Many people have asked why I have chosen to take on the challenge of Cheri Bustos, after all, why would a “progressive” Democrat choose to primary a candidate who represents her district well in Washington D.C.? Well, there are simple answers, but let me begin by telling you about who I am and where I come from. I was raised in Huntington Beach, CA and have lived all over Southern California, Washington State, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and most recently Minnesota and now I finally make Rockford, Illinois home for the last 10 months. When we moved here we stayed in a day to day motel and then week to week in any motels we could find while my wife and I tried to establish ourselves here. In my life I’ve been broke, robbed, swindled and cheated, I’ve gone from an upper-middle-class background to myself and my mother living in a one bedroom trailer where I slept on a couch for a number of years in a one bedroom trailer.
I was born with a condition called Hypopituitarism which means my pituitary gland is non-functioning so I needed to take growth hormone as a child and was the last resident in California to finally be switched from human growth hormone made from people who were generous enough to donate their body to science and finally placed on synthetic until I stopped taking it once I reached an “ideal” height of 5’10” I’m now 6’0” today so obviously I had a little left in my system from all of those years taking it. I’ve also found out about 8 years ago now due to having to take steroids and growth hormone for so many years my liver is failing and I will need to go in for a transplant in the near future. So am I the ideal candidate to take on Cheri Bustos? Absolutely not, but am I the most down to earth challenger she’s ever faced? Sure. I know what it’s like to be poor, hell I’m living in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment in Rockford with my wife and my mother who’s recovering from two strokes and can't live on her own just yet (but we hope for the best!) my wife is a Caregiver by profession and a part-time Lyft/Uber driver to supplement our cash supply when needed we’re on food stamps also known as SNAP and I’m on Disability due to the liver issues.
Now, why would a man with a myriad of his own problems want to tackle one more by challenging a sitting US Congresswoman? I honestly wish I didn’t have to but here’s the rub. Since becoming Dick Durbin’s “gal” in Washington she’s risen to the rank of DCCC Chair and one of her first actions is threatening to blacklist anyone who challenges a sitting Democratic Congressperson. This is undemocratic and wrong telling people that if you challenge a Democratic seat that you will be cut off from funding and support in the future. I am a man with literally nothing to lose and as American Activist James Baldwin once said: “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man with nothing to lose.” Well Congresswoman, here I am. Congresswoman Bustos believes in Corporate Personhood and that Corporation's biggest responsibility is to the Shareholders. She supported the Keystone XL Pipeline and she’s raised over $400k from Big Pharma. 85% of Cheri Bustos campaign war chest in 2018 came from large private donations from people giving the federal maximum donation allowable and PAC’s. Less than 13% of her money came from small campaign contributions from everyday people like John Q. Public. She is bad for our economy, bad for our environment, bad for health care still refusing to support Medicare for all, bad for Rockford and bad for Illinois. These are the reasons I have chosen to step forward and challenge Cheri Bustos and I ask for your support in the coming days and months as I work to make it official and begin a signature drive hoping to get enough of your support to get me placed on the ballot in 2020. I thank you for your time and consideration and you can expect more from me in the coming weeks and months as we prepare to take the fight to Cheri Bustos front door.
