Now I’m running for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th District because Washington looks exactly like the failing institutions I’ve spent my career fixing — overleveraged, overregulated, and underperforming. Our government doesn’t have a money problem; it has a management problem.

My campaign is about bringing real-world discipline, execution, and results to public service. I believe government should do fewer things — and do them well. I’m not running to score political points; I’m running to solve problems that actually affect families’ lives — affordability, healthcare, and stability.

• Government should do fewer things — and do them well.I believe in a smaller, smarter federal government that delivers measurable results instead of empty promises. Every dollar collected from taxpayers should reach citizens — not bureaucracy. I’ll fight to cap administrative costs at 10% across federal programs, eliminate waste, and restore accountability. Government must focus on outcomes, not politics — strengthening affordability, security, and opportunity for working Americans through efficiency and execution, not endless expansion.
• Preserve. Protect. Progress.These three words define my campaign and my philosophy of leadership. We must preserve the values that built America — hard work, family, and community. We must protect citizens’ rights, safety, and dignity — especially the most vulnerable among us: seniors, veterans, and working families. And we must progress toward a stronger, fairer future by restoring affordability, reducing government waste, and investing in innovation. My vision is a results-based conservatism that honors tradition while creating opportunity for the next generation.
• Real-World Leadership for a Broken Washington.I’ve spent my career fixing what others couldn’t — from turning around bankrupt hospitals to leading multi-billion-dollar financial transactions. I know how to execute under pressure, balance budgets, and rebuild trust. Washington doesn’t need more politicians; it needs operators who deliver measurable results. My experience across healthcare, finance, and technology has taught me that leadership means accountability, not rhetoric. I’ll bring that same execution mindset to Congress — to stabilize what’s failing, protect what works, and deliver results for New Jersey families.

I also deeply respect Jack Kemp, a conservative who believed that economic opportunity was the best social program. He saw no contradiction between capitalism and compassion. Kemp fought to expand homeownership, urban investment, and upward mobility — principles that mirror my own legislative priorities today.

And finally, Ronald Reagan taught us that optimism is a leadership strategy. He governed with conviction but also with grace, reminding us that America is strongest when we lead with confidence, not fear.

Integrity means doing the right thing when no one is watching — and being honest about what government can and cannot do. Accountability means measuring success by outcomes, not intentions or speeches. Too many politicians are rewarded for promising, not performing. That culture has to change.

Execution is the missing ingredient in Washington. We don’t lack ideas — we lack the discipline and management skills to implement them. The same rigor that drives a business or hospital to succeed should apply to public policy: clear goals, measurable progress, and consequences for failure.

A true public servant should see themselves as a fiduciary for the taxpayer — every dollar spent belongs to someone who earned it. They must protect individual liberty, ensure safety and security, and create conditions where families and businesses can thrive.

First, legislation should be clear, limited in scope, and results-driven. Congress should prioritize what affects citizens most directly: affordability, security, and opportunity. That means simplifying the tax code, cutting waste, protecting homeownership, strengthening healthcare access, and ensuring that every policy passed can be measured in terms of real benefit to the people who fund it. Laws should be written in plain English, not buried in bureaucratic language, and should include sunset provisions that force review and accountability.

Second, oversight is equally vital. Congress must hold federal agencies accountable for performance and transparency. Too often, unelected bureaucrats create de facto laws through regulation. The House has the constitutional duty to ensure those agencies execute the will of the people — not their own agendas. Effective oversight means demanding metrics, audits, and outcomes — the same way any board or CEO would assess performance in the private sector.

Finally, constituent service is where leadership becomes personal. Every phone call, every letter, every case file represents a citizen trying to navigate a government that’s become too large and impersonal. It’s our duty to make it work for them. My philosophy is simple: if a government office wouldn’t meet the standard of a well-run business, it needs to change.

