I was born just outside of La Plata, Maryland, and have lived in Southern Maryland my
entire life. Much of my childhood was spent working with my Dad on our family-owned
tobacco farm. I attended public school and graduated from McDonough High School in
1992.
Auto racing was a big part of my life. I grew up around racing and watched my father
drag race professionally throughout the country. I started racing myself when I was 15,
winning the High School Championship at MIR. After high school, I successfully won
locally and nationally at many NHRA and IHRA events. This was highlighted in 2005,
when I competed in 9 drag races and 13 dirt races, making multiple trips ranging
between Canada, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio.
After high school, I got a job as a Construction Cost Estimator, where I was responsible
for designing HVAC systems, performing material takeoffs, and writing contact bids. At
night, I attended the College of Southern Maryland and found that my mechanical skills
from racing transferred nicely to computer networking technology. As a result, I earned
an industrial certificate in Cisco Networking (CCNA) and Microsoft Networking (MCSE).
After obtaining my certifications, I quickly found employment as a System Engineer at a
project management firm in Alexandria, VA. After a year, I moved on to work at a Law
Firm in D.C. as their I.T. System Administrator.
In 2000, I married my best friend and sweetheart, Kathy and we moved to
Hughesville. Frustrated by long hours and even a longer commute to D.C., I went to
work for the College of Southern Maryland as their Lead Technical Specialist in 2001.
Growing up in a rural area, I was always interested in real estate. I took my first Realtor
class right after high school and helped my family sell our family farm and purchase two
other large farms in the area. Starting in 2005, I have been affiliated as a Realtor with
O’Brien Realty in Charlotte Hall and help families buy and sell residential real estate.
However, as the real estate market declined in 2007, I witnessed firsthand the problems
harmful government regulations caused. Seeing the political reactions to the housing
collapse prompted me to take a more active role in politics. I had always been politically
aware, watching debates and reading the local paper. But after watching Maryland
legislators make mistake after mistake with lousy legislation, from misguided foreclosure
laws to uncapping management fees on teacher pension funds amid a stock market
crash, I felt the need to be more personally involved. After attending several rallies,
local fundraisers, working the Republican booth at the St. Mary’s County fair, and
reaching out to elected officials to make my voice heard, I finally decided to run for
office myself.
I filed to run for the House of Delegates in April of 2010. I lost a very close race (by -
282 votes) to a very popular Delegate, Johnny Wood.
In 2014, I ran again, and after a ton of hard work from faithful supporters like my wife
Kathy, my son Tyler, and my daughter Sarah, I was elected to the Maryland House of
Delegates. I was assigned to the House Health and Government Committee, where I
continue to serve today. Serving the people of St. Mary’s County in the General
Assembly has been an honor. I am committed to representing my constituents to the
best of my ability. I take the role of a public servant seriously, and I will work tirelessly
to help Maryland remain an excellent place to raise our families.
