Why I Am Running

It’s Sunday afternoon. The business is caught up. Laundry’s done. I grabbed a few things on sale at the store, took a shower, handled life.

Most people don’t get time to sit and think. They’re just trying to survive the day.

Today, I’m sitting here preparing to run for Congress.

Not because I dreamed about being a politician, and not because I want a title or a job. I already have my dream job. I’m running because I’m tired of choosing between options that don’t speak to normal people — real people just trying to live their lives.

At 52, I became a small business owner for the second time, after failing the first time. I left a secure job making more money than I ever thought I would. Not because I was mistreated. Not because I hated it. I left because I felt a responsibility to help fix a broken system.

When I opened my own psychiatric medication management practice, I quickly learned that nothing in our system is designed for regular people. Insurance companies fought every claim. Cash flow was brutal. At one point I had to take another job just to keep the doors open while still carrying a full patient load.

I got evicted from an apartment. I rented a room. Some nights I slept on an air mattress in my office because I worked one job during the day and another at night. I never questioned the decision. Not once.

With the help of my business partner, Allyson, we made sacrifices. We both went without pay for a year. We kept going. Along the way, we found good people, and the business survived.

And none of this would have been possible without Debbie. While I was in school and building this practice, she carried the day-to-day weight at home with our daughters. That matters. I would not be here without that.

Today we provide psychiatric care in our community. We support families. We show up every day and solve problems without being stuffy or corporate. Just real people helping real people. That’s the America I believe in.

When I look at Washington, I don’t see a system built around regular life. I see a system that too often leaves people fighting just to stay afloat. It demands accountability from struggling families but rarely demands the same from itself. It talks about opportunity, but doesn’t provide the basic foundation people need to actually thrive.

They don’t understand how expensive it is to be poor. And I think people are exhausted — overwhelmed and fed up.

I believe there are certain things that should be givens in this country: food, housing, healthcare, and education. If someone doesn’t have those, the system has failed them. And when systems fail, leaders fix them.

Personal responsibility matters. Hard work matters. Freedom matters. But responsibility requires stability. People don’t need saving — they need a fair shot.

We already pay enough in taxes. The issue isn’t revenue; it’s what Washington chooses to do with it. Why not handle the basics first? Why not demand equal accountability? Why not stop pretending this is impossible?

I don’t want to go to Washington to enrich myself. I don’t want to go to make friends. And I sure as hell don’t want to stay there. I want to help bring about change.

If you want someone who only cares whether it helps regular people — and doesn’t give a damn whether there’s an R or a D next to it — then I’m that person.

Let’s help us first.
Why not us?

— Frank