The Platform

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Born and raised in Gary and Merrillville, Indiana, I served my country for four years in the United States Navy during Operations Iraqi Freedom  and Enduring Freedom. After coming back from my 1st overseas  deployment, I made the life-changing decision to give my life to Christ.  This was the best decision I ever made and it changed the whole  trajectory of my life.

After being honorably discharged from the  Navy, I stayed an additional three years in San Diego obtaining my  bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. In 2010, I made the decision to move back to Northwest Indiana to use my creative talents to affect positive change here. I immediately got involved in ministry at Embassies of Christ and that is where I met my beautiful wife, Kathelene. We now have two wonderful  sons, Ivan III and Myles.
I’m a Christian, so my worldview is shaped by the Bible. I believe the  family is the foundation of every society, so I’m pro-life and  pro-traditional family. I’m for a small and responsible government,  individual liberty & fidelity, fewer taxes, and economic growth  & empowerment.

I will ensure that lockdowns, masks, and experimental vaccinations are  never mandated again. I will protect our right to medical and religious  freedom.

I will ensure communities have access to clean water by securing state  funds and working alongside municipalities to replace old lead water  pipes with soft copper pipes. I will ensure communities have access to  clean air by authoring a bill that prohibits companies that emit  hazardous fumes from building or relocating within a certain proximity  of residential areas.

I would ensure that the Lake County Board of Health is allocated financial resources specifically to partner with local, reputable  faith-based counseling services to refer people to for outpatient mental  health treatment. I would also ensure churches and other non-profits that are already doing the work are properly funded through state grants.

I will stand with Law Enforcement and protect the 2nd Amendment to keep  our communities safe from violent offenders and government overreach. I believe in order to ensure public safety, you have to have a robust  and well-equipped police force to maintain law and order. In order to  have a large force, we need motivated recruits. In order to attract  motivated recruits, we need to first build the morale of the police we  already have. In order to build their morale, we must change the  narrative. We change the narrative by teaching our children to respect  authority and that policing is an honorable profession. We must  emphasize the fact that the police are here to protect and serve and not  out to target and gun them down. Police have reformed enough. Now, it  is time for society to reform. It all starts at home.

Even though I am a strong proponent of law-and-order, as a Christian, I  also understand grace and the power of Jesus Christ to change lives. I  believe we can successfully reach first-time offenders before they  become habitual offenders through a church/court partnership.

Whether  it is criminal court or drug court, I believe most of these young  offenders are acting out of anger and frustration. Many of them are  growing up in fatherless homes and are in of need direction. I believe  if they commit a crime (depending on the severity of the crime) and you  give them the option of either jail time or faithfully attending and  serving at a local church that has a effective mentorship ministry, 90%  of the time they will pick the church.

Through this partnership,  I believe we can cut the reoffending rate in half and while building  strong men and women of God who will become productive members of  society.

I will ensure parents are informed of curriculum taught in elementary school  and if there are discussions about “sexual orientation” or “gender  identity” taking place in class.

I will ensure that every parent in my district, regardless of income, is able to enroll their child in a school of their choice.

I will protect girls' athletics by ensuring biological males are not permitted to compete against women in schools' athletic programs, including club, intramural, and intercollegiate teams.

With the South Shore double track project well underway, an increasing  amount of attention is being paid to Gary. With that attention, comes  developers. With those developers, come jobs. Problem is, our country  has pushed four year college degrees for so long, that the trades (which  pay very well) are undermanned.

On top of that, historically,  Gary residents have not been informed well enough in advance, so those  in the trades don’t even have enough time to gain the required  certifications or skills needed to compete for the job or contract.  Therefore, Gary citizens have never made up a significant part of the  workforce on any major Gary projects.

When elected, I commit to  not only making sure the residents are fully informed of upcoming  development projects, but also what skills are required to make them  competitive; ensuring those who meet the proper requirements and want to  work are at the top of the hiring pool.

As an outdoor person, I know the value of sunlight and fresh air. Many  residents, especially the youth in our community, don’t take full  advantage of the great amenities Northwest Indiana has to offer. Whether it’s  kayaking at the Marquette lagoon, hiking in the Dunes National Park, or  biking the Marquette Greenway Trail, I plan on creating and organizing  big events that will get the community up, out, and enjoying our  beautiful lakefront amenities! 

I would propose a bill that would create a Family Fun and Recreation  (FF&R) fund and business tax break for Gary. The money in the  FF&R fund would be used to build free family-friendly attractions  like a giant splashpad, comparable like the one at Deep River Waterpark  and the business tax break would be used to attract major corporations  to build family-friendly attractions, like theme parks, in Gary.

Together we can make Gary fun again!!!