My rock
My wife Jayme and I met as college students at UMD, started dating in 2003, and got married at Spirit Mountain in 2007. After having our daughter, Jayme decided to change careers and went to nursing school at Lake Superior College. She is a neuro/trauma nurse in Duluth.
As a nurse, as a mom, and as my partner for life, she shows me everyday what selfless, enduring love looks like and what it means to care for our community.
We are raising our 9 year old daughter, Olivia, and 3 year old son, Desmond, in West Duluth where we have lived for 17 years.
being
a dad
Being a dad is my center of gravity. Being a parent is the most challenging work any of us do. Everyday, I try to raise children that feel accepted, loved, and safe - in their own skin and out in the world. That is the foundation that Jayme and I try to build so our children can grow to have confidence, compassion, and creativity.
My work
For 20 years, I’ve worked in the labor movement in Northern MN. After graduating from UMD with a BA in Business and a minor in Political Science, I worked for the North East Area Labor Council organizing alongside every union in the Arrowhead region - Steelworkers, Building Trades Council affiliates, Teachers, Firefighters, Letter Carriers, and more. I worked for AFSCME Council 5 for 10 years, organizing and negotiating contracts with social workers, educators, fire fighters, utility workers, parks workers, janitors, correctional officers, transportation specialists, mechanics, nursing home workers, workers in group homes, and many more.
Currently I work for the Minnesota Nurses Association, leading a team that negotiates, organizes, and advocates for nurses, advanced practice providers, and frontline healthcare professionals in greater MN.
I’ve negotiated contracts with the largest employers in the region - contracts that improve people’s lives and build strong communities from Cloquet to Baudette, from Grand Marais to Bemidji, from Duluth to International Falls, from Virginia to Deer River.
It’s been my job to get together with employees and employers – who have very different ideas of what is fair. Often, we are diametrically opposed.
My job is to help forge an agreement - without compromising my values or the priorities of the people I represent.
That’s what I do. It requires listening, patience, persistence, a good bullshit detector, and a spine.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like pretty good training for getting things done in Congress.
MY Creative & Community endeavors
I believe strongly that for democracy to work - as a city, as a state, and as a country - individual citizens need to be active participants in our communities. Over the years, I’ve volunteered for and helped raise money for many causes and organizations. After my mom had back surgery and needed blood donated post surgery, I began regularly donating blood. I served as Vice President of my PTA, I have volunteered on dozens of school referendum efforts, have attended the Fire Ops and the Citizens Police Academy, and have helped many working people run for elected office.
In 2021, I started a business making and selling candles - it started as a COVID hobby and turned it into a (very) small business called Cool Cousin Candle Company. The name of the company was a tribute to Jayme’s cousin and our daughter’s godmother, Lisa, who we lost in 2018 and who we loved immensely. Just prior to our daughter being born, Lisa told us she wanted the baby to call her “CC” for “Cool Cousin.” We had a good laugh that she had come up with her own nickname and it stuck.
In 2024, I launched the Cheerio Challenge after crude comments were made about Duluth being “a small minded community” that “peed in its Cheerios” for asking questions about development projects. That effort has raised over $115,000 and collected 1200 boxes of cereal for local food shelves over the course of just 8 days.
I write as often as I can on Substack about our community and way of life in Northeastern Minnesota, the struggles we all face in our day to day lives, and the pursuit of the American dream. I first called it “DeWalt Dad’s Parenting Parables,” but I have recently changed to “The Pursuit.”
“The Pursuit” is also the name of the podcast I started earlier this year where I interview regular people and talk about their lives through the lens of “the pursuit of happiness.” This is an effort to explore the meaning of the Declaration of Independence as we approach the 250th anniversary next year.
I never miss an opportunity to vote. Over the last 20 years, I have voted in every primary and general election, for local, state, and national office. Over that same period, I have been helping coordinate get-out-the-vote efforts and have volunteered for more candidates and school referendums than I can keep track of. I am proud of our communities for the long history of active participation in our democracy. I sincerely believe that an active, engaged citizenry is an essential component of a thriving community.
As you can see, Jayme and I like to make voting a family affair.
I’m a big fan of democracy
(ANd Dewalt tools)
I’ve always enjoyed home improvement projects, even if it sometimes means a bruised thumb, stitches, or seven trips to Menards - I enjoy learning a new skill and how things work. In 2021, I turned my love for home improvement, DeWalt tools, and being a dad it into a TikTok personality: DeWalt Dad. You can check it out on TikTok. My motto is DIIY - Do It Incompetently Yourself, a reference to the fact that nearly every project I do is self taught (except when my Milwaukee-loving brother teaches me a new skill).
and BASKETBALL
Between 5th and 6th Grade, I grew about a 12 inches. I towered over most of my peers for a few years and became a pretty good player. But then I stopped growing, so I had to learn to shoot (which I became pretty good at), I had to start seeing the floor better and become a better passer (which I did), and I had to learn to dribble (which I’ve never really gotten good at). My senior year in high school, I was chosen by my teammates to be a captain of our team. I wasn’t the most talented player on the team, but I always focused on how I could help my teammates be the best they could be and fulfill a role we needed to win. All these years later, that experience and focus has developed into a love for working in teams and has helped me succeed in the labor movement as an organizer - where my job is to empower people to fight for what they deserve and find their voices.
I still play in a weekly pickup game with a great group of people, but my knees and back hurt more than they used to.
It is great to see the Lynx, the most successful professional team in Minnesota’s history, on the rise once again. I’ve been a life long fan of the Timberwolves and am excited to see their level of play continuing to improve. Like so many diehard fans, I am ready to see them bring an NBA championship to Minnesota.
ANd winning volleyball games
My wife and I have been playing summer volleyball for the last 15 years or so. Although basketball has always been my sport, I’ve found as I get older I have become more competitive about volleyball than basketball. I really hate losing a volleyball game. Last year, our team took home the championship for our division.
