10/11/2024
Hey Greenfield,
I know I’ve been dropping a video once a week with more details on my campaign platform. This week, I’m in Nashville, so there were no plans to do so, but I got a surprise email and call while on the road. The call was to let me know that someone had been given an envelope with information about me. Honestly, I had to laugh a little inside. It sounded very “Deep Throat” (Watergate reference). I knew what was in the envelope, but I let him work his magical reveal. He got the information wrong, reading old court records. He thought I had multiple arrests and cases of DUIs from the 2000s. I do have more than one arrest for DUI and a DWI—they are not the same. But I’m not here to litigate 25- to 15-year-old history, other than to share that, yes, I have a past. Not one I am proud of, but one I am thankful for.
Thankful for? Yes, thankful for.
After he finished the reveal, I shared with him that anyone who knows me knows I am sober and, God willing, this Christmas Eve will be 11 years for me. I say “God willing” because, as anyone in recovery would share, all we have control over is the day or moment we are in.
Today, I am thankful to be a father to an amazing 5-year-old daughter and a husband to the best wife a man could hope for. They are the reason I get up each day, go to work, and, yes, sit in City Council meetings and share the goings-on in the city. Now, running for City Council, I believe I have great ideas to help improve the city.
I can’t control someone trying to make a big reveal about a past that is easily found, but I can control how I deal with it. That is by doing what I’ve learned to do in recovery: be fearless and transparent. I do this not because I believe he will reveal some deep, dark secret—it’s not a secret to anyone who knows me. I am an alcoholic and will be for the rest of my life. But I chose to do the work to move past alcohol controlling my life.
I am sure like some others in the community, my upbringing was not picturesque. I was abandoned by my mother at age 5. I was abused by an alcoholic stepmother until I was 11, and then, when I was reunited with my mother, I was beaten by my stepfather. That past eventually led to a path of escapism. I won’t go into the sordid details here, but you can sit in a recovery meeting and listen to my story or ask me about my path if you like. I am an open book and happy to share it.
What I will say is that path of recovery led me to find the grave of my stepmother in central Florida, where I asked her to forgive me for holding bitterness, anger, and hate toward her for all these years. If I had not been an alcoholic, I don’t know if I would have ever come to realize the toxicity of that hate I carried for so long. When I hear cicadas in the trees today, it reminds me of that day, pulling back the leaves and dirt that had covered the postcard-sized grave marker. I take a deep breath and thank God that the man my daughter gets today is one who isn’t held back by unresolved anger and fear. Yes, fear. I was afraid to feel that pain, so I buried myself in partying and being wild. But that path led me to two options: give up on life or give up alcohol. One I wasn’t sure I was ready to do, and one I didn’t think was possible. I am thankful to this day that I found the path that showed me it was possible. I feel free from that monster of hate and fear that controlled me, so when this “huge” reveal was shared, my laughter wasn’t evil—it was laughter of joy that I am not controlled by my past or afraid of it, but I know that sharing it will resonate with someone who may need to hear it.
So, that is my post for today. If you have concerns or feel this makes me a candidate you cannot vote for, that is okay. I can’t control that. I am happy to talk with you if you have any questions.
I hope this finds you well, and I hope you have an amazing weekend. With that said, I’m heading back to the studio to enjoy the music my friend is recording and hopefully capture some epic shots to remember this recording session by. :)
