About 12 years ago, in 1998, I pled no contest to a DUI. Fortunately, God used this as my wake-up call to help turn my life around. Soon thereafter I was introduced to my wife, Ninette, a devout Christian, and several pastors, who taught and showed me what it meant to be a Christian. They helped me understand that God had a great purpose for my life and that if I would give my life to Christ, I would accomplish the things that God had intended for me to accomplish. At that point, my life changed completely and I found purpose and meaning, which is why I am running for Congress today.

I was on the long road to recovery, got married and began raising my two children, Noah and Natalia, who now attend Orangewood Christian School. We became very active in our church, Highpoint in Ocoee, with Ninette doing the children’s ministry and our family holding bible studies at our home. I became a Board member at UCP (children with special needs), became a member of the Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club (helping underprivileged children at Orange Center Elementary) and even led the construction of a prayer garden at the Harbor House (who provides shelter, clothing and services for women and children victimized by domestic violence) and became involved in many other service projects. I also decided to transition my law practice in 2007 to become a conservative activist, as I felt strongly that our nation was slipping away and we were ruining our children’s future as we abandoned all of the great principles and values given to us by our Founders.

I say all this because it is important for everyone to know the whole story. No one would want to be defined by their worst moments. Unfortunately, I had a setback with alcohol in 2005, in a trip to Tallahsseee, in which I got drunk and passed out, for which an incident report was written up by the police. This was particularly personally devastating for me because I had a family counting on me and I thought I had overcome this issue.

Immediately I sought help from my Pastor Keith Tower, who is also a licensed counselor and deals with alcohol issues. He set up an accountability plan for me, which we implemented. I have taken the position that, even though I made mistakes and let people whom I love down, I am not going to let this define who I am. I have let God break me down, mold me, and allow me to be the man He wants me to be. I am proud to say that, for the last 5 years, I have stayed strong, committed and sober. My committment to staying sober is stronger than ever and I am determined to turn my weaknesses into strenghts.

I know we all have our weaknesses and I will have to stay vigilant always with this issue. One part of being vigilant is to surround myself with people of strong character who do not drink. I want you to know that, if elected, I will use this same principle to select my staff in Washington. My pastor and I have discussed the importance of always taking my family or a close friend with me wherever I go to whom I am accountable.

I will not let you down and I want to assure you that I do not take this issue lightly. It is important that one learns from his mistakes, accepts the consequences and makes the necessary changes in their life. I also want to assure everyone that no matter what character attacks may come my way, I will not retaliate but continue to press forward with my specific conservative solutions that I believe will bless this nation.