I am married and I live in North Haverhill. I am a retired police sergeant and Army helicopter pilot; retired from the Army as a colonel; four combat tours overseas served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a life-altering experience. I am a recent law school graduate and veteran advocate, also currently a selectman in the Town of Haverhill.

I love my country. I feel there is a big disconnect between “we the people” and those who we elect to serve in public office. I believe public service should be just that. Elected office is not supposed to be a lifelong career.

Congress, I believe, has an approval rating of approximately 11%, yet incumbents are re-elected about 98% of the time. That is like visiting a restaurant five times and getting food poisoning four of those times and then going back again, hoping for a better outcome.

We need to institute term limits, we need to eliminate pensions for elected officials, and we need to take the money out of politics. The primary purpose of any government is the safety and well being of its citizens. We are a nation of laws, or we become another failed state in the dustbin of history. Equality under the law is a principle that can never be abandoned. It is our bedrock principle.

I will work to ensure that we remain a nation of laws.