Eight years ago, I filed the paperwork to run for the Rhinelander City Council. With the announcement last week that State Representative Dan Meyer will retire after 12 years serving the Northwoods, after talking with my family and giving it some hard thought, I have decided to announce that I will be a Republican candidate for the 34th Assembly District to serve the Northwoods in the State Legislature.

I currently serve as the President of the Rhinelander City Council, as well as serving as the President of Downtown Rhinelander, Inc., Rhinelander’s downtown revitalization and business development organization.

I believe the most important issues in this election will be jobs and the economy. Certainly there are other issues of importance for the Northwoods, things like quality education, aquatic invasive species, and so on. However, with unemployment so high in the Rhinelander area, throughout the Northwoods, and throughout Wisconsin, I strongly believe that getting our residents back to work in family supporting jobs and getting the economy back on track to help our small businesses in the Northwoods grow and prosper needs to be kept front and center and will be by far the largest issue in this campaign. The economic downturn has been devastating for many folks in the Northwoods – having worked in small business my entire working life, I know that personally. I was a young man just getting started in the real estate business around the time the housing market collapsed, and without a doubt I suffered personally as a result, so I know the effects that this economic climate has on families in the Northwoods all too well.

Through my work on the city council, as well as through our downtown business development efforts, I have been involved in many economic development and job creation projects in the Rhinelander area. I believe those experiences over the past eight years as well as my experience in the private sector uniquely qualify me as a candidate with actual experience in working with businesses and in economic development.

It’s been an honor these past years to serve the residents of the City of Rhinelander, and I would like to thank all of you for your kind words and support these past few days – it means a lot to me that so many people have reached out to offer encouragement. I look forward to serving the Northwoods in the years to come!