Have you personally ever had to navigate the court system?

Not as a litigant, no. I haven't been through a divorce, a custody case, or a criminal matter. I hadn't even seen the inside of a courtroom before taking my job as a deputy clerk. I came in with the ideas of what I'd seen on TV and in Movies, and I can tell you its virtually nothing like that. It's often much more serious and methodical, and it requires tremendous preparation in order to have any chance of success.

I've watched hundreds of people go through it from the other side of the counter. I'm watching it happen in real time, every week, as I'm continuing in my role while running this campaign. Some days I'm handling criminal matters, other days its civil, and unfortunately, I see exactly where the system fails.

I've also sat across from people in some of the highest-stakes business situations imaginable — board disputes, acquisitions, negotiations where millions of dollars and people's livelihoods were on the line. That taught me something about what it means to walk into a room that feels unfamiliar and overwhelming, even when you're prepared.

The people who come into that courthouse for the first time — scared, unprepared, without a lawyer — deserve an office that meets them where they are. That's what I'm running to build.