For most of my career, I’ve been called into organizations on the edge of failure — hospitals that were bankrupt, financial systems in freefall, companies losing credibility with regulators. Each time, I built structures that stabilized operations, restored solvency, and delivered measurable success. That experience shaped how I see government today: not as a political machine, but as a national operating system that needs to be re-engineered from the ground up.

My legislative framework reflects that same vision. The American Citizens’ Primary Residence Mortgage Act strengthens the foundation of middle-class ownership. The American Citizens’ Health Insurance Act brings fiscal discipline to universal coverage. The Homeless Solutions and Stability Act replaces chaos with structure and dignity. Each of these is designed to make the system work — not just sound good in theory.

But my legacy goes beyond policy. I want to help America lead the world in ethical technology. As the inventor of the Cortex-X AI Behavioral Governance System, I’ve developed the first architecture that ensures artificial intelligence remains auditable, ethical, and under human control. If we can export that model — where innovation serves humanity, not the other way around — then we secure both our moral and economic leadership.

Colleagues were trying to reach friends, family, and contacts in the city. Phone lines went dead. For hours, the only thing that mattered was making sure everyone was accounted for and safe. That day, I witnessed both the fragility and resilience of human systems—financial, operational, and emotional.

9/11 changed how I viewed leadership forever. It taught me that crisis doesn’t build character; it reveals it. In moments of chaos, titles and politics don’t matter—execution, communication, and courage do. It also showed me how interdependent our systems truly are: when the planes hit, both human lives and the financial arteries of the country were at stake.

That experience changed my life. It taught me that real leadership isn’t about waiting for permission — it’s about seeing a problem, owning it, and delivering results. I was twenty-one years old and managing cash operations for a $7 billion commercial bank, helping design new liquidity models and interest rate hedging strategies. I learned more about responsibility in those early years than I could have from any classroom.

I first read The Republic in college, long before I ever thought about public office. What struck me then—and still resonates now—is how Plato saw leadership not as a pursuit of power but as an obligation of wisdom. The “philosopher-king” wasn’t meant to be a ruler above the people; he was the ultimate servant, bound by reason and duty to act for the common good. That ideal has guided my entire career.

In business, I learned that systems collapse when those in charge chase influence instead of outcomes. Plato warned of the same thing—governments that decay when virtue yields to ambition. His discussion of justice, specialization, and civic harmony mirrors the challenges we face today: how to balance freedom with order, and innovation with ethics.

The Republic also explores the dangers of illusion—how societies can be manipulated by shadows on the wall instead of truth. In the age of artificial intelligence, misinformation, and political theater, that allegory feels prophetic. It’s why I believe every system—political or technological—must have mechanisms of accountability and truth.

I relate to Stark because I’ve spent much of my life at the intersection of innovation and responsibility. I built the Cortex-X AI Behavioral Governance System, the first patented architecture designed to make artificial intelligence transparent, auditable, and ethically governed. In essence, it’s a real-world version of Stark’s vision: creating powerful technology that remains accountable to human oversight.

What I admire about the character is that his evolution mirrors what I believe leadership should be—moving from ambition to purpose. Stark begins as a brilliant but self-focused creator; he becomes a protector through self-awareness and sacrifice. That’s growth rooted in humility. It’s the same transformation great leaders undergo when they realize success isn’t measured in wealth or recognition—it’s measured in the stability and safety you create for others.

Stark also symbolizes the American spirit of invention: building, breaking, rebuilding, and never giving up. He fails, learns, and adapts—a process I know well from turning around struggling companies and developing new frameworks for healthcare and finance.

Early in my career, I had a tendency to push too hard. I’d walk into a situation, see the inefficiencies immediately, and want to rebuild everything at once. It worked in the short term — balance sheets improved, teams stabilized — but I sometimes missed the human element: that people need time to process change. As I matured as a leader, I learned that the most effective reformers don’t just change systems; they change minds.

The second struggle was personal: managing stress and isolation while constantly leading in crisis. When you’re the person everyone calls to fix the impossible, you rarely get the luxury of slowing down. I had to learn that leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself — it’s about empowering others to share ownership.

