Candidate for
United States Representative; District 2; Republican Party

I have lived in the Cincinnati area for almost all of my life. I was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but my family moved to Cincinnati when I was about 6 months old. (We moved to Cincinnati because my mom, a native Cincinnatian, wanted to return home.) Save for time away at college and law school, I have been in the Cincinnati area ever since that move.

I went to Cincinnati Country Day School for high school, graduating in 1980. I earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Colgate University (Summa Cum Laude, 1984) and a law degree from the Harvard Law School (Cum Laude, 1988).

I studied political science and went to law school because I am passionately interested in public policy and the philosophy of government. Questions about how this country should be governed are of great interest to me. During the spring and summer of my junior year at Colgate (spring and summer of 1983), I worked in Washington for Tom Luken, who represented what was then the 2nd District of Ohio + roughly the western part of Cincinnati.

After law school, I practiced law briefly with Graydon, Head, and Ritchey in Cincinnati, but did not find the practice of law much to my liking. After leaving the firm, I joined a publishing company in Cincinnati, the National Underwriter Company + a trade publisher for the insurance and financial planning industries. For six (6) years, I did editorial work for the National Underwriter Company: writing articles, contributing to reference books, and editing manuscripts + all on various aspects of the federal income taxation of insurance and employee benefits. I then served as Corporate Counsel (the in-house lawyer) for the National Underwriter Company for three (3) years. Dissatisfied + again + with the practice of law, I left the National Underwriter Company and became a high school teacher of American history and American government at Cincinnati Country Day School (my alma matter). For the last five (5) years, I have been teaching Advanced Placement American History to juniors, and two government-related classes to seniors: Law and Government (a more or less traditional government class), and Constitutional Issues (a seminar focusing on current issues before the Supreme Court). I also advise the Model United Nations club at Country Day.

I teach, and I teach the classes I teach, because I am passionately interested in our experience as a country and in our constitutional system of government, because I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm with kids and igniting in them the same sort of excitement about our country, and because I want to help the rising generation of Americans to think well about where we should go as a country. In short, teaching allows me to explore and share my passion for public policy debate and the philosophy of government.

I am married to a lovely women named Brynn. We have three fabulous sons: Sam (10), Jack (7), and Henry (4). We also have a puppy named Spike. We live in Mongtomery, about 20 minutes northeast of Cincinnati.

I enjoy collecting vintage and modern pens + especially fountain pens. My favorite sport is baseball, and my favorite color is generally red + but in the case of cars my favorite color is black.

Please call me at 513-373-5360 with any questions.