Welcome!

Friends,

Although it has been nearly 20 years, I can still vividly remember the thoughts and feelings I had as a boy. I envisioned working and raising a family in our great state. Even at that young age, I had a sense of belonging; a feeling that Michigan was, and would continue to be, my home. At the time, Michigan’s economy was stable, fueled largely by a robust automobile industry.

Sadly, however, circumstances have changed drastically. The steady decline of the auto industry over the years due to foreign competition, particularly here in Michigan, has been profoundly devastating and destabilizing to our state’s economy. The recent global economic crisis has only served to deepen the economic abyss in which we find ourselves. Furthermore, the lack of economic diversity has left us unable to withstand a global economic downturn. As a result, Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country (15.1% as of November 2009 – Bureau of Labor Statistics). This is both tragic and unacceptable.

As we are acutely and painfully aware, prolonged joblessness has grave consequences on families and entire communities. In many cases, it has fueled home foreclosures and forced hard-working, decent people into bankruptcy. We can and must do better. We have to turn the tide of economic instability and “Bring Michigan Back.”

Upon graduating from Michigan State University earlier this decade, the lifelong dream I had fostered and kept in the forefront of my mind for the better part of two decades, began to fade, driven by the signficant economic downturn in our great state. Like many Michigan natives, I left the state and headed East in search of gainful employment. The fact that so many of our young, talented minds are receiving an education from our institutions of higher learning and then leaving the state upon graduation to live and work elsewhere, is a wake-up call for a change in policy choices.

To remedy our current economic situation and to return our state to prosperity, we are going to need most, if not all, of our talented young people. Without decent and well-paying jobs, this goal simply cannot be realized. Change always begins at home; this truth has called me back home to be an agent of change. It is for this reason I am entering this race as a Democrat to represent Michigan’s 8^th District in the United States Congress.