What makes the House truly unique is its constitutional authority over the power of the purse. Every dollar spent by government begins with the House, which gives it a direct line of accountability to taxpayers. It’s not just a legislative body — it’s the nation’s chief financial steward.

The House’s diversity of background, region, and ideology mirrors the complexity of America itself. Its strength lies in the constant renewal of voices and ideas — ordinary citizens stepping up to serve, bringing fresh perspectives to government. That turnover, when healthy, prevents stagnation and keeps the system honest.

Career politicians often confuse institutional familiarity with competence. I’ve spent over twenty years fixing broken systems in healthcare, finance, and technology — sectors that operate under far greater complexity and accountability than most government agencies. That kind of real-world experience is exactly what Washington lacks. We need leaders who’ve met payrolls, managed budgets, and been held responsible for results — not just for rhetoric.

That said, prior public service can provide valuable understanding of legislative process and constituent needs. The ideal balance is a Congress made up of both seasoned public servants and accomplished professionals from outside government — people who bring fresh ideas and practical execution skills.

The danger comes when political longevity becomes a substitute for effectiveness. Too many in Washington have spent decades talking about the same problems they were elected to solve. I believe diversity of experience — especially from fields like healthcare, business, education, and technology — is essential to designing better policy.

Affordability is the immediate crisis. Housing costs have soared beyond reach, healthcare expenses are crushing working families, and everyday essentials — from food to insurance — have outpaced wages. We’ve built an economy that rewards speculation and bureaucracy over productivity and contribution. Reversing that trend requires disciplined fiscal policy, smart deregulation, and targeted investment in citizens — not systems.

Stability is the next frontier. Our federal government operates like a distressed enterprise: overleveraged, inefficient, and incapable of executing at scale. That instability fuels uncertainty for families and businesses alike. We must restore financial integrity to the federal balance sheet, rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity, and ensure energy independence to shield our economy from global shocks.

Finally, trust — the most important and the most fragile — must be rebuilt. Americans have lost faith in nearly every major institution, from government to media to healthcare. Without trust, even good policy fails. The next decade must be about restoring credibility through transparency, results, and competence.

That short cycle forces constant engagement with constituents. It prevents complacency and encourages efficiency — qualities sorely missing in modern government. It also ensures that new leaders, new ideas, and new priorities can emerge quickly when the nation’s needs change.

However, the two-year term also demands discipline. Representatives must learn to govern while campaigning, which is why execution and focus are essential. Those who treat the office as a performance platform get lost in the noise; those who treat it as a fiduciary responsibility use the limited time to make measurable impact.

Some argue for longer terms to promote continuity. I disagree. Stability should come from sound policy and good governance, not from insulating representatives from accountability. The Founders designed the House to reflect the immediate pulse of the public — not to be comfortable. That tension between responsiveness and restraint keeps our democracy healthy.

Term limits would restore urgency, humility, and perspective to government. The longer someone stays in office, the more they begin to see power as an end in itself rather than a responsibility to others. That’s why we now have a political class more focused on managing optics than solving problems. The same individuals rotate through hearings, committees, and leadership posts for decades while major issues — affordability, healthcare, housing, border security — remain unsolved.

In the private sector, leadership is judged by results. In Washington, too often it’s rewarded by tenure. That’s backward. We need to bring back the sense of urgency that comes from knowing your time to make a difference is limited. Term limits would open the door for new ideas, new energy, and a new generation of citizen-leaders — people who understand the real-world effects of policy because they’ve lived them.

I would support a framework of 12 years maximum in Congress — two Senate terms or six House terms — with no loopholes. That’s long enough to learn the job and make an impact, but short enough to prevent the calcification of power. Alongside term limits, I also support lifetime lobbying bans for former members to prevent influence-peddling after service.

Jack Kemp was a Republican who championed economic growth while fighting for urban investment and opportunity. He understood that conservatism works best when it lifts people up, not when it simply cuts programs. Kemp’s “empowerment economics” — lowering taxes, expanding homeownership, and encouraging work — closely mirrors my own vision of affordability and upward mobility.

