Whether leading troops as a Marine officer into combat in Kuwait and Iraq, giving strength and support to my wife as she successfully fought breast cancer, or volunteering as a coach for my sons’ soccer teams, I’ve defined myself by the values of duty and honor.
I was born to working, middle-class parents, who for 30 years owned and operated a series of small businesses in Louisville, including Horne Cleaners and Clubfit International, a golf equipment and supply store. 
I inherited my parents’ hard work ethic, taking neighborhood jobs as early as junior high school mowing grass and delivering the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times newspapers.
While a student at Pleasure Ridge Park High School, I labored at an organic farm, shoveling “fertilizer�? and picking produce for local restaurants – and of course pitched in at my family’s laundromats.
Just before high school graduation, I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and, soon after commencement, headed to Parris Island, S.C. for boot camp. After completing this rigorous training, I returned home and was accepted in a Marine Corps’ Platoon Leaders’ Course.
I also enrolled at the University of Louisville. I worked as hard in college as I did at boot camp. I earned my tuition waiting restaurant tables and bagging groceries at Buehler’s Buy-Low Foods on Louisville’s Dixie Highway. I also served my time in the Marine Corp Reserve, contributing one weekend per month and two weeks during the summer.
University leaders recognized my potential back then; I was tapped to be a “Cardinal Man,�? a student ambassador of the president at local sporting events. I also was accepted to Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, whose mission is to promote a lifelong commitment to brotherhood, learning, ethical leadership and exemplary character – and whose many notable alumni include both actor Paul Newman and Kentucky’s U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.
In 1983, I became the first in my family to graduate from college. I was commissioned as a Marine Lieutenant and selected as an Infantry Officer. I served around the world as an Infantry Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer, deployed to the far East, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean as part of the landing force for the U.S. Navy 6th fleet.
After honoring my six-year active duty commitment to the Marines, I re-joined the USMC Reserve and entered the Brandeis School of Law at U of L. During school, I was awarded a Leon Seidman Memorial Award for demonstrating honesty, integrity and a commitment to community service, and clerked for a prestigious local law firm. I also honed my interest in the environment as a member of the Environmental Moot Court team. To this day, protecting clean air and water are among my passions.
On Thanksgiving Day in 1990, during my second year of law school, the Marines recalled me to active duty for Operation Desert Storm. I put my legal education on hold and served in the Saudi Arabia/Kuwait theater of operations for the next eight months.
Following Desert Storm, I returned again to Louisville and to law school, where I met and married my wife, Stephanie.
I graduated in 1993 and established a successful legal practice. Today, Stephanie and I are proud parents of two young boys: Ty, 11; and Nick, 9.
By 2003, now a lieutenant colonel, I was once again called by my nation – this time to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Stationed in the western-most sector of Anbar Province, I helped maintain law and order and assisted local Iraqi civil authorities in preparing for new constitutional elections.
Just days before being activated to serve in Iraq, I received the devastating news that my wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Today, Stephanie has completed her cancer treatments and continues her successful recovery. I continue to practice law and we are faithful members of the Christ Church United Methodist of Louisville, where I taught my children’s Sunday School classes.
Throughout my legal career, I have advanced in the military from my enlistment as a private to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Along the way, I was eventually promoted to company commander of the unit I first enlisted in! Though I was eligible to retire after 20 years of service, I continued to serve because the corps needed me. I marked my 27th anniversary as a Marine in March 2006.
Since enlisting as a Marine in 1979, I have been registered as an Independent voter, believing that as a military officer my duty was to my country, my loyalty to the Constitution, and not a particular political party or president. But my political perspective changed after completing my tour in Iraq. I have seen first hand how the Bush administration’s civilian leaders mismanaged the war and misled the American people. I am tired of seeing this Republican Congress repeatedly ask the weakest among us to bear the greatest sacrifice, while asking little of the wealthiest and most powerful. For these reasons, I changed my party registration from Independent to Democrat and decided to run for Congress to oust the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Anne Northup.
Steph and I cannot say how thankful we are for the hard work and commitment of everyone who worked on the campaign. It has been inspiring and humbling. I congratulate John and everyone that worked on his campaign, but the fight is not over. For all the reasons that I first entered the race for Congress, we must continue to come together and work to solve the challenges that now face our nation.
Today, when not practicing law or enjoying spending time with Stephanie and our children, I enjoy various fitness activities such as running, swimming, weight lifting, soccer, basketball, football, hiking, climbing and camping. I also relax at the movies or read books on subjects as diverse as the frontier history of Kentucky and the U.S., science fiction, our founding fathers’ biographies and the recent Bill Bryson travel books.
Here are a few of my clubs and interests:
- Christ Church United Methodist of Louisville
- Toys for Tots – volunteer, general counsel
- Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Kentucky – general counsel
- Legal Aid volunteer lawyer
- Louisville Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Kentucky Association of Trial Attorneys
- American Inns of Court 2001-04 (a legal mentoring program of experienced judges and lawyers designed to foster excellence in the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar)
- U.S. Marine Corps League
- U.S. Marine Corp Reserve Association
- Standard Country Club
- Lakeside Swim Club
- Former Boy Scout of America
- Junior Achievement
- Boys’ State
