It all began with a simple desire to be involved in our local schools.  Why?  Because I wanted our schools to be the best, so the students in our community would be able to fulfill their destiny.  Four years after first running and three elections later, I began serving on the Fayette County School Board, only to find out that there was nothing I could do to stem the tide of the federal takeover of local schools.  Every standard, school rating, assessment, incentive, initiative, school board training, and teacher training was being controlled by the federal government.  State laws were passed to ensure that local school board members would fall in line with the government program.  Because of the School Board Gag Law of 2010 (SB 84), I could not even speak about why I kept voting NO without being accused of an “ethics violation” after the vote.

Then I began to see that education was not the only aspect of our lives that was being directed by an out of control federal government; taxes, healthcare, business productivity, trade, energy, private property, religious freedom, the workforce, so many “private sector” constitutional liberties, were also under attack.

I was told that the Governor and the State School Superintendent were to blame for sacrificing our educational liberty, so I ran for State School Superintendent.  I attended meetings all over the state of Georgia and gave presentations on how the education laws were destroying our schools.  I also listened to speakers on other topics such as taxes, healthcare, national defense, trade, law enforcement, the 2^nd amendment, immigration and much more.  I began to see that all of the attacks on our liberty were following the same pattern.

In my quest to stop the federal takeover of education, I realized that becoming the State School Superintendent was not the answer.  It was the legislation, both state and federal, that needed to be addressed.  I attended multiple “listening sessions” all over the Georgia where state legislators met with local school board members.  I sincerely believed that if only the legislators knew the truth about the laws, they would work to change them.  I begged and pleaded with them, but they continued to pass harmful legislation, year after year. 

I realized that the source of the problem was the U.S. Congress. After studying the proposed federal education legislation in March of 2015, I contacted the incumbent U.S. Senator in response to a feedback card I received in the mail.  I told him that if he voted to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), I would run against him.  In July of 2015, I called his office multiple times about the federal education bill and left messages.  Instead of responding to my calls, he voted for the bill.  That was no surprise because he also voted for the original No Child Left Behind and was a co-sponsor of the 2013 version of ESEA that did not go anywhere.  In December, I contacted his office once more, before the final vote.  He had several staffers answering the phone with false talking points.  I referred to the language in the legislation by page number that contradicted their talking points.  They said they would look it up and call me back, but they never did. 

Meanwhile, each and every day, Georgia students are being taught with dumbed down standards.  The potential of the future generation is being wasted and as every year passes it is getting harder and harder to reverse the damage that is being done.  As I write this, it is Monday of qualifying week.  Few are stepping up to run against the incumbent.  For some unknown reason, he is being given a pass.  He has millions of dollars in his campaign fund, but that will not deter me because as much as we want to stop the government from taking our money and our time through the crushing burden of taxes and regulations, we will not allow the government to take our children.  No amount of money can stop the truth from being told, and that is what I plan to do.  I will tell the truth about the laws, because I read them, and I will work each day to change them. 

The desire to be free is deep within each of us, and as that desire for freedom awakens, we will work together to restore the liberty that has been legislated away.  I know that I cannot fight this battle alone, and I am glad that I don’t have to.  I have met so many wonderful people who understand what is happening and feel the same way I do about this state and this country.  There are many fine men and women who are running for office and working behind the scenes to support freedom at every level.  I hope that you will join us, join me.  I am not going to ask for your money, but I will ask for something else, something more important.  I will ask for your vote, and I will ask you to tell others about me and about our plan to pass just laws, repeal unjust laws, confirm Supreme Court justices that will not try to reinterpret the U.S. Constitution, and keep the President in check, whoever that may be, as “We the People” get our country back on track.