Paul Tsongas, a Democrat, represented another kind of courage: fiscal honesty. He warned that debt and overspending were the greatest threats to America’s future, even when it was politically unpopular. That same candor is needed today.

From Reagan, I take the lesson that optimism and conviction are not opposites. A leader can be firm in principle while inspiring unity. Reagan didn’t govern through anger or division; he led through vision and belief in America’s exceptional spirit.

That conversation crystallized for me what’s broken in our system. When hardworking Americans can’t afford a home, something is fundamentally out of balance. It’s why I wrote the American Citizens’ Primary Residence Mortgage Act — to protect affordable homeownership for working families and stop speculative capital from pricing people out of their own towns.

Their story isn’t unique — I’ve heard versions of it across New Jersey. Families squeezed by rising costs, seniors afraid to downsize, young adults unable to stay near their parents. These are not economic statistics; they’re human lives shaped by policy failure.

Compromise should never mean abandoning your values — it means recognizing that no one has a monopoly on good ideas. The most productive negotiations begin with a shared goal: making life better for the people you serve. When that’s the foundation, differences in approach become strengths, not obstacles. That’s how successful organizations, communities, and yes, even nations, thrive.

Washington has forgotten how to do this. Too many politicians view compromise as surrender instead of leadership. The result is gridlock, chaos, and a government that lurches from crisis to crisis while families and businesses wait for stability. We need more problem-solvers and fewer performers — people willing to sit across the table, respect opposing perspectives, and get the job done.

I believe in principled compromise — negotiating on method, never on mission. On core issues like fiscal responsibility, national security, and individual liberty, there can be no retreat. But on how we get there, we must be willing to collaborate, test ideas, and adjust when data and reality demand it.

If elected, I would use this power to restore fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability to federal spending. The federal government doesn’t have a revenue problem; it has a management problem. Too often, Congress delegates financial decisions to unelected bureaucrats who treat taxpayer funds as limitless. That ends when the House reclaims its rightful authority over the purse.

I would champion a “results-based budgeting” approach: no new revenue measure or spending authorization without performance metrics and sunset clauses. Every program must justify its existence based on measurable outcomes, not political talking points. This is how successful organizations manage money — and it’s how Congress should too.

Additionally, I would push to simplify the tax code, close loopholes that reward speculation over productivity, and ensure citizens keep more of what they earn. The power to tax is the power to shape behavior; we should use it to reward work, family stability, and American competitiveness.

As someone who has rebuilt failing organizations, I know that the first step to fixing any system is identifying where it’s broken. The same applies to government. The House should use its subpoena and hearing powers to audit the performance of federal agencies, review regulatory impact, and root out inefficiency and fraud. This process should be transparent, data-driven, and professional — not performative.

Key areas deserving sustained oversight include healthcare waste, financial mismanagement, the security of federal data systems, and the growing influence of unaccountable administrative agencies that effectively write laws without congressional consent.

Every investigation should produce actionable recommendations, not just headlines. Committees should be staffed by qualified professionals — auditors, economists, and subject-matter experts — who can help turn findings into reform.

Their story hit me hard because it represents what’s broken in America’s housing market: middle-class Americans being pushed aside by forces beyond their control. That conversation became a catalyst for one of my most important policy proposals — the American Citizens’ Primary Residence Mortgage Act. The goal is simple: to protect homeownership for American families by creating a Citizen Interest Credit that shields primary-residence buyers from speculative competition and foreign capital distortion.

That couple’s story wasn’t about economics; it was about fairness and dignity. They weren’t asking for handouts — just a fair chance. They reminded me that government’s job isn’t to promise everything, but to make sure the playing field is level.

Their struggle also underscored a theme I see everywhere — people doing everything right and still falling behind because the system is broken. I promised them I’d fight to fix that, and I meant it. Every policy I’ve written — housing, healthcare, homelessness, AI ethics — is about restoring balance, opportunity, and trust.

