About Robert

My goals are to be a citizen's representative, supporting all citizens of the 1st District and being an advocate for those citizens who are unable to voice their concerns in Washington, D.C.  The 1st Congressional District needs leadership in Congress to improve the quality of life for all of the residents of the 1st District and provide true representation for the needs of the 1st District in Congress.

I bring to the table over 20 years of political experience.  While I am not a professional politician, I have developed and maintained contacts while as a locally elected official and working for political campaigns.  I was elected for 5 terms as a county supervisor and 1 term as a city councilman.  This gives me the experience and understanding of how the Federal government affects all of us on the local level and where our Federal government may lack its understanding of the needs of the local governments. 

My background was mainly in the Republican Party.  I walked away a number of years ago from the Republicans because they were not inclusive of someone with a moderate to liberal political belief when it comes to social issues.  Three people have really influenced my political beliefs over the years: my wife, Kirsten, who was a staffer for Senator Russ Feingold (D); my daughter, Hannah, who has autism; and Vel Phillips, a former Secretary of State from Wisconsin, former Judge, and civil rights leader.  I am a fiscal conservative and social moderate/liberal.  I believe government has an obligation to be there for those who are in need, but we also must remember the ability to provide those services in a fiscally responsible manner.  I believe in spending our dollars on programs and initiatives that help our citizens and cutting those, i.e. War in Iraq, that drain resources from assisting our citizens.  Americans must come first.

I am just a regular person and never was born into money; I had to work hard for everything I ever had.  I served in the military (U.S. Army Airborne) but I did it to serve my country and I don't expect anyone to woo over me for it, I served because I believe in our country and what it stands for.  I understand the needs of our veterans, because I myself am a disabled veteran.  The current VA system has not taken care of our veterans and continues to be a bureaucratic organization that is slow and indifferent in processing VA claims for veterans and ensuring they receive the appropriate care necessary for their recovery.  PTSD is a major issue with our returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq and has not received the attention it should have.   

Small businesses are the life blood of our economy and they have not had the attention or support as the large corporations have had with the stimulus bailouts.  I understand the needs of business owners, seeing I am a business owner myself.  Without the survival and success of small businesses, our economy will continue on a slow pace to recovery.

We need to ensure our elderly and disabled citizens are taken care off.  I understand the needs of our disabled, because I have two children with Autism.  My 4 year old was diagnosed 2 years ago and is doing well with in home therapy and my 2 year old will be diagnosed as well with Autism.  What I had to go through to get help for my children should never occur to anyone with a disabled family member and I intend to change that as your Congressman.  I had to and continue to fight for their rights everyday due to the fact of Republicans in Congress and President Bush putting autism on the back burner; those afflicted with autism continue to fall through the cracks of government protection.  When President Obama took office, within 30 days he sent money to the States to assist the Medicaid programs, which included autism therapy.  My daughter was on a waiting list for therapy services and probably would not have been off the list for about two years if it wasn't for President Obama.

What we don't need in Congress are more long tenured bureaucrats, professional politicians, or people looking to enhance their retirement to run for office.  This is why I believe no elected official in Congress should be in office for more than 12 years, no elected official in Congress should participate nor receive a pension, and no elected officials in Congress should be voting for pay raises when the rest of the country is in chaos financially.  It is about being a citizen's representative and remembering those who are not as fortunate as others or who don't have the resources to have their voices heard.