Port Huron Is Home

I love Port Huron. It is where my wife, Jolene, and I have chosen to raise our four children. It is where we are part of a church community, where our kids are growing up, where we have built relationships with friends and neighbors, and where I have had the privilege of serving on City Council since 2018.

When I first ran for Council, I did so because I believed Port Huron had tremendous potential and because I wanted to be part of moving our community forward. Eight years later, I believe that even more strongly.

Port Huron has changed significantly during that time. We have seen new investment, improvements to our parks and public spaces, redevelopment throughout the community, growth downtown, and renewed interest in properties that sat vacant or underutilized for years. There have also been difficult decisions, disagreements, and challenges along the way. That is part of serving in local government.

Through it all, I have tried to approach the job the same way: listen carefully, ask questions, understand the facts, be responsible with taxpayer dollars, and make decisions based on what I believe will best serve Port Huron as a whole.

Family, Faith & Community

Before I am a councilmember, I am a husband and dad. Jolene and I are raising four children, and much of my perspective on Port Huron comes from experiencing the community the same way other families do. We use the parks. We drive the streets. We walk and bike through our neighborhoods. We visit local businesses and community events. Our children are growing up here.

That gives me a very personal interest in what Port Huron will look like not just next year, but ten or twenty years from now.

Faith and service have also been important parts of my life. I have spent many years involved in ministry, including working with young people and families. That experience has reinforced for me the importance of community, relationships, listening to people, and recognizing that leadership is ultimately about serving others.

A Business Perspective

Professionally, I serve as Vice President of Marketing, Sales & Commercial Strategy for Mopec Group, a Michigan-based company serving the pathology industry.

My career has centered around business strategy, marketing, growth, technology, manufacturing, sales, and organizational leadership. I spend my professional life thinking about how organizations grow, how investments are prioritized, how teams solve problems, and how decisions made today affect an organization years into the future.

That experience naturally influences the questions I ask in local government. What will this cost? What problem are we trying to solve? Is there a better way to accomplish it? What will the long-term impact be? Will this encourage or discourage investment? Are we creating an obligation future taxpayers will have to maintain?

Government and business are not the same, and they should not be. But I believe government benefits when elected officials understand budgets, economic development, investment, organizational leadership, and the realities faced by businesses trying to create jobs and grow in a community.

Serving Port Huron

I was first elected to Port Huron City Council in 2018.

Serving on Council has given me the opportunity to work on issues ranging from roads, infrastructure and public safety to economic development, parks, housing, zoning, neighborhood concerns and major redevelopment opportunities. It has also taught me that local government is rarely as simple as social media makes it appear.

Most significant decisions involve competing priorities. Residents can look at the same issue and reach completely different conclusions. A decision that benefits one neighborhood or group may create an unintended consequence somewhere else.

That is why I believe a councilmember’s responsibility is bigger than simply responding to whichever voice is loudest. We have to listen. We have to do our homework. We have to ask difficult questions. And ultimately, we have to make decisions for the entire city. I will not pretend that everyone will agree with every decision I make. I do believe residents deserve to know why I made it and that their perspective was considered.

Why I Continue to Serve

Public service has given me an even greater appreciation for Port Huron. We have incredible natural resources, beautiful neighborhoods, a remarkable waterfront, historic architecture, strong institutions, locally owned businesses, and people who genuinely care about this community. We also have challenges.

We have aging infrastructure that requires investment. We need continued economic development and housing growth. Some neighborhoods have not experienced investment at the same pace as others. We have to maintain the parks and public spaces we have built. We have to keep our city safe while using technology responsibly. And we have to make smart decisions about major properties whose redevelopment could shape Port Huron for decades. Those challenges are also opportunities.

I believe Port Huron’s best years can still be ahead of us if we remain willing to invest in the fundamentals, welcome responsible private investment, take care of our neighborhoods, support our local businesses, and make decisions with the next generation in mind.

For me, serving on City Council has never been about agreeing with everyone or trying to make every decision popular. It is about doing the work, treating people fairly, being willing to explain where I stand, and helping build a Port Huron that our children will be proud to call home.

That’s why I serve.