Cortex-X is a recursive cognitive governance system that enforces ethical oversight, contradiction detection, and symbolic role control across predictive AI models. It creates a built-in chain of reasoning that can’t drift into bias or unverified output without triggering an override. In plain terms, it’s the architecture that keeps AI honest — ensuring it remains a tool for human advancement, not a threat to it.

Building it wasn’t just a technical exercise; it was the culmination of decades spent leading complex organizations where transparency and accountability meant survival. I’ve seen firsthand how systems — financial, healthcare, or governmental — collapse when governance fails. So I built one that can’t.

I’m proud of this accomplishment because it represents more than innovation — it represents responsibility. I didn’t invent Cortex-X for profit; I designed it to help set a national and moral standard for how we develop and deploy artificial intelligence. It’s now part of a broader patent family that includes cognitive scorecards, clinical emotional-intelligence engines, and decision-integrity models — all aimed at aligning technology with humanity.

I am the inventor of the Cortex-X AI Behavioral Governance System, a patented architecture that creates a layer of ethical oversight and recursive decision control above predictive models.

Cortex-X introduces symbolic role enforcement, contradiction detection, and moral override logic — ensuring that no AI system can act outside the boundaries defined by human operators. It transforms AI from a black box into an auditable, explainable, and governable system.

Government’s role should be to set standards, not stifle innovation — to require traceability, explainability, and security across all AI systems used in commerce, healthcare, and defense. We need a National AI Governance Framework, modeled after the principles embedded in Cortex-X, that ensures transparency and liability from the lab to the battlefield.

America must also lead globally in defining AI ethics. If we fail to create rules that align technology with liberty, authoritarian regimes will impose systems that replace freedom with control. Responsible innovation must become a national security priority.

2) Ballot Tracking & Transparency — Mandate a national “Track-My-Ballot” system for all federal elections (in person, absentee, mail-in) so each voter can verify submission, receipt, and count of their ballot. This increases trust and reduces questions about whether ballots were mishandled.

3) Uniform Mail-Ballot Chain-of-Custody and Deadlines — Establish federal minimum standards for mail-in ballots: require postmark by election day or receipt by election day (unless a justified exception exists), require secure drop-box use, and standardize procedures for ballot acceptance, recounts and challenges.

4) Risk-Limiting Audits & Auditable Results — Require all jurisdictions conducting federal elections to implement statistically rigorous risk-limiting audits (RLAs) after each election to verify results. This builds confidence and ensures results can be trusted.

5) Independent, Bipartisan Election Oversight Boards — Create or strengthen independent, non-partisan election oversight commissions in federal elections (and incentivize states to adopt similar structures) to handle registration integrity, voter roll maintenance, post-election audit reviews, and public reporting.

6) Protections for Election Workers & Officials — Increase penalties for threats, intimidation or interference targeted at election officials, poll workers and their families to safeguard the individuals who administer our elections.

7) Modernization & Funding — Provide federal matching grants to states meeting standards for modernization of voting equipment, secure online registration, cyber-security protections, and official training. Emphasize that federal funds are contingent on compliance with federal minimum standards.

8) Clear Certification & Challenge Procedures — Clarify federal statutes for when states certify results, how objections or recounts are triggered, and ensure transparent public processes (building on recent reforms to the Electoral Count Act)

9) Accessible Voting for All Eligible Citizens — Ensure lawful, eligible citizens— including military and overseas voters—have simple registration, absentee ballot access, and clear deadlines consistent with prior federal law.

How This Aligns With My Philosophy:

Trust & Accountability: Voters must believe that every valid vote counts and that the process is transparent and secure.

Efficiency & Results: Just as I’ve emphasized in other policy areas, the federal government should set clear standards and metrics for election administration, not simply add more layers of bureaucracy.

Access + Integrity: The legislation balances ease of access for eligible voters with robust safeguards against abuse—neither suppressing citizens’ rights nor leaving gaps that erode public confidence.