have allowed me to tell citizens across Georgia’s 5th Congressional District why I am running.  

My decision to run for Congress was not a decision that I, along with my wife, made lightly. In fact, the decision to run was only arrived at after months of reflection and contemplation. I understood that I would have to give up my career as a judge, a career that I worked hard to earn and greatly cherished. That said, I made the decision to run because I care very deeply about our country and our community and I know that we deserve more.

Georgia’s 5th congressional district has been my home for my entire life. My wife was raised here and our children attend public school in this district; we are committed to seeing the 5th district thrive. I have spent my professional career as a community advocate and volunteer, attorney and judge here in our district; as your next congressman, I will work diligently on the issues impacting us nationally and locally. So many Americans today are greatly dismayed by the lack of civility, bipartisanship and the dysfunctional way in which Congress continues to conduct itself, is there any wonder that Congresses’ approval rating is at an all-time low of a mere 11%. The partisan gridlock that has engulfed Congress and brought to a screeching halt “progress for the people” has mired this country in a state of despair, hopelessness, and doubt about our future. We deserve better and ultimately, I felt compelled to STAND UP for our future!

Why run now? My decision to run now is simple: as a nation, we are at the crossroads; we are facing complex and challenging issues such as the erosion of the middle class, the safeguarding of social security and Medicare, high unemployment, the rising cost of college tuition and an outdated tax policy. These issues have been ignored and passed from Congress to Congress for decades. The members of Congress, those of the “Decades Club”, have had ample time to address and resolve the many recurring issues that we face today. Regrettably, the members of Congress have repeatedly demonstrated, in the face of necessary transformation, that they will not put aside partisanship to work for the good of the country over the good of their respective parties. This is why I am running now.

Our district has grown and evolved greatly over the last quarter of a century, the last time we had a new congressional representative. New leadership is needed now because we can no longer afford to approach every issue from a singular lens, as has been the practice for the last 25 years. As your Congressman, I will speak out and push for meaningful legislation on the issues that matter to the hard-working families of Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District. We need a forward thinker with a bold vision because our citizens understand: we will never capture the future while attempting to relive the past. Stand with me, and as your next representative, I will deliver for you!