Conservative Candidate for Montana House District 92
Condon, parts of Seeley Lake, Greenough, Potomac, Bonner, East Missoula & Lower Rattlesnake
ted4montana@gmail.com
thriving over surviving
About Me
I was raised in Pennsylvania near Valley Forge Park, where the Continental Army led by George Washington wintered in their fight for our independence. Raised by a dedicated single mother, I was given the gift of a beautiful childhood. My Grandparents also played a large part in my upbringing. My grandfather was a Marine and my grandmother was an artist, both were dedicated to conservation through sport and land. I learned fly-fishing from my grandfather at an early age, who would often remind me that “If you never tell a lie, you’ll never have to remember what you said”, something politicians around this country seem to forget.
My childhood was spent playing competitive sports, spending time outside exploring our public parks, rivers and streams, while also learning the values of hard work and entrepreneurship. My first job was picking up cigarette butts at my moms business, I’d get paid a nickel a butt. By 8, I had started my own snow shoveling crew, where I employed fellow classmates. I also spent time on multiple local campaigns growing up, making calls and going door to door for candidates.
After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a degree in Political Science, I went to work in sports and brand marketing. I was able to work with sports properties such as NASCAR, Formula 1, NFL, NBA and more. I met Julia, my wife, after work one night and we’ve been inseparable since. She was a huge part of building my own sports marketing agency with a friend, where we have worked with multiple combat sports athletes and brands, including champions from UFC to Bare Knuckle.
We now live in Condon, Montana where we own a small business, and consult Montana brands in marketing. We also work at our local establishments Mission Mountains Mercantile and Liquid Louie’s where we get to hang out with our friends and local community. I serve on the Swan Valley Community Council as its youngest member, Treasurer and Secretary.
Why I'm Running
I am running for state representative because I am worried for my generation and the ones to come. Life has become unaffordable for many young people and families, including mine. I hear constantly from younger members of our district that they only have enough money for bills and are not able to save. Rurally, I see younger people in our town leave because of opportunities elsewhere, we are losing our talent and the next generation of hard-working Montanans. This is not the American Dream we want to offer in HD 92. We need to cut property taxes across the board, recruit desirable businesses with higher-paying wages, and give extra income tax breaks to young couples trying to start a family as well as vulnerable senior citizens. At a national level our country is accruing debt at a massive scale, plundering our younger generations into trillions of dollars in debt.
Additionally, I am running because I see a disturbing trend when it comes to the management of our public lands and waterways. Living in Condon, our community is one of the last lines of defense against overdevelopment and sale of our public lands. Sitting on the Swan Valley Community Council, I fought for our town and brought in legal expertise to answer questions from our community surrounding Holland Lake Lodge and POWDR. If elected, I will fight for more transparency between the Forest Service and our state and local governments. The FS works for YOU and we need more transparency when it comes to the leasing and sale of our public lands.
Passions
I have many passions that I believe can cross over to meaningful legislation:
-Sports are truly special. There are not many times in life when people can come together, whether than be in the stands or on the field, other than sports. If you’ve been to a Griz game you’ll know that! I believe putting more money into youth sports should be a priority. You learn lessons in sports that you can’t learn in a classroom or in front of a screen.
-Entrepreneurship classes are something I believe is missing when it comes to high school education in Montana. We have so many young talented people in this district with great ideas. We need to harvest the next generation of entrepreneurs who will make brands and businesses that are made in Montana.
-I believe our four legged friends should be adopted not shopped. My wife Julia and I have two beautiful mixes we’ve rescued and one cat that found us (as we’ve learned most cats do). We want to help market rescuing/adoption over buying pets and help our rescue programs get pets forever homes.
-I hate the stigma around single parents. As a product of a single parent household I know the struggles a single mother or father have to deal with. I want to create more opportunity and help for